Cured Mom's Selective Hearing With My Life

Mom's hearing comes and goes. She never hears me when I tell her I want to buy a new pair of shoes because my old pair has a hole. But when my sister, Stella Woodson, mentions that she wants to eat a birthday cake, she immediately gives me some money and tells me to run through the rain to buy one. Only two shrimps are left on the table. I carefully ask if I can have one. The next second, Mom peels both shrimps and puts them on Stella's plate. She then turns to me with a confused expression, asking, "Did you say something, Luna? I didn't hear you." I hang my head in embarrassment and push the mashed potatoes around on my plate, mumbling that I didn't say anything. Later, Mom makes plans to take Stella to Destinyland to enjoy the night scenery. My body aches terribly. I carefully tug on Mom's sleeve and say, "I'm in a lot of pain, Mom." Mom gives me her usual response. "What did you say, Luna? I didn't hear you." She impatiently swats my hand away before I can get another word in, saying, "Stella and I are leaving now to handle some urgent business. Behave yourself while you're home alone." Chapter 1 Luna's POV The door slammed shut with a loud bang. Mom left the house, taking my sister, Stella Woodson, who was dressed up like a beautiful princess, with her. I bit my lips until they turned raw and bloody. However, I still wasn't able to suppress the twisting pain in my stomach. I thought about how Mom always used to tell me to drink warm water when I was feeling sick. Powering through the pain, I prepared some warm water for myself. It didn't take long for the water to warm up. I let out a gasp and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood after taking just a small sip. My blood stained the rabbit carpet in front of Stella's door. I hastily fell to my knees and frantically tried to clean it. Last week, I accidentally tripped over a chair while carrying the dishes out of the kitchen. A few drops of oil splashed out of the plate and splattered across the carpet in front of Stella's room. Stella immediately let out a shriek and darted forward to shove me to the floor. Stars exploded in my vision when I hit the floor. Bruises bloomed on my arms and legs from the impact. The piping-hot oil and vegetables spilled all over me, and blisters swelled on my hands within seconds. However, I didn't care that I was in pain. Instead, my first instinct was to apologize and explain myself. "I'm sorry, Stella. I tripped over the chair…" Mom rushed out of the kitchen when she heard the commotion. Stella immediately fixed a pitiful expression on her face, saying, "Luna dirtied my carpet, Mom. This is my favorite one." Panic gripped my heart as I rushed to explain myself. "I didn't do it on purpose, Mom. I tripped over the chair…" However, Mom's hearing seemed to have stopped working again. She didn't hear my explanation or notice my wounds. She could only see and hear Stella's pitiful crying. Mom pulled Stella into her arms and comforted her gently. Meanwhile, her eyes were cold and full of disdain when she looked at me. I stood rooted to the spot. My voice became smaller and smaller even as I tried to explain myself. Mom seemed to become completely deaf to my voice for the next three days. In the morning, she went to Stella's room to gently wake her up and prepared breakfast for her. I trailed behind her, carefully asking, "What about my breakfast, Mom?" Mom didn't react at all as she meticulously packed Stella's bag. It seemed that she hadn't heard me. Stella leaped up from her seat at the dining table in the next second, exclaiming, "I'm done eating, Mom! Let's go!" It was quite strange. Mom couldn't hear me just a few seconds ago. However, her hearing was miraculously restored at that moment. She smiled and said, "Okay. I'll be ready soon." I didn't dare say another word as I held my growling stomach. I silently picked up my bag that had several holes in it and trailed behind them out of the door. Mom ushered Stella into the car when we arrived at the underground parking lot. She then slipped into the driver's seat and immediately locked the door. I pulled the door handle, panicking when it didn't budge. I slapped my hands against the car's windows and frantically yelled, "I haven't gotten into the car yet, Mom! You're going to leave me behind again!" But Mom's ears seemed to have stopped working again. She didn't hear me. The car sped away. I stumbled over my feet as I ran after it, shouting, "Wait for me, Mom!" Mom didn't hear me, leaving a cloud of exhaust to wash over me. I fell down and knocked my forehead against the floor, causing it to bleed. I could only watch as the car zoomed off into the distance. My figure in the rearview mirror became smaller and smaller. Chapter 2 Luna's POV I crawled to my feet and silently patted the dirt from my clothes. My eyes were stinging terribly, but I did everything that I could to hold back my tears, not daring to let them fall. Mom once told me that I was incredibly irritating and