Reborn: This Time, I Let My Sister Destroy Herself

The day my sister came home from studying South African culture abroad, she pulled out something titled Observation Chart for the South African Female Coming-of-Age Ritual Experiment, and announced that to finish her thesis, she'd rounded up a few delinquent girls to perform circumcision experiments on.

I was the first to slam the table. "Are you insane? This is illegal!"

But my sister only smiled.

"Sis, they volunteered. I pay them, they cooperate. Who's getting hurt?"

Our parents chimed in from the side:

"What would a middle-school dropout know about theses? A few ignorant little tramps get to be your sister's test subjects. They should count themselves lucky."

That very night I reported it to her school. The experiment was shut down, my sister was disciplined and her graduation delayed.

My parents screamed that I'd destroyed the most promising person in the family, and threw me out of the house.

On my way home from work to my rented room, a few blonde-dyed girls cornered me in an alley.

"So you're the one who cut off our paycheck?"

I tried to run, but they pinned me down.

My sister stepped out of the shadows, the scalpel in her hand giving off a cold, ghostly gleam.

"Sis, since you love sticking your nose into other people's business so much, I'll give you a chance to contribute to academic research."

That night my sister forced the cutting on me, and I died in my rented room from the infected wound.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day my sister came home and announced she wanted to do the circumcision experiment.

I stared at the Observation Chart for the South African Female Coming-of-Age Ritual Experiment that Janice Simmons pulled from her bag, and I couldn't stop shaking all over.

The phantom pain of my lower body being cut apart in my last life still lingered in my mind, and the bitterness and despair I'd felt before dying I never wanted to live through that again.

Right now Janice stood in front of me, smugly waving that file in her hand.

"Mom, Dad, if I can pull this thesis off, not only will my advisor see me in a whole new light, they might even recommend me for a faculty position!"

Her eyes shone as she looked toward our parents on the couch.

"No one has ever done a live-subject experiment like this. If I can get the first-hand observational data, I'll be the first person in history to do it!"

Our mother clapped at once. "Oh my, my girl is just brilliant!"

Our father set down his teacup too, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Janice was always going places, from the time she was little. Not like your sister, a middle-school dropout, only good enough to slave away for some tiny company."

I ignored their jabs. I just slowly steadied myself, picked up the glass of water on the table, and took a sip.

In my last life, when I heard those words, I flatly told Janice this was illegal, then reported her crime to her school and stopped something far more vile and horrifying from happening.

But because I'd ruined Janice's thesis and cost her the chance to stay abroad, our parents threw me out.

And in the end I was cornered in an alley by those three delinquent girls, and Janice used me for her experiment.

For the sake of these ignorant, foolish people, I paid with my own life.

This life

"Sis, you're not going to object, are you?"

Janice finally turned to look at me, a smile at the corner of her mouth, her eyes full of naked provocation.

I set down the glass and forced out a smile.

"If Mom and Dad already agree, what right does a middle-school dropout like me have to say anything?"

Janice froze for a moment, clearly not expecting me to be so agreeable, a sneer crossing her face.

"At least you know your place. A middle schooler what would you understand about academic papers?"

"All right, that's enough." Our mother waved a hand, shooing me off like a fly.

"Loretta Simmons, don't run your mouth and upset Janice."

Our father joined in. "Your sister is bringing honor to this family. Cut out the snide remarks."

I lowered my head and let out a small "Mm," my nails digging into my palm.

It had been this way my whole life. They would always take my sister's side.

If they hadn't wanted to send her to that international prep school with a thirty-thousand-a-year tuition, I never would have dropped out after middle school. Back then my grades had been good enough to get into the top state high school.

Seeing how "sensible" I was being, Janice grew even more brazen.

She flipped through the observation chart, then suddenly let out a sigh.

"Mom, my experiment needs a sterile operating room, and the conditions here at home"

Our mother panicked instantly. "What do we do? Should we ask the hospital if we can rent one?"

"That's so expensive." Janice's eyes rolled, and her gaze landed on me.

"Sis, that master bedroom of yours has good light and it's spacious. Why don't you clear it out and let me use it for a few days?"

"Sure." Without the slightest hesitation, I stood up at once. "I'll go pack it up right now."

Janice was stunned by how readily I agreed.

But our mother nodded in satisfaction. "Now that's more like it. Your sister's got something important to do, and as the older one, you should pitch in."

Our father had already walked in hauling a few woven plastic sacks, and without a word he started stuffing my clothes and odds and ends inside.

My middle-school graduation photo was thrown to the floor, the glass shattering everywhere.

Our father didn't even glance at it. He stepped right over it, urging, "Hurry up, hurry up, don't hold up Janice's preparations."

I bent down and picked up the trampled photo, brushed the footprint off it, and slipped it into my pocket.

And while no one was watching, I quietly pressed a tiny voice recorder against the inside of the bed frame.

I was carrying my luggage out the door, box by box, when a burst of giggling suddenly spilled in from the stairwell.

