My name was Evelyn Luis. The day I suddenly suffered from a heart attack, only my son, Matthew Luis could save my life as he was the chief thoracic surgeon at Central Hospital. But when I called him, he was busy helping his first love’s cat give birth. “Can you stop making a scene? You actually cursed my mom. So disgusting!” Matthew hung up without hesitation, leaving his wife, Lila Collins, watching helplessly as I died despite the efforts to resuscitate me. Later, at my funeral, the room was filled with mourning. The well-dressed Matthew collapsed on the ground, pleading desperately, “Mom! Mom! Please don’t leave me.” I found it truly laughable. At that moment, he forgot his scheming first love. ***** I lay on the cold emergency bed, struggling to make a sound through the oxygen mask. I gasped for breath, my heart in excruciating pain, unable to get out a complete sentence. “Lila… Matthew… Matthew…” I felt my time was running out, and I looked at Lila, who was anxiously beside me, wanting to ask where Matthew had gone. Fortunately, Lila understood what I meant. She held her phone and gave me a reassuring smile. “Evelyn, he is on his way. Don’t worry. He will make it!” As she said this, I didn’t believe her. Just moments ago, I clearly saw her answer the phone and then hang up shortly after, her anxious expression only deepening. “Call… Call him!” I struggled to speak. Unable to resist, Lila made another call to Matthew right in front of me. The moment the call connected, surprise crossed Lila’s face as she hurriedly spoke, “Matthew, your mom is in critical condition!” The voice from the phone was loud, and I immediately heard a woman giggling. “Is that you, Lila? My little cat is giving birth. Matthew has to be here with me. Can’t you let him have just a little freedom? “If something happens to my cat, it would be five lives lost. You wouldn’t be so vicious, right?” Lila tried to say more, but the woman abruptly hung up the phone. She looked up at me, forcing a strained smile. “Evelyn, Matthew said he is on his way, but there’s traffic. We just have to wait a bit longer.” My heart ached even more, and the emergency machines began to alarm. The doctors gathered around me quickly. A young doctor approached Lila and handed her a document. “I’m sorry, but please sign this critical condition notification. “If we don’t get our chief here for emergency surgery within half an hour, she might…” I knew the “chief” was referring to Matthew. Lila trembled as she signed the critical condition form, then she repeatedly dialed Matthew’s number on her phone. I looked at her, feeling utterly hopeless. Matthew’s father died before he was born. For all these years, I had played both mother and father, enduring countless hardships to raise him properly. When he got accepted to medical school, he brought me his admission letter, promising that he would repay me well. I never expected, in the end, this was how he would repay me. Doctors came and went, leaving only machines to sustain my life, which was rapidly approaching its end. Lila cried in desperation, but she didn’t stop trying to call. She was a thoughtful girl. Over the years, she had treated me almost like her own mother. Perhaps I shouldn’t have pushed her to marry Matthew back then. If I hadn’t, she wouldn’t have had to struggle to maintain this loveless marriage, which also wasted her youth. I shed a tear of regret, only to hear her voice rise in shock and anger. “Matthew, your mom had a heart attack! You need to come to the hospital for surgery to save her!” A flicker of hope reignited within me. But Matthew’s words shattered my hope. “Lila, can you stop lying? “Your old tricks don’t work anymore, and now you’re cursing my mom. You truly are malicious!” After hearing this, Lila lost her composure and shouted, “Matthew!” In the end, she couldn’t persuade Matthew, and she could only stand by my bed, holding my hand while wiping her tears. I didn’t blame her. If I were to blame someone, it would be myself for raising an ungrateful son without realizing it. Their flawed marriage perhaps should never have existed from the start. I struggled to speak, my voice so faint that she had to lean close to hear me. “Lila, after I’m gone, if you want a divorce, go ahead. I am sorry.” My heart ached more and more, and dark spots began to cloud my vision. Suddenly, I felt a sense of liberation wash over me. I floated in the air, watching as the cardiac monitor turned into a straight line. Lila held me, crying uncontrollably. Nurses rolled away my lifeless body, leaving Lila standing alone in the hospital corridor, dazed. I didn’t know how long it passed, but eventually, she seemed to remember something, took out her phone, and first saw Matthew’s social media update. Matthew: [Witnessed the miracle of life again with my beloved.] The accompanying photo was of him with a young girl and four little kittens. Upon closer inspection, a surge of anger erupted within me. I recognized that young girl.