looked hideous when I cried. She already had a hard time hearing my voice. I didn't want to give her the impression that I was an annoying crybaby. I only made it to school after walking for over an hour. When school ended, I stuck close behind Stella the whole time because I was scared Mom would leave me behind again. On the way home, Mom gently asked Stella how her day was in school. Eventually, Stella got bored of describing her day. She turned her head away and stopped responding to Mom. My eyes lit up. I carefully said, "My teacher praised me today, Mom. I also received a certificate for being a model student." But Mom's ears seemed to stop working again. My voice was the only one in the car In the end, Stella snapped, "Shut up, Luna! You're being so annoying!" Only then did Mom speak again. "Be quiet, Luna. Don't bother your sister." I blinked, feeling stunned. Was Mom's hearing working again? I wondered if she heard what I told her earlier. I was just about to ask her when I remembered that she had just told me to be quiet. I immediately zipped my mouth shut. I basked in happiness the entire car ride because Mom had finally spoken to me. But when we made it back home, I seemed to become invisible again. Mom didn't call me for dinner, for bedtime stories, or for any of the time we usually spent together. For three days, she ignored every word I said, refusing to speak to me unless she had to. I finally realized what the problem was when Stella walked in and pouted at the three drops of oil on her carpet. I didn't sleep that night as I searched online for different ways to clean the carpet. Finally, I managed to clean the oil stains. The next day, I had dark bags under my eyes. I ran up to Mom, excited, and exclaimed, "I've cleaned the oil stains on Stella's carpet, Mom." Mom finally responded this time. She looked at the clean carpet, raised her hand, and ruffled my hair. She finally smiled and said, "You're amazing, Luna." I looked up proudly. The exhaustion from lack of sleep seemed to disappear in that moment. … Fear surged back the moment my thoughts returned to the present. Last time, three drops of oil on the carpet meant three days of silence. Now that I'd spat an entire mouthful of blood onto it, was Mom going to ignore me for the rest of my life? Panic gripped my heart at the thought, and my body felt even worse as the terror spiked. In the end, I couldn't even wipe the blood off the carpet before I retched up another mouthful, this time mixed with something dark and filthy. At that point, it was impossible to clean the carpet. I was frozen to the spot, feeling cold all over. Shockingly, the chilly sensation even overpowered the pain in an instant. Chapter 3 Luna's POV I hesitated for a long time before slowly returning to my room while leaning against the wall. My room was converted from a small storage room. It was vastly different from Stella's room that got plenty of sunlight and lots of plants. I didn't have any windows in my room. I even had trouble turning around because of how cramped it was. I searched around in the dark for a long time before pulling out a wooden box from under the deepest part of the bed. I fondly ran my fingers across it for a long time before placing it on the bedside table. I then took out my diary and switched on the small night light that Stella had tossed out. I wrote a few sentences under the dim light. My body seemed to have reached its limit after I was done. Strangely, my stomach had stopped hurting. I touched my stomach, feeling a little pleased. I silently thanked Mom in my heart. As expected, Mom had been right. I just had to drink some warm water when I was feeling ill to feel better. Feeling a little sleepy, I tucked myself into bed and wrapped the blanket around myself after yawning a few times. My consciousness began to fade. I wanted to sleep for a little while. I would do the things that I wrote in the diary tomorrow. I felt like I slept for a long time, but at the same time, I also felt like I had just blinked. My body felt light as if it was going to float above the clouds at any second. I was a little shocked but also intrigued. I controlled my body, making myself float up and down continuously. "I can pretend that I'm on a roller-coaster, Mom!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my excitement. "So, this is what it feels like to ride a roller-coaster!" Mom had bought an annual pass at a nearby amusement park. There was a huge roller-coaster there. Both my classmates and Stella loved it. Mom took Stella to the amusement park every weekend. I wanted to ride the roller-coaster too, but she never seemed to be able to hear my wish. Although we had visited the amusement park 32 times, I had never ridden the roller-coaster even once. I had to share the good news with Mom as soon as possible. However, I couldn't be sure if Mom would be able to hear me this time. My body began to float up uncontrollably the moment the thought took root in my mind. I arrived at a very beautiful place in the blink