Locked in the Sauna for Refusing Bone Marrow

My parents catered to my every whim.

They always told my older brother to let me have my way.

Whenever relatives sneered, calling me a walking blood bank, my parents would shield me, point at the front door, and tell them to get out.

They would hold me tightly and whisper in my ear.

You and your brother are equally important to us. Don't listen to a word they say.

Until I was eight years old. I grew so tired of the agonizing pain of bone marrow extractions.

I refused to cooperate. I refused to let them take anything else to treat my brother.

My mother, who had never spoken to me with anything but a gentle voice, exploded for the first time in her life.

"If your brother hadn't gotten terminally ill, you wouldn't even exist! You took half the love that was supposed to be his. Can't you even give him this tiny bit of compensation?!"

Without a word, my father pinned me down forcefully on the hospital bed.

"Doctor, ignore her. Just extract it!"

I screamed, cried, and thrashed in excruciating pain.

My mother said I was being too loud.

After the needle was finally pulled out, they dragged me home, locked me inside our basement sauna room, and took my brother back to the hospital.

But they didn't realize the sauna heater was still turned on.

I shoved against the heavy wooden door with everything I had, but it wouldn't budge. My mother had deadbolted it from the outside.

Mommy, Daddy, I know I was wrong. I'm willing to treat my brother.

Please, just don't abandon me.

...

The temperature in the sauna room was steadily rising.

Within minutes, my clothes were soaked in sweat.

From upstairs, I heard the heavy thud of the front door closing.

My parents had already left with my brother.

I threw my entire body weight against the sauna door.

Every time I pushed, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my lower back where the needle had just pierced my bone.

But the door didn't move.

It was locked tight.

The wooden floorboards were getting so hot that blisters started forming on the soles of my feet.

Tears streamed down my face from the sheer pain.

The suffocating heat and the agonizing sting were torturing me to the point of collapse.

Suddenly, I heard the front door open again.

Hope ignited in my chest. Ignoring the searing heat of the floor, I ran to the door, standing on my tiptoes to reach the small glass window near the top.

"Mommy! Daddy! Save me!"

"It hurts so much! I know I was wrong!"

I apologized over and over, slapping my small hands against the glass, praying they would notice me.

Instead, I heard their muffled voices filtering down the stairs.

"I can't believe it. I was so angry I forgot his ID cards. Now we have to make an extra trip."

"The bone marrow has such a short preservation window, and she just had to throw a tantrum and delay everything!"

My father sighed heavily.

He was about to say something else when his eyes caught the glass window of the sauna door.

"Honey, Mina looks like she's crying. Maybe we should let her out."

My mother finally turned her head and looked down the stairs at me.

I quickly forced the brightest smile I could muster.

I was trying to apologize.

I was trying to act sweet, just like I used to.

Before today, whenever I did something wrong, all I had to do was act cute, smile, and say sorry. They always forgave me.

But this time, my smile only made my mother angrier.

She furrowed her brows, glaring at me with raw viciousness.

Her voice echoed down the hall, sharp and furious.

"What kind of look is that? Is that what you call crying?!"

"Look at her! She has zero remorse. She actually has the nerve to smile at me!"

I shook my head frantically.

"No, Mommy, I didn't mean it! I won't do it again!"

But the thick, insulated door swallowed my voice.

All they heard were muffled squeaks. They couldn't make out a single word I was saying.

My mother started walking down the stairs toward the basement.

My heart hammered against my ribs with pure joy.

I thought she had finally forgiven me.

I knew my mommy still loved me. She was just stressed earlier. I knew it!

But she stopped when she was still ten feet away from the door.

She pointed a finger at me and looked back up at my father.

"This door is completely soundproof, and she's still making this much noise. If we let her out and the neighbors hear her screaming, are we going to have to turn around again?"

"What if she throws another fit while Leo is getting his treatment?"

I saw my father hesitating.

I could feel the air in the sauna turning into a furnace.

Panic seized me.

I reached up and grabbed the iron handle on the inside of the door, hoping to pull it down just a fraction of an inch so my voice could slip through the crack.

The second my bare hand clamped around the metal, a layer of my skin instantly seared off.

My vision went black from the agony, and I let out a blood-curdling, desperate scream.

But from the outside, it probably just looked like I was throwing another wild tantrum, exactly as my mother had predicted.

My father looked at me through the glass, then looked at the medical documents in my mother's hand.

"Forget it. Getting Leo treated is the priority right now. We'll sit down and talk some sense into her when we get back."

With that, my father wrapped his arm around my mother's shoulders, and they walked back upstairs.

