When I was six years old, I became an actual dummy after playing a silly game with my older sister, Hannah Hubbard.

My mental age is stuck at six years old. Because of that, my grandma receives a huge shock, causing her condition to deteriorate.

Since then, Hannah has completely transformed into a brand new person. Thanks to her scholarship and her efforts to collect and sell trash, Grandma and I are able to survive under her care.

Hannah is such a prideful person, and yet when her classmates call her stupid nicknames, she doesn't get mad at them at all.

But if anyone is to call me an idiot, Hannah will seek justice for me no matter what.

That night, Hannah gathers me in her arms while crying soundlessly.

"My Oliver isn't an idiot at all. You just haven't grown up yet. Oliver, promise me that you will never leave me, okay?"

I just nod blankly. For the next three years, I cling to her like glue.

That is, until Blake Mueller appears in our lives.

When I'm done playing with the mud, I forget to wash my hands, so I accidentally soil Blake's white shirt with my soiled hands.

That's when Hannah suddenly breaks down emotionally and kicks me out of the house.

"Oliver Hubbard, you've dragged me down my whole life! Are you going to cause trouble for Blake as well? Can you please be more understanding and stop causing more trouble for me?"

Finally, an idea sparks inside my dim-witted brain for once.

It turns out that my existence brings nothing but misery to Hannah.

So, I hide inside the casket Grandma has custom-ordered for herself. There, I close my eyes and begin counting down quietly.

Three, two, one.

Let the game begin.

Inside the pitch-black coffin, I stared at my hands for a moment. This should be clean enough, right?

Hannah's medicine must be working now because I was starting to see her flushed, angry face right in front of me.

She slammed the heavy iron gate shut with a bang. "Oliver Hubbard, you're nine years old. How do you still not know any better? How many times have I told you to stay away from Blake? Why did you have to lie? I didn't raise you to be like this."

Curled up inside the coffin, I murmured that I hadn't lied, and I hadn't dirtied Blake Mueller's shirt on purpose either.

Also, I couldn't understand why my big sister, Hannah Hubbard, was so angry when Blake had already said it was fine.

Hmph!

Once I got to heaven, I would definitely beg the angels to let me come back as the older sibling!

That way, I could put my hands on my hips and yell at her for a change. As I got excited at that thought, my eyelids began to feel too heavy to keep open.

There was just one problem, though. Since I was using this coffin, Hannah would have to go through the trouble of ordering a new one for Grandma.

Something like this would cost a lot. I wondered if the money I'd been secretly saving would be enough.

Grandma always said money didn't grow on trees. On the rare occasions she was lucid, she'd have me help her make handicrafts to earn some cash.

I was so bad with my hands that I couldn't even handle such an easy task.

Whenever I bawled my eyes out because I felt like I was being a burden to Grandma, Hannah would pop a piece of candy into my mouth, and I'd stop crying right away.

Once, with an exasperated smile, Hannah had poked my nose and said, "A piece of candy is enough to cheer you up? I guess you really are still a little kid. Go play somewhere else, Oliver. I'll do it."

She had taken the paper from my hands and, with a few quick folds, turned it into a paper airplane. "This is for you."

With a happy shout, I had run around the house with my airplane while Hannah and Grandma sat nearby, watching me laugh and play.

"Hannah, Oliver has to learn how to handle things on his own. You can't take care of him forever."

I had heard Grandma sigh, whereas Hannah had remained silent.

Forever? I didn't know how long forever was supposed to be.

A long while had passed when Hannah finally said something, but it had sounded more like she was talking to herself. "I can. I can take care of him forever."

My thoughts drifted back to the present. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a piece of candy before slowly putting it in my mouth.

The candy tasted bitter, making me grimace.

Hannah was such a liar. She promised to be by my side forever, but the moment Blake showed up, that promise didn't mean anything anymore!

What a big fat liar! Still, maybe this was for the best. Without a burden like me dragging her down, Hannah could live happily with Blake.

As my head began to spin, my eyelids grew heavier. I pulled the coffin lid over my head.

Hannah, Grandma… It was time for me to sleep.

When I came to, I cautiously cracked one eye open.

Was I already in heaven? I wasn't. I was floating in the air, looking down at our little yard. Why was I still at home?

Just as I was wondering about that, I heard the sound of a trike screeching to a halt coming from outside the gate.

Hannah and Grandma were back! I wondered if Hannah had managed to smooth things over with Blake.

Hannah and Blake came in while helping Grandma along. Seeing the three of them so close, like a real family, made me jealous.

I couldn't help but sigh. It was my fault for making Hannah angry. That must have been why they went out for good food without me.

Wanting to make up for it, I rushed forward to help support Grandma.

But when my hand went right through her, I realized that I was see-through. I waved my hand carefully in front of Hannah's face.

"Oliver?"

Could Hannah see me? I immediately started rambling, eager to show off what I'd done.

"Hannah, I secretly took your meds. But they didn't work at all. I couldn't get to heaven. I even counted all the bottles for you. There are 200 of them. And I washed my hands clean. Can you forgive me now?"

I held my hands out for her to see, only to watch her walk straight through me as she shouted into the house.

So, she couldn't see me after all. Did I get the power to turn invisible, like in the cartoons?

Curious, I tried blowing at the wind chimes hanging by the door. A pleasant tinkling sound filled the air, which somewhat lifted my spirits.

