The Body's Gone

Trent pinched his own icy earlobe. Having it torn apart must hurt, huh? Nine years ago, Eulalia had jumped into the water to save someone, never imagining that the person she saved would be the one to break her family and leave her body scarred, ultimately confining her to a wheelchair, watching as flames consumed her. What a foolish girl, diving into icy waters despite hating the cold.

Her fate was cruel, but she never lost her kindness. She treated others well, yet heaven never treated her the same. If mistaking someone’s character was a sin, it wasn’t one deserving death. Like the stories of the farmer and the snake, or the boy and the wolf, Eulalia and Percival’s tale was a perfect tragic echo.

Percival didn’t deserve death; he deserved a painful life. Death would only tarnish Eulalia’s cycle of rebirth.

Trent, who’d often taken pleasure in tormenting others, never thought his first good deed would involve killing a woman. The original Eulalia wanted to live more than anything, bu