Three girls with bleached-blonde hair sauntered through the door. The one in front was chewing gum, and she tromped straight into the living room without even taking off her shoes.

"This the place?" Her gaze swept around and landed on the laptop sitting on the coffee table. "Ooh, nice computer."

That was the one I'd bought on installments last month, the one I used for online classes after work.

I reached for it. "Don't touch that."

The blonde pinned it down with one hand and rolled her eyes at me. "Your name on it or something?"

Janice waved a careless hand. "It's my sister's, but she's got no use for it. Take it, have fun."

I clenched my fists, then slowly loosened them.

"Fine. But the computer's password-protected. There are company files on it. Anyone who cracks it and gets in is stealing trade secrets."

The three girls exchanged looks.

Janice, annoyed that I was killing the mood, frowned. "One crappy laptop, who wants it. Come sign the agreement."

I bent down to lift the last box, my side vision brushing the edge of the computer.

Beside the camera, that faint little indicator light, covered over with a strip of clear tape, glowed on quietly.

"Sis," Janice suddenly called out to stop me, her smile so sweet it turned my stomach. "Don't leave just yet. Auntie's coming by in a bit. Hang around."

I stared at her and said nothing, unsure what she was scheming.

Speak of the devil.

Aunt Daphne Simmons came clicking in on her little heels, marched straight over to Janice the moment she was through the door, and grabbed her hand.

"Oh my, our Janice gets more scholarly by the day! Your mom tells me you're doing some big international research project? I'm so proud I could burst!"

As she spoke, she fished an envelope out of her purse.

"Janice, honey, this is the fifty thousand I borrowed from your sister. Perfect timing, you can use it for your research."

Beaming, Aunt Daphne pressed the envelope into Janice's hands. "When you're a big professor someday, don't forget your auntie! One call from you and I brought the money right over."

That was the fifty thousand dollars I'd lent her the year before last.

She'd said she needed it to keep her business afloat, called me and cried the whole night through, and in the end I caved and lent it to her.

Two years it dragged on. Every time I asked for it back, she'd mumble and dodge with one excuse after another.

Now Janice makes one phone call and she brings it over on her own, using my money to buy herself goodwill.

Janice took the money, grinning ear to ear. "Thank you, Auntie! I definitely won't forget."

"Hold on." I stepped forward, my voice hard. "Auntie, that's my money. Where do you get off deciding for me?"

Only then did Daphne turn to look at me, her smile stiffening for a second.

"Loretta, sweetie, your sister's research comes first. You're in no rush to get married, so of course Janice takes priority!"

"Exactly." My mother leaned out from the kitchen to back her up. "Your sister is this family's only hope. As the older one, don't be so selfish."

These shameless people I called family actually made me laugh.

"Fine. I'll give it to Janice. But, Auntie, you have to write me a statement. Even though this fifty thousand is you paying me back, you're also the one who decided to hand it over to her, and it has nothing to do with me."

Daphne blinked, not getting what I was after.

Janice froze for a second too, then said breezily,

"So write it. Auntie, once I land a job overseas, I'll pay you back a hundred thousand."

Daphne was clearly delighted by that, and immediately had me draft the statement, which she signed and stamped with her thumbprint.

I photographed the statement, saved it to the cloud, and then walked out of that house without looking back.

I rented my old place from the last life all over again, and the moment I stepped inside I opened the recording app on my phone.

Through my earphones came Janice's pitiful little voice.

"...Dad, Mom, that surgical equipment costs another hundred thousand. But I've spent all my money finding test subjects. Could you help me go borrow some from my sister?"

The moment I heard Janice say the surgical equipment would cost a hundred thousand dollars, I knew they'd come looking for me.

I just never imagined they'd come all the way to my company.

I'd barely stepped down into the ground-floor lobby before they were on me, demanding the hundred thousand.

"Loretta, your sister's still short a hundred thousand for the surgical equipment. Just front her the money to tide her over."

When I only stood there stone-faced, giving them nothing, their faces twisted with displeasure. My mother went further, plopping straight down onto the floor and breaking into loud, wailing sobs.

"What a wretched life I have! Raised an ungrateful daughter who lives high on the hog and couldn't care less whether her own sister lives or dies!"

My father stood beside her, sobbing his story out to the crowd of people leaving work around us.

"Everyone, be the judge! Her sister's working on an international research project, wanted to borrow a little money for an experiment, and this so-called older sister won't part with a single cent. She's trying to ruin her sister's whole future!"

The people around us murmured among themselves, but every look was scornful.

Money that working people earned through sweat and toil, who'd want to just hand it over to a stranger?

Seeing that no one was taking her side, my mother threw all restraint aside, shot to her feet, and jabbed a finger in my face.

"Hand over your paycheck card! Your sister needs that money now. If you hold up her big project, can you afford to make it right?"

I only told her calmly,

"Mom, this month's pay hasn't come in yet. Last month's, half went to rent, half went to paying off installments. There's six hundred dollars left on the card."

"Six hundred?" My mother's eyes went wide. "Who do you think you're fooling? You've been working almost ten years, forty-five hundred a month. Where's the money?"

