: My Heart Went Cold

3

A long wait in the darkness.

Finally, I heard my biological parents speak.

They brought it up again: they wanted to transplant my kidney into Sylvia Vaughn.

The doctor seemed to hesitate before finally, after a long pause, offering a tactful refusal.

"This is against regulations."

"Although Raina Shane is now a vegetable, it's only been a few days. There's still a chance she could recover."

"She's just unable to move, but she isn't dead..."

My heart, which had been pounding, finally began to calm down.

Thank goodness the doctor didn't agree.

But just then, I heard a THUD, followed by the doctor's flustered voice.

"Mrs. Vaughn, what are you doing? Please, get up. Stand up."

My mother's sobs followed immediately.

"Doctor, I'm begging you. Please, just help my daughter, won't you?"

"Can you bear to watch our family lose two daughters? If we could find a kidney donor, we would never resort to this."

My father spoke up then, his voice hoarse, sounding like a father who deeply loved his daughter.

"Doctor, she's already a vegetable. If you just agree to let her donate her kidney, both my daughters can live. That would be the greatest medical virtue of all..."

At the same time, another, more aggressive male voice cut in.

"The hospital has its rules, but rules are rigid, and people are flexible! My sister, Sylvie, is only twenty-one!"

That name... I recognized it.

That must be my brother—the one who's supposedly obsessed with his sister.

His sister is only twenty-one...

But I'm his real sister. And I'm only twenty-one, too.

The situation reached a stalemate.

After a long time, the doctor spoke again.

"Mrs. Vaughn, please don't put me in such a difficult position..."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness this doctor still had some principles.

But then, Sylvia Vaughn suddenly began to cry softly.

"Forget it, Mom, Dad. Let's just go home."

"I've been so happy that our family could be together for the past twenty years."

"For the time I have left, I just want to spend it with my mom, dad, and brother. Let's go."

My father, who had been silent until now, suddenly kicked the hospital bed.

"Doctor, after this is done, we'll give you a certain figure."

My eyes wouldn't open. I couldn't see the gesture my father was making.

I only knew that the doctor's silence lasted even longer this time.

Finally, he spoke, slowly.

"Let's talk in my office."

My heart went cold.