of an eye. I felt a little scared and wanted to hide, but my eyes lit up in the next second. I had spotted Mom and Stella. Stella was interacting with a gorgeous mascot, while Mom was smiling and snapping photos of her. I excitedly floated toward them and waved at Mom. "Look at me, Mom! I've learned how to fly!" Mom didn't hear me as usual. I didn't find it strange since I had already gotten used to it. She smiled as she scrolled through her photo album. I floated behind Mom and curiously took a peek. Her photo album was filled with Stella's photos. There were photos of her eating, sleeping, doing her homework, and playing. She looked as beautiful as a princess in the photos that Mom took of her. I was filled with anticipation as Mom scrolled through her photos, hoping to see a photo of myself. However, I didn't see any. There were 7,321 photos in Mom's album. 7,000 of them were of Stella. The remaining 321 were group photos of Mom and Stella. My excitement faded as a heavy feeling weighed down my heart. A long moment passed before I bit my lip and carefully said, "You've never taken a photo of me, Mom. Can you take one of me too?" Mom lifted her phone in the next second. I was pleasantly surprised that she was actually acquiescing to my request and frantically made myself look presentable. If I had known that Mom would be able to hear me that day, I would have worn the most beautiful dress in my closet. I had used the money that my elders gave me during New Year to exchange it for a dress that Stella didn't want. I should have fixed my hair too and worn the pink hair clip. Although Stella had only given it to me after two of the flowers fell off, it was the prettiest hair clip I owned. I focused on making myself look presentable even as I felt a little vexed. I then fixed a wide smile on my face and held up a silly-looking victory sign. However, my smile stiffened on my face in the next second. Chapter 4 Luna's POV Mom had raised her phone, but it wasn't aimed at me. Instead, she was aiming it at Stella. "You look so pretty, my dear Stella. Do another pose. That's right. It's no wonder you're my daughter," she said. A long time passed before I slowly floated behind Stella as Mom continued to shower her with praise. I tried a few times, but I couldn't bring myself to smile as wide as before. In the end, I just looked at the camera and held up a peace sign. Mom snapped the photo. Tears spilled down my face even though I was smiling. My voice sounded light even to my own ears as I mumbled, "This is still the first time that you're taking a photo of me, Mom." Unfortunately, although it was the only time that she had taken a photo of me, I didn't show up in the photo. I silently floated behind Mom and Stella, watching as they tried different games and rides that I hadn't seen before. The huge clock tower in the middle of the amusement park kept ticking. Finally, when the clock struck 12, fireworks exploded in the sky. Mom kissed Stella's cheek as the fireworks exploded overhead. I just watched them this time. I didn't try to move closer like I would in the past, vaguely realizing that I seemed to have died. In the past, Mom was the only one whose hearing seemed to be faulty. Everyone else could still hear my voice. However, at that moment, it seemed that no one could hear me. My mind spun, but my body was drawn to Mom against my will. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to. When the fireworks show ended, Mom and Stella walked past a shoe shop that was having a sale. Mom suddenly halted her footsteps. Stella stumbled a little when Mom suddenly stopped walking. She pouted in displeasure and asked, "What are you doing, Mom? Why did you suddenly stop walking?" Mom hesitated for a moment before asking, "Why don't we buy a pair of leather shoes for Luna? I think she mentioned several times that there are holes in her shoes. We could buy a pair of shoes for her to compensate her. "If not, she's going to make that face—the one that says the whole world owes her—if she finds out that I took you out to play by yourself." Stella bit into her popsicle. She frowned impatiently upon hearing Mom's words, saying, "No need for that. It's not the first time we've left her at home and gone out to have fun by ourselves. She would have caused a fuss a long time ago if she wanted to. "Besides, you can just pretend to be deaf just like before if she does question you. She's a fool anyway. You've lied to her for so many years that she actually believes that there's something wrong with your hearing!" Mom's expression suddenly stiffened. I blinked and also froze on the spot. Chapter 5 Luna's POV A long time passed before I finally processed Stella's words. Was that so? So, there was nothing wrong with Mom's hearing at all! It turned out that she could hear my voice and everything I said for all those years. It was just that, from her perspective, I wasn't just insignificant air to her after all! My nose stung as tears streamed down my face. However, I reflexively didn't make