That girl was named Annie Crawford, and she was Matthew’s girlfriend during college. When I first met her, she pretended to be innocent and kind, but in reality, she was a vain and materialistic person. After I exposed her true nature, she claimed, “Boys from single-parent families are all mama’s boys,” and demanded that Matthew cut ties with me. We had a lot of quarrels over it back then. In the end, she left Matthew on her own. I never expected that Matthew would rekindle his relationship with her. Outside, the rain poured heavily. Lila used the location from Matthew’s social media to find the pet hospital where they were. I saw Matthew and Annie sitting closely together on a bench in the pet hospital. In the warm, soft lighting of the pet hospital, they exchanged a passionate kiss filled with affection. No wonder Matthew didn’t care that his biological mother was dying in the hospital, nor did he care about his wife’s desperate cries. It turned out it was because he had his first love by his side. I knew from the social media post that they were together but seeing it with my own eyes still made my heart ache even more than when I was having a heart attack. He knew Annie had stirred up trouble between us, yet he remained lost in his world of affection, making me wait for help and ultimately dying in the emergency room. Lila was soaked and looked disheveled from the rain. Seeing their intimacy, she rushed in and slapped Matthew across the face. Her eyes turned red, and her voice trembled. “How can you still be so happy? “Matthew! It is because of you that Evelyn died! “Do you know that Evelyn kept her eyes open until the end, wanting to see you one last time?” But Matthew didn’t believe her at all. He tightly grasped Lila’s wrist. “Lila, are you done causing a scene? “Isn’t it enough that you lied to me over the phone? Do you have to come here and embarrass yourself?” Lila shook with anger, completely ignoring the curious gazes around them. “I didn’t!” “You didn’t? Mom got annual check-ups, and her heart was never an issue. How could she suddenly have a heart attack? “My mom treated you like a daughter. Why did you curse her?” I watched as Matthew fiercely protected Annie, who nestled in his arms, while he turned aggressive and violent toward his wife. He studied medicine for eight years yet didn’t understand that even healthy individuals could suddenly suffer from heart problems. He simply didn’t care about me or his wife. He was just finding excuses for his favoritism toward Annie. I realized this, and I felt the endless coldness. When did Matthew become such a despicable person? Lila was brought to tears by his harsh words. But she didn’t leave. She even wanted to show Matthew the payment records on her phone. At that moment, Annie snatched her phone away and threw it on the ground. “Lila, we’re in a hospital. My little cat is inside undergoing surgery. Don’t you know that hospitals need to maintain silence? “You have no manners in public and curse Matthew’s mother privately. Matthew is so unlucky to have you as his wife!” There were many onlookers in the pet hospital who started to criticize Lila. “She is truly a social disgrace.” “How can such a woman attract any man?” “She is drenched in the rain and wearing a white shirt. She isn’t trying to use that to lure her husband back home, is she?” I was a university professor who had never clashed with anyone in my life and had never heard such filthy language before. I wanted to shield Lila from the insults, to cover her ears so she wouldn’t hear these slurs, but I could only watch helplessly as my translucent hand passed through her body. Matthew listened to the crowd’s comments, feeling humiliated. He harshly said, “Annie is right. A woman like you doesn’t deserve to be my wife. Lila, we are getting a divorce!”