"I gave it to you," I said, laying out the plain facts.

"Three thousand transferred to you every month, to fund Janice's studies abroad. Four years of it. Nearly a hundred and fifty thousand."

For a moment, everything went quiet.

"And there was that fifty thousand in dowry money." I pulled my phone from my pocket and brought up the acknowledgment. "Aunt Daphne transferred it to Janice yesterday at noon, as research funding. Mom, I've been flat broke for a long time now."

My mother choked on her words.

My father's face went ugly with shame. He came over and yanked at her. "That's enough, let's go home first"

Being dragged off by him, she still turned back at the last moment to warn me,

"This time I'll find a way to cover this money for Janice myself. But from now on, your paycheck card goes to me, until you've paid back the full hundred thousand!"

I watched her retreating back, the pressure in my chest almost unbearable.

This woman who gave birth to me, who raised me, could be this cruel to me for the sake of her other daughter.

After work, I got on the bus back to my rental, wanting to see how Janice's experiment was coming along.

The second I opened the recording app, Janice's impatient voice came through my earbuds.

"What are you so scared of? It's a minor procedure, just cutting away some excess tissue. Girls in South Africa get it done at three years old. You're young and strong, what's there to be afraid of?"

So my mother really had moved fast. In half a day she'd gotten Janice the equipment.

A timid girl's voice.

"But... but I'm scared of the pain... won't it be dangerous?"

"How could it be dangerous?" Janice's tone shifted. Maybe she was afraid the girls would back out. "Tell you what. I'll do a run-through on my own sister first, so you can watch. If this experiment were dangerous, would I use my own flesh-and-blood sister? You see my point, right?"

"Then... how are you going to get your sister here? Didn't she move away?"

Janice laughed.

"My sister's got a bad temper. She'd never go along with it, so I'll have to trouble you girls to bring her to me tied up. I'll throw in some extra cash for you then."

Through the earbuds, I heard the delinquent girls agreeing, happy about it.

Watching the cars stream by on the street, I felt cold all over, even though it was the height of summer.

Since Janice refused to ever let me go, she had no one to blame but herself.

I opened my phone, sent a single text, and got off the bus, walking step by step back down that same road to death from my past life.

The alley looked exactly the same.

In my past life, this was the very spot where they'd cornered me tonight.

Footsteps closed in from every direction.

Three of them, their bleached-blonde hair jarring under the dim streetlight.

Leading the pack was the same heavyset blonde chewing gum. She spat it out and grabbed a fistful of my collar.

"Sis, make it easy on yourself. It's just an experiment."

Another one, tall and thin, circled behind me and cut off any way out.

I didn't struggle.

"Let's go." My voice came out strangely calm.

The heavyset blonde blinked, then sneered. "Well, aren't you cooperative."

They marched me back to the Simmons house.

The living room blazed with light.

My parents stood by the sofa. When they saw me hauled in by three blondes, something flickered across their faces for an instant.

"Janice, this... there really isn't any danger, is there?"

The door to the master bedroom stood wide open. Janice was already at the surgical table, arranging the instruments on the tray.

"Mom." Janice didn't even look up, still sterilizing her tools.

"It's a legitimate scientific experiment. What danger could there be? Besides, I'll run a trial on my sister first. Once I've got the technique down, I'll do the three of them. Higher success rate that way."

My father frowned and glanced at me.

His gaze settled on me, his lips moving.

I thought he was worried about my life.

But the words that came next killed off every last feeling I had for this family.

"Don't ruin her body. When she gets married, we've still got a dowry to collect."

My mother nodded at once.

"Right, right, Janice, be careful. She's plain, sure, but an intact body is still worth something."

I stood in the middle of the living room, hands bound with rope, listening to my own parents debate the market price of my body in the marriage game.

I wanted to laugh.

But I couldn't.

"What are you all standing around for?" Janice snapped, out of patience. "Get her onto the table."

The bedroom door swung shut, and I was strapped down to that cold surgical table.

The overhead surgical lamp clicked on, so bright I squinted.

Janice pulled on a mask, leaving only a pair of narrow, upturned eyes exactly like mine.

There wasn't a trace of hesitation or unease in them.

Only eager, twitching excitement.

Janice lifted the scalpel from the tray and studied it under the lamp.

I stared at that blade, my palms starting to sweat.

I'd braced myself for all of it, but lying there for real, feeling the restraints press into me, I still couldn't stop shaking.

It was the body's own instinct.

Janice noticed me trembling, and above the mask her eyes crinkled.

"Don't be scared, sis." Her voice was light and soft, the way you'd soothe a child. "I don't have a license, but I've dissected a dozen rabbits. My hands are very steady."

"And besides, sis, a middle-school dropout like you, getting to contribute to academic research? You should feel honored."

With that, the blade started toward my lower belly, and I clenched my back teeth hard.

The instant the edge broke my skin, I stopped her. "Janice."

I looked into her startled eyes and said it one word at a time.

"You bring that knife down, and your life is the one that's finished."