a sound even when I cried. I had grown used to staying silent whenever I cried for years. It was because Mom couldn't hear how upset I was, couldn't hear my explanations, and couldn't hear my careful pleading. Thus, she also couldn't hear my cries. I tilted my head back, wanting to force my tears back into my eyes. However, they still spilled from the corners of my eyes. I could vaguely see the clouds blocking the moon in the inky sky through my blurry vision. Meanwhile, back on the ground, Mom stiffly ushered Stella into the car. She then retraced her steps back to the shoe shop. She crouched down and deliberated for a long time before finally picking up a pair of leather shoes with gold buttons. When she paid for the shoes, the shopkeeper cheerfully asked, "Are you buying these for your daughter who was with you just now?" Mom was briefly stunned. A few moments passed before she quietly shook her head. "No. I'm buying them for my younger daughter," she replied softly. "So, you have another daughter. Why didn't you bring her along to play today?" the shopkeeper asked, looking surprised. Mom fell silent for a long time, but in the end, she wasn't able to answer his question. After the shopkeeper packed the shoes, he smiled and said, "But it must be wonderful to be your daughter. The way your elder daughter was dressed just now made her look as pretty as a princess. You must treat your younger daughter very well too. These shoes will be a good match for her." Mom couldn't keep the smile on her face anymore upon hearing his words. I looked down at myself. Loose threads hung from my dress, and the fabric was pilling. There was a hole in my shoe where my big toe was. My hair was dry and frizzy, and my nails were uneven. My malnourished body was also thin and small. Every part of my appearance was completely different compared to Stella, who was beautiful and elegant. If both of us were princesses, she would be the most beautiful one, while I would just be an average-looking one at most. … The car hummed to life and began to drive back home. I phased through the car and lightly floated onto the backseat. Being dead had its perks. At least I no longer had to chase after the car now that I was dead. I also didn't need to worry about being left behind because Mom couldn't hear me. Mom was especially quiet during the car ride home. In the past, she would respond to every word that Stella said. However, at that moment, she seemed a little distracted. When the car stopped at the final traffic light before the house, she suddenly asked, "Stella, do you think that I crossed the line with the way I treated Luna?" "I don't think so," Stella answered flippantly. "Luna's mentally strong. She didn't even get angry or retaliate when the people at school called her a wild child who nobody cared about. She also didn't break down when they intentionally pulled her hair, flipped her skirt, and scratched her arms." Mom whipped her head around to look at Stella. Her tone was dripping with disbelief when she raised her voice and demanded, "What did you say? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Stella jolted. It was most likely because Mom had never treated her that way. "S-Shouldn't you know about all of this, Mom?" she stammered. "Luna's homeroom teacher looked for you. I thought that you just didn't care." I also felt a little dazed as I recalled what happened. Mom had rushed to the school after my skirt was ripped, and my face was badly beaten. However, she received a call that summoned her away before she could even take a single step into the office. I called out to her from behind her, but her hearing wasn't working again. She didn't hear me as she hurried away. I only found out what happened when I returned home that night. Mom had received a call from Stella's homeroom teacher. After she heard that Stella had developed a mild fever, she immediately picked Stella up and rushed her to the hospital. The bullying intensified after that incident. All of the other students' parents had shown up to support their child. I was the only one who was all alone from the beginning till the end. The car finally slowed to a stop in front of the house. Mom stumbled out of the car and impatiently strode into the house. She stood in front of my door, clutching the shoes to her chest. She took a few deep breaths before finally pressing down on the handle with a shaking hand. She quietly padded over to my bed, speaking to me in a gentle tone for the first time in my life. "Are you asleep, Luna? I brought a present for you." The body that I had left behind on my bed didn't respond. A long moment passed before Mom gently sat on the edge of the bed. She pulled the blanket down, wanting to touch my face. "Why did you cover your head even when you're sleeping? What if it gets too hot—" The rest of Mom's words died on her tongue in the next second. She had noticed the flecks of blood that still hadn't dried, staining the corner of my lips. My face was also deathly pale, without a hint of color.