Mom and Dad have given me all their love. They've decorated a princess bedroom for me, where unlimited Barbie dolls await me there.

Since I love bathing a lot, they've also sunk in a huge amount of money just to custom-make a bathtub for me.

They keep telling my younger sister, Olivia Grant, to protect me forever.

But when Olivia and I are taking a bath together, she accidentally chokes on the bathwater.

That's when Mom goes nuts. She strangles me violently while roaring at me, "We thought you'd learn to love your sister as long as we treated you well! Who would've thought that you're an ingrate who tried to drown her?"

I can only shake my head in alarm. But Mom quickly shoves me into the washing machine.

"You like bathing that much, don't you? Well, you can bathe to your heart's content!"

After that, Mom and Dad take Olivia out to play. What they fail to notice is that they've accidentally turned on the washing machine.

Water soon fills the chamber, and yet I can't climb out of the washing machine at all.

As I feel myself tumbling around with the dirty laundry, I can only open my eyes with great difficulty as I look at my parents, who have returned home once again.

I don't want to take a bath anymore. Can Mom and Dad please stop getting mad at me?

The washing machine rumbled loudly. Terrified, I slapped at the door, trying to get out. "Mom, Dad, the washing machine has started. Let me out!"

Water began pouring out from the pipes. I curled up inside as it quickly rose to my chest.

In my panic, I choked on several mouthfuls of water, but Mom and Dad were pacing around with my coughing sister, Olivia Grant, in their arms.

"Mom, Dad, I'm choking too…"

I tried my hardest to make a sound. If only one of them would look back, just one glance, and they would be able to save me.

I used every bit of strength I had to push at the washing machine door, but it didn't budge at all.

I remembered Mom and Dad talking about it. To keep me from climbing inside to play as I grew older, they had specifically bought a model with a child lock.

Once that door clicked shut, it couldn't be opened again.

The drum gradually began to turn. The icy touch of the metal walls pressed hard against my skin. Then, all at once, the whole world jolted before it started spinning.

I was seized by an irresistible force that tossed me up, slammed me down, then tossed me up again.

Dull thuds echoed as my body collided with the wall over and over again.

I tried to scream for help, but the moment I opened my mouth, scented, foamy water poured into my nose and mouth.

Mom, Dad…

I started to feel dizzy. I was suffocating, but I forced my eyes open, desperate for one last look at them, but all I saw was them fussing over Olivia in their arms.

"I'm very disappointed in Sabrina. To think she'd dare lay a hand on her sister while we're still in the house! Can you imagine what she does when we're not looking? She needs to be taught a lesson."

"What should we do, honey? Olivia has been coughing for so long, and she still hasn't stopped. Even her face is turning red."

"We have to take her to the hospital. Now!"

The first spin cycle finally paused, and the water that had been suffocating me slowly drained away.

However, soon, more water began creeping in.

Terrified, I threw everything I had into pounding against the door. "Mom, Dad, please save me! I can't take it anymore!"

Mom, who was in the middle of putting on her coat, froze. She turned and began walking toward me.

"Mom, help me!"

Hope sparked in my chest again. I knew Mom only meant to punish me a little. I would never accidentally hurt Olivia again.

Mom reached toward the washing machine, but she didn't grab the handle. Instead, she stood just a few steps away and pointed at me. Her face was twisted with disappointment.

"You still don't get what you did wrong, do you? Now, you're even throwing a tantrum by pounding on the door. Sabrina, your sister's only two years old. She just learned how to talk, and she spends all day babbling and calling you her big sister. How could you be so cruel to her?

"Stay in there and think about what you've done. Your dad and I have been too nice to you, and that's why you've turned out so spoiled."

I shook my head, sobbing, as I felt the water rising steadily behind my back.

My head was still spinning from the first cycle, but I forced myself to pound at the door, desperate to answer Mom, but it only made her angrier.

Mom was so furious that she kicked the washing machine. "You're still trying to argue with me?"

"No, Mom!" I thought.

Soon, the water would fill the entire drum. I wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

Part of me started wishing the water would rise faster so Mom would finally realize something was wrong and let me out.

After the beep sounded, I forced myself to brace my limbs against the walls of the machine. I told myself to hold on a little longer. As soon as Mom opened that door, I would be saved.

However, the washing machine started spinning again, and Dad walked over with Olivia in his arms. "Babe, stop wasting your breath on Sabrina. We have to get to the hospital."

No…

I watched as Mom turned her back on me and left. Then, the front door slammed shut.

A second later, the washing machine began to spin violently. Everything whirled around me. I was tossed around inside like a discarded rag.

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in mid-air.

My first thought was that I had been rescued, and I wanted to run out and find them.

I was scared I would make them angry again, so I obediently stayed home and fell asleep among my Barbie dolls.

I didn't know how long it had been before the front door finally opened again.

Mom and Dad came back with Olivia in their arms. They were also carrying a huge electric toy car.

"Thank goodness Olivia is okay. Sabrina would've been in huge trouble if anything had happened to her. Our little girl took such a hit today. This car is her reward for being so brave!"

Then, Mom deliberately raised her voice, directing it toward the laundry room. "From now on, whoever gets hurt gets a present! And the bully gets locked away!"

Mom and Dad shared a look, tilting their heads to catch any sound coming from the machine, but all they heard was silence.