That was what I wanted Lila to do, but it was brought up first by Matthew. During their years of marriage, although they were not deeply in love, at least they maintained a courteous relationship. Matthew was busy with work, hardly paying attention to his family. Without Lila’s support, his life would surely have been a mess. Yet Matthew completely failed to see Lila’s contributions. Even when Lila was publicly criticized, he would still stab her in the back. I turned to look at the crumbling Lila, eager to wipe her tears away. But I could only watch as she bit her lip, suppressing her sobs as she asked Matthew, “Matthew, have you thought it through? If you don’t leave with me today, you won’t have another chance. “Do you really want to be with the woman that Evelyn disliked the most while she was alive?” As soon as Lila finished speaking, the surgery room door swung open. Annie’s cat was wheeled out. So, no one cared about Lila’s question or my death news. They held hands together, softly comforting the cat that was still under anesthesia. The doctor spoke to Annie about post-operative care. But Matthew suddenly turned around, glancing at the disheveled Lila as if she were a stranger. This time, Lila didn’t try to hold him back. I watched her clench her fists and quietly say, “Evelyn, I really tried my best. Please don’t blame me.” I felt both touched and sad, almost shedding tears. I wanted to tell her what a good girl she was and that I could never blame her. Though it had only been a few minutes, I had already seen it clearly. Matthew was no longer the Matthew I once knew. He was clearly the murderer who caused my death. The only one who still treated me like family was Lila. Meeting Lila and having this time together made me feel like the luckiest person. The next day, Lila took me to the funeral home. In front of other people’s cremation furnaces, there was a crowd of family members weeping and mourning. But in front of my furnace, there was only Lila. She cried all night, and now she couldn’t cry anymore. Only silence remained. The crematorium staff asked her to sign the confirmation form. Her hands trembled, and she couldn’t bring herself to sign. Instead, she picked up her phone again. She texted Matthew, telling him that my body was at the funeral home. But the reply Lila received was just a cold, hard “get lost.” That brief response stung my eyes. Even though I had experienced Matthew’s indifference the day before, at the final moment, I still held onto some hope. I hoped he could believe Lila and come to see me one last time. After all, he was my only son. I watched him grow from a tiny baby into such a formidable man. I had also fantasized about holding his child in my arms, sharing family bliss together. Now I ended up with such a result. Lila turned off her phone screen and resolutely signed her name. “Evelyn, rest in peace.” When the crematorium door closed, my body completely vanished from this world, leaving behind only a handful of ashes. Lila held my ashes, sitting on the steps at the entrance of the funeral home. She sat in a daze for a long time before finally making a call. “Matthew, didn’t you say you wanted a divorce? “Let’s go to court tomorrow.” As she spoke, she affectionately touched the urn in her arms with her forehead. I knew she was asking me if I had seen her fulfill my last wish. “Lila, what is wrong with you, acting crazy all the time?” Matthew’s impatient voice came through. “When you are done making a scene, go home and cook. I have surgery this afternoon.” Upon hearing this, I watched Lila’s last glimmer of hope fade away. All these years of marriage, her value seemed to be just that of a cook. “I’m not making a scene. Didn’t you say last night that you wanted a divorce? I’ll fulfill your wish. You…” Matthew’s voice turned angry. He interrupted Lila without hesitation. “Are you going to hold a grudge with me because of something I said out of anger? “I didn’t blame you for cursing my mom yet. But you are being unreasonable.” I saw Lila let out a long sigh. “Believe it or not, that’s the truth. You won’t get to see her one last time anyway.” He scoffed, “Why should I believe you? “You are using something so serious as a joke. Don’t you feel guilty? “Lila, you really have no moral bottom line. Why don’t you just become a prostitute?” The call was hung up abruptly. I was both shocked and furious. I couldn’t believe such words came from Matthew. I had always thought their marriage, though not deeply affectionate, was at least harmonious. But in reality, I was wrong. Dead wrong. If I had known they interacted like this regularly, I would never have supported their marriage. Lila was a good girl. She deserved to marry someone better. What surprised me even more was that even after being treated this way by Matthew, Lila didn’t get angry. She calmly walked out of the funeral home, holding my ashes. In an instant, guilt and heartache washed over me. I watched her thin figure as I repeatedly apologized. “Lila, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” After that call, Lila took me back home. She stayed at home for three days, waiting for Matthew, hoping to discuss my funeral arrangements with him, but she didn’t even catch a