08
“Zephyr, do you like it? I know you don’t, but this is the best revenge I could offer.”
I didn’t expect an answer,
My fingers brushed over the smooth surface of the glamour stool a bittersweet reminder,
“Zephyr, you hate me, don’t you? That’s fine. I don’t mind. You’ll never be able to do anything to me. I live as you do. You’ll remain forever trapped in your little box. That’s the price for betraying me”
As soon as I spoke, a wave of dizziness crashed over me, and I collapsed to the ground. The
e voice returned, hauntingly familiar. “You love him so very much. Transforming him into a glamour stool isn’t out of hate. It’s love.”
I was pregnant, but I didn’t realize it until three months in
Gently, I rubbed my flat belly, wishing for a boy, someone who wouldn’t follow in my footsteps.
My mother seemed to sense my thoughts. “Stop dreaming. We can only have one child in our lifetime, and it’ll have to be a girl.”
Soon after, new customers arrived, two women and a man, brought in by Selene
“Wow, you’ve hired someone! Where did you find this girl? She’s even prettier than your Selene exclaimed, turning to my mother,
“Selene, you don’t recognize me? I’m Lyra!”
Selene circled around me, her eyes sparkling with surprise.
“You’re stunning! More beautiful than your mom! Looks like your glamour stool is quite impressive. Mind if I borrow it for a few days? I’ll pay you.”
I shook my head. “No way. It’s mine.”
With the second glamour stool, I was much more skilled. In just three days, I completed it.
But this man was average, and so was the stool.
Disappointment gnawed at me.
My mother tried to console me. “Your first glamour stool is probably the peak of your life. This second one isn’t bad, though.”
She didn’t tell me that once I was independent, she would be gone.
When I discovered my mother, she was already dead. She had returned to her original state, overweight, short, and unattractive.
Her glamour stool had turned into a puddle of rotting flesh, making me sick to my stomach.
My mother left me a letter filled with her regrets. She had tried to save me, wished for me to have a normal life, but she had falled.
She had also tried to save herself. Countless times, she wanted to rid herself of her glamour stool, but every time the thought crossed her mind, a voice echoed in her head, insisting that she must love him and only love him.
She said that if she couldn’t save herself, I should let things take their course. She hoped I would survive, but she had already found her release. She
13:48 PM
was tired of this disgusting existence.
We were also human, capable of distinguishing good from evil. We knew that bad people were not worthy of love.
Mom truly understood me. Since the moment I turned Zephyr into a glamour stool, I’d been questioning why we had to pass d for over a thousand years
I wanted a normal life. I wanted my child to have a normal life too.
down this twisted craft
I gritted my teeth against the discomfort and went to the hospital for an abortion. If I had no descendants, there would be no one to carry on the craft of making glamour stools
By the time I returned to the mountain, night had fallen.
As I passed the mountain god’s temple, a cold voice echoed in the darkness.
“Lyra, come inside”
I looked around, seeing no one. I thought I was imagining things and turned to continue my path when the voice called out again.
“Come into the temple, Lyra.”
With a flashlight in hand, 1 gathered my courage and stepped into the dark temple.
The towering statue of the mountain god sat imposingly on a stone pedestal. Despite being just a statue, it radiated an unmistakable anger
“Lyra, you have broken our agreement. You have enjoyed my gifts but failed to fulfill your obligations. I shall punish you.”
I glanced around, searching for the source of the voice.
The mountain god spoke again, “You needn’t look. You, a mere mortal, cannot seeme