Hannah had made this for me by stringing together old medicine bottles. And Blake had helped me paint them the color of the sky. Whenever the wind blew, the bottles would chime softly.

Hannah had told me that with this, I wouldn't be afraid of taking medicine anymore.

"Oliver! Oliver Hubbard!" As Hannah's voice grew louder, her tone became harsher. "This kid is getting more stubborn by the day! All I did was scold him a little, and now he's hiding so no one can find him!"

But I did answer her. I spoke really loudly as well. It was just that she couldn't hear me. How mean of her to scold me without even knowing the truth!

She stormed toward my room, but Blake stopped her. "Hannah, Oliver's a young man now. He needs some privacy. Besides, I'm not mad. You're making a big deal out of nothing. We should get cooking. Didn't you buy that fish Oliver loves?"

Fish?

My eyes lit up. Sure enough, I saw a bag full of groceries on the trike.

Fish was my favorite food. Hannah said eating fish would make me smarter. I knew I wasn't smart, and I had caused Hannah a lot of trouble because of that.

After Mom and Dad left, Hannah struggled to take care of both Grandma, who was sick, and me all by herself. So I wanted to become smarter.

After settling Grandma in, Hannah noticed Blake carrying the grocery bags inside. She hurried over, trying to take the bags from him.

Instead of letting her take them, Blake simply wrapped an arm around Hannah and guided her into the kitchen.

The two said nothing as they worked. Their hands moved nonstop in seamless coordination.

Hannah was really good at cooking fish. Whether it was braised, steamed, or pan-fried, everything she made was delicious.

Suddenly, Hannah put down her knife. Her shoulders started shaking, as if she was crying.

Blake hugged her from behind, softly murmuring words of comfort.

I covered my eyes, not wanting to watch this mushy stuff. However, Hannah's words still drifted into my ears like the wind.

"Blake, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she said. "Before I met you, I thought this was all my life would ever be. I thought I would be stuck in this little house, taking care of my brother and Grandma. And when the day came that we reached the end of our rope, I'd take them with me and leave this world."

She paused before adding, "But I've become so greedy now. I want to have a home with you, a home that belongs to just us."

A home? Like the ones Mom and Dad had?

There was a time when Hannah had been a proud but soft-hearted young girl as well.

After school, she would watch cartoons with me and play games with me.

My favorite game was Red Light, Green Light. But one day, while we were playing outside, Hannah had just shouted "Red light!" when one of her classmates called her over to ask about homework.

I stood there alone, waiting for ages, and that was when a stranger snatched me up. As I struggled frantically, I banged my head against a sharp corner nearby. The stranger dropped me and ran.

When Mom and Dad found out that I had become a fool, they got a divorce. Hannah was the one who took on the responsibility of taking care of me, even though she was small and weak herself.

But even a fool like me knew that none of this was Hannah's fault.

Hannah should have been free as a bird, able to do whatever she pleased. She shouldn't have been tied down by someone like me, turning her into a person who was too scared to even confess her love to the guy she liked.

I knew that if Blake hadn't made the first move, Hannah would've just spent her whole life admiring him from afar, sincerely wishing him happiness.

My heart ached. I looked up at the wind chimes swaying in the breeze.

Seeing the tear in the corner of Hannah's eye, I reached out to wipe it away, but all I touched was nothing. Thankfully, Blake was here.

"Hannah, I'd love to have a home with you," he said. "As long as I have you, nothing else matters."

"But other things matter to me." Turning around, Hannah buried herself in Blake's arms. "I can't even keep the simplest promise… Oliver will always be the most important person to me… He ended up like this because of me. I have to spend the rest of my life making it up to him."

No! That wasn't true! I shook my head frantically, wanting to scream at her that she was wrong.

I might be slow, but I could take care of myself. And if Hannah just taught me how to use the appliances, I could take care of Grandma, too.

She must not give up on Blake because of me.

Hannah was crying harder now, sounding as though she was going to cry her heart out. "Sometimes I wish I were the one who got snatched that day. Then I wouldn't have had to carry such a heavy burden.

"The last time Oliver snuck out, I actually thought that if he got lost, it would be better if he never came back. Blake, am I a terrible person?"

I froze for a moment, suddenly remembering the last time I had snuck out.

I usually did exactly what Hannah told me to do and never left the yard. But that day, there was a dog outside mauling a stray cat that Blake often fed.

In my mind, if Blake was sad, then Hannah would be sad too. And if Hannah was sad, then I would be sad as well.

So, to keep everyone from being sad, I snuck out and chased the dog away.

I ran a bit too far, though. I had to ask a lot of people to find my way back home. So this was what Hannah had been thinking this whole time.

My chest tightened with pain, but I was quick to console myself.

It was okay. I wouldn't be a burden to her anymore. Now that I was a ghost, I could blow on the wind chimes for her. The tinkling sounded really nice.

Thank goodness Blake managed to cheer her up.

After putting together a delicious meal, they set everything on the table. Hannah wiped away her tears before knocking on my door. "Oliver, dinner's ready."

Oh dear, I was a ghost now. Could ghosts eat?

Hannah didn't get an answer.

Just as she was about to come in, she noticed the lump beneath my blanket through the window and stopped.

Seeing her turn and walk away, I let out a sigh of relief. Good thing I was smart enough to stuff a doll under the covers.

With this, Hannah would think I was sleeping soundly in my room.