glimpse of him. Left with no choice, she had to invite others to organize a memorial service for me. On the sixth day after my death, the memorial service started. Colleagues from academia, my superiors, teachers, and many doctoral and graduate students I had guided all arrived at the scene. I looked at their red-rimmed eyes and felt pain as well. I hadn’t finished grading my students’ papers, and my newly approved project had just begun to take shape. If only Matthew had come to the hospital that night, perhaps I wouldn’t have lost my students, my career, and my life. As I looked at them, I felt resentment toward Matthew for the first time. Just when everything was proceeding smoothly, there was suddenly a commotion at the entrance. Matthew stormed in with a face full of anger and grabbed Lila, who had been bravely holding the memorial service together. “Lila, I didn’t expect you to be so shameless. “You need to know where to stop with your lies! How could you really joke about my mom’s life!” He yanked at Lila’s collar, his eyes nearly spitting fire. “All these people are my mom’s colleagues and students. What will she do to go back to work or teach after this?” Lila might have been disappointed in Matthew, or perhaps she just didn’t want to ruin my final moments on earth. She tore Matthew’s hand away fiercely and pointed at the urn placed in front of my portrait. With every word, she questioned him, “I’m lying? Evelyn treated me so well. I’d have to be crazy to do so! “Weren’t you busy helping little kittens give birth? Why didn’t you switch careers to be a vet? “How can someone like you, who has no ethics, deserve to be a doctor? You wouldn’t even save your own mother when she was dying! “Just for those few animals, you personally sent your mom to her death!” Her haggard face was stained with tears, and she looked more like someone who had lost a loved one than my own son. Perhaps Lila spoke so sorrowfully that Matthew seemed to believe her words, looking momentarily flustered. But the next second, as he faced the disapproving gazes of all the mourners, it was as if he suddenly remembered something. He snatched the urn placed in front of my portrait. “You’re talking nonsense! My mom has annual check-ups and has never had any serious health issues! “I’m a heart doctor. No one understands her heart health better than I do. “My mom could never have heart disease. Lila, you must be exposed!” Seeing him lift the urn high, Lila visibly panicked. “Don’t! Matthew. Put down Evelyn’s urn!” He looked at the frightened Lila and scoffed, “Are you scared? It seems like it’s just filled with flour to fool people.” Saying this, he hesitated not at all and slammed the urn to the ground. “No!” Lila was terrified, nearly falling apart. She lunged for the urn but still missed it by a hair. The clay urn shattered upon hitting the ground. The last remnants of my existence were scattered everywhere. Gray-white ashes spilled out, blending into the carpet. The room erupted in chaos. I was an intellectual born into a wealthy family. Growing up, I worked hard and lived a respectable life. I had never imagined that my final fate would be having my own son scatter my remains before all the people I knew. I recalled how proudly I spoke about Matthew in the past and suddenly felt utterly ridiculous. At that moment, even as a spirit, I trembled uncontrollably. Lila knelt on the ground, trembling as she tried to gather my ashes, even if it was in vain. Her tears uncontrollably fell into the white ashes as if crying for me. “You are still pretending? With such good acting skills, why don’t you become an actress?” Seeing Lila’s sorrow only deepened Matthew’s disdain. He raised his foot and stomped on my ashes, also stepping on Lila’s hand. “This is just a pile of flour. You wouldn’t think that because you shed a few tears, I would believe your nonsense, would you?” As he spoke, he pressed hard on Lila’s hand. “Lila, you insulted my mother like this. I’ll make you pay!” Just then, the old dean of the college I had worked at finally arrived, leaning on his cane. Seeing this scene, he angrily struck Matthew with his cane. “You wretched boy, how could you not know your mother has passed away? “And you’re causing a scene at her memorial service!” Seeing the highly respected old dean in the academic world, Matthew finally calmed down. He stared in disbelief at the powder beneath his feet and stood there stunned for a moment before saying, “Sir, have you also been bribed by this bitch?” “Nonsense!” the teaching secretary, who was supporting the dean, frowned. “Two days ago, your wife submitted Prof. Luis’ death certificate to us, or we wouldn’t have organized for students and teachers to come to mourn.” “What? A death certificate?” It wasn’t until that moment that Matthew seemed to wake from a dream. He looked incredulously at the room full of mourners, taking a step back and uncontrollably sitting down. “How could this be?” He lowered his head in disbelief, reaching down to touch the powder still marked with his shoe prints. The difference between ashes and flour was obvious. He couldn’t possibly mistake it. “This is my mom’s ashes? “My mom is dead?”
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