For a moment, Cora’s mind was a blank slate as she watched the shredded paper flutter to the ground.

Kaelen looked at her, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust.

“I told you, if you curse Nell again, we’re getting a divorce. Cora, I’m going to file the papers right now!”

With that, he got in the Jeep with Cheryl and Shauna and drove away.

The vehicle sped past Cora, kicking up a gust of wind.

Cora snapped back to her senses and frantically started gathering the scraps of paper from the ground.

But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t piece them back together.

She thought about everything that had happened, staring at the torn cremation form in her hands.

It felt as if her own heart had been ripped into pieces, each beat a sharp, agonizing pain.

The street seemed to echo with her mournful sobs…

Finally, a shop owner couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He came over and helped her up. “Ma’am, please, don’t cry.”

Cora could only whimper through her tears, unable to form words. A single thought consumed her.

*My Nellie. What’s going to happen to my Nellie?*

She clutched the pile of scraps and ran toward the clinic.

As she entered, she ran right into Luke, who was just finishing his rounds.

He saw her and asked quickly, “Cora, did you get the cremation form signed…”

His words trailed off as he noticed the shredded paper in her hands. His face fell. “What happened?”

Cora fought back tears, her voice frantic. “Luke, is there any other way?”

The moment she saw the hesitation on his face, Cora fell to her knees.

“Luke, I’m begging you. My Nellie is so young. She can’t have no place to rest even in death!”

Luke was shocked and quickly pulled her up. He hesitated for a long moment before saying, “I have a friend… who does this kind of work.”

“But… you’ll have to collect the ashes yourself.”

Cora nodded without a second’s hesitation. “I don’t care. As long as Nell can rest in peace, I’ll do anything.”

Luke nodded. “Okay. Let’s go get her now.”

When Cora lifted Nell’s stiff body from the drawer, the cold seeped into her bones, making her ache all over.

But she gritted her teeth, grabbed the cold storage receipt, covered Nell with her coat, and left the hospital with Luke.

And Kaelen, who had come back to see Nell, saw the whole thing.

He watched Cora leave, holding a child-sized bundle, a sneer playing on his lips. Then he turned the Jeep around and drove away without a second thought.

…

Half an hour later, Cora placed Nell on the cremation platform. The tears she’d been holding back finally fell.

She bit her lip hard to stifle her sobs, carefully braiding Nell’s hair into the pigtails she had loved so much.

“Be a good girl, Nellie. In your next life, find a better family. Don’t come looking for me.”

Luke stood by, his own nose stinging with emotion. “Cora, it’s time.”

Cora nodded gently and slowly pushed the platform into the flames.

As the fire consumed her daughter, piece by piece, she felt something being ripped from her own body, a pain that was sharp and all-consuming.

She stood before the incinerator for two full hours before she heard a final ‘click’.

Cora took the urn and walked to the pile of still-hot ashes. Without hesitation, she reached her hands into them.

“Cora!”

But she seemed to feel no pain, letting her hands blister as she carefully sifted through the remains.

One piece of bone, then another. A scoop of ash, then another… until the small box was full.

Cora clutched the box to her chest and said in a low voice, “Luke, I’m taking Nell home now.”

Before he could say anything, she turned and walked out like a ghost.

By the time she pushed open the gate to her yard, the moon was high in the sky.

And she saw Kaelen, sitting in the living room with a face like thunder.

He looked at her, his expression blank. “What are you holding?”

Cora smiled, a desolate, broken thing. “I’ve had Nell cremated. These are her ashes.”

Kaelen’s pupils contracted. He strode forward.

“Cora, Nell isn’t dead! How long are you going to keep up this act?!”

“Bringing something so morbid into this house, aren’t you afraid of cursing Nell’s life?”

When Cora didn’t answer, his eyes blazed with fury. He snatched the box from her hands.

Before she could react, he smashed it onto the ground with all his might.

“Cora, I told you to stop pretending!”

The small urn shattered on the floor, dust and ashes flying everywhere.

In that instant, Cora thought she heard a child’s sobbing voice—

“Mommy, it hurts so much!”