They frowned. A cold laugh escaped their lips.

"See? She's still sulking. If she wants to stay in there so badly, let her. The washer isn't even running. It's not like she's going to die."

I hovered right in front of them.

"Mom, Dad, I'm right here. Can't you see me? I'm not sulking. Please, don't talk about me like that anymore."

I spoke to them incessantly, but they acted as though I wasn't there. Not once did their eyes meet mine, not even for a fleeting second.

I wanted to touch them, but my hand passed right through their bodies.

That was when I finally realized I might have died in the washing machine.

I ran over to take a look. A small figure was curled up in the washing machine. Her body was twisted grotesquely.

Was that me?

I turned around and watched as Mom and Dad played with Olivia.

Forget it.

This was their punishment for me. Maybe this was for the better. At least now I wouldn't have to worry about changing Olivia's diapers anymore.

Ever since Olivia was born, Mom and Dad hadn't spent time alone with me in a very long time. Now, I could stay with them forever.

I tamped down the heavy feeling in my chest and forced myself to smile at them.

At dinner, Dad made my favorite steak.

After they fed Olivia, they sat at the table. Their expressions were tense. They were glancing toward the washing machine.

Dad spoke first. "Sabrina, come out and eat."

The house remained quiet, save for Olivia's babbling.

Mom's frustration boiled over, and she set her fork down hard. "Fine, you can starve for all I care. I'm tired of your tantrums. You made a mistake, and now you're the one throwing a fit? If you don't want dinner, then don't eat ever again!

"I might as well have given birth to a monster. Everyone says you can't be perfectly fair once the second baby comes, but I really thought if we treated you well, you'd be good to your sister. Instead, we just raised a spoiled, arrogant brat.

"Just leave her be. It's not like it's comfortable in that machine. She's always been soft. There's no way she'd stay in there that long. She probably ran back to her room already."

I stood right beside them and listened. Her words made my eyes sting.

"Mom, I didn't do it. I only wanted to help you bathe Olivia," I thought.

Mom and Dad stopped paying attention to me after that.

The two of them polished off more than half the plate of steak, and Mom even took the leftovers outside to feed a stray dog.

"I'd have been better off raising a dog than raising her," she muttered.

I didn't dare follow them anymore, so I curled up alone in my room.

Mom and Dad looked so happy when they played with Olivia.

They read picture books to her, and Mom's voice was so gentle, the way it hadn't been with me in a long, long time.

I listened until I fell asleep, but a while later, I heard Mom shout, "Sabrina! Olivia is asking for you again. Get out here and play with her right now!"

I stared silently at my closed bedroom door.

"I'm already dead, Mom," I thought. Even if I wanted to help, I couldn't anymore. "If you just open the washing machine door and look inside, you'll realize that I'm already gone."

The living room fell silent for a moment before Mom stormed over and shoved my door open.

Dad was right on her heels.

They both froze at the sight of the empty room. Dad looked around and even checked under the bed.

"Where's Sabrina?"

I thought they would panic. I thought they would race back to the washing machine and check, but Mom's face only hardened.

"That little brat's got more gall than I thought. Where else could she be? She must've snuck off to her granny's house to tell on us while we were gone. Who taught her to be so stubborn? She wants to play games with me? Fine. Let's play."

Mom turned and stormed over to my Barbie dolls.

She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off the dolls' hair and heads. Then, she snapped their limbs, threw them onto the floor, and stomped on them.

I cried and tried to push her away, but it didn't do anything.

"Mom, I'm not throwing a tantrum. I want to be with you and Dad, too, but I'm trapped in the washing machine, and I can never get out again…"

Dad let out a weary sigh. "Forget it. We don't have time to deal with her right now. If she went over to your mom's place, at least we'll get some peace. I'm going to wash Olivia's clothes."

Was Dad going to do laundry?

I followed him out. As he walked toward the washing machine with a bundle of clothes, my heart began to race.

Part of me wanted them to find me, but part of me was scared that what they saw would frighten them.

Maybe once he found me, Mom would finally stop thinking I was just being difficult.

I knew it was useless, but I still reached out with my little hands and covered Dad's eyes.

Before Dad could crouch down and open the door, Mom called him away. "Don't put the baby's clothes in there! You have to wash them by hand!"

My hands dropped in defeat. I stole a glance back at the figure inside the machine.

In that closed washing machine, my body had already begun to bloat, and there was a faint odor coming from inside.

I had been missing for two whole days. It wasn't until the next night that Dad finally urged Mom to call Granny. "Check with your mom. See if Sabrina's behaving herself over there. Make sure she's okay."

Mom reluctantly picked up her phone, grumbling as she dialed.

"What could happen to a kid that old? Sometimes, I get so angry just looking at her. Having such a disobedient daughter makes me wish she'd just disappear!"

I lowered my head and picked at my fingers, too sad to speak.

"Mom, you already got your wish."

When the call connected, Mom cut right to the chase."Mom, is Sabrina there? Has she been behaving herself?"

Granny's voice crackled through the speaker, louder than usual. "What did you say?"

I thought Granny was asking out of shock, but then she immediately added, "I didn't hear you. Speak up."

The light in my eyes flickered out again.

Mom was about to say something when Olivia suddenly started crying, and the truth that was so close to coming to light was drowned out once more.