The slam of the front door shattered the last fragile sliver of hope I had.

I stripped off my clothes, piling them on the scorching floor to create a barrier between the burning wood and my skin.

I curled into a tight ball on top of the pile, hugging my knees to my chest.

"If I stay like this, it won't hurt. If it doesn't hurt, I won't scream."

"As long as I don't cry or make noise, Mommy and Daddy will see how good I'm being when they get back, and they'll let me out."

I whispered the words to myself over and over.

Even as the blistering heat began to roast every single inch of my skin, I bit my lip hard, refusing to let out a single sound.

I don't know how much time passed before my consciousness finally faded to black.

I was woken up by the sound of my parents' voices.

When I opened my eyes, I saw my mother gently placing my brother into his bed.

Her eyes were overflowing with heartbreak.

"Look how pale his sweet little face is. When is this nightmare going to end?"

She carefully tucked the blankets under his chin, softly patting his chest to soothe him.

"If Mina were just a little more understanding... but now she doesn't even want to give a simple marrow extraction to save Leo."

Her voice cracked, thick with choked-back tears.

I ran to my mother's side, throwing my arms around her legs, looking up at her face.

"Don't cry, Mommy! I'm willing to do it!"

"I promise I won't ever complain about the pain again."

But my small hands slipped right through her legs as if she were made of air.

She didn't react. She hadn't heard a single word I said.

My father gently patted her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. He'll get better."

"Honestly, Mina is usually a very good girl. Let's go let her out, sit down, and really talk to her. Maybe she'll finally understand the position we're in."

"I hope so. She's getting older. It's time for her to grow up."

My father turned and headed toward the basement stairs.

I ran ahead and stood directly in his path.

He walked right through me, not even blinking.

I stood there, frozen, staring down at my pale, translucent, glowing hands.

It finally clicked in my mind.

I think... I'm dead.

My father peered through the small glass window of the sauna door.

Because my body was curled up right at the base of the door, it was in his blind spot.

He couldn't see me.

But I could effortlessly step right through the heavy wood.

I looked down and saw it. A tiny, shriveled corpse curled into a ball on a pile of clothes, every single inch of its skin blistered and charred by the steam.

My father turned around and called up the stairs.

"Honey! Mina isn't in the sauna!"

My mother paused, then hurried down the stairs.

"How is that possible? I deadbolted it! There's no way she got out."

She jiggled the heavy iron handle from the outside.

"It's still locked. That brat is definitely hiding in one of the dark corners, trying to scare us."

She slammed her hand hard against the thick wood.

"Mina! You come out right now and apologize to us. If you say you're sorry, we'll forgive you, and you can still be our good little girl."

"But if you want to keep throwing a tantrum, then you can stay in there all night! No dinner, no toys, nothing!"

I practically screamed my apology.

"Mommy! I really know I was wrong! I promise I'll be good and help Leo get better!"

She couldn't hear me.

She and my father just leaned closer to the door, waiting for an answer.

They were met with dead silence.

After a long minute, my mother sneered, her face darkening with fury.

"Fine! You want to be stubborn? Let's see how long you last!"

"I don't know where I went wrong raising you. You used to be such an obedient child!"

"I wash my hands of you!"

I stomped my transparent feet in absolute panic.

Mommy, I already apologized!

I want to be your good girl again!

I want you to love me like you used to!

I really do!

Tears spilled from my eyes, hitting the basement carpet.

But they didn't leave wet spots like they used to.

I watched my parents turn their backs and walk away, and I cried even louder.

But this time, they weren't going to turn around and comfort me.

My mother always had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

That evening, she still cooked my favorite dishsteamed sea bass.

My father scooped a bowl of rice, piled some fish on top, and carried it toward the basement to give it to me.

My mother didn't stop him. She just sat silently at the dining table, carefully picking the tiny bones out of Leo's portion.

My father unlocked the deadbolt and pushed the door open just a crack.

"Mina, come out and eat. Mommy made your favorite steamed sea bass."

The sauna heater was programmed to shut off automatically once it hit its maximum threshold.

After sitting idle for the entire day, the flesh-melting steam had already dissipated.

The air inside was just stiflingly hot and stale.

My father assumed it was just because the room was sealed tight and the central AC couldn't get in. He didn't think twice about it.

When he didn't get an answer, he reached in and flicked on the light switch.

"Mina, Mommy and Daddy need to talk to you about"

He stopped. The small, square room was entirely empty. My body was tucked tightly against the hinge side of the door, completely out of his line of sight.

Panic flickered across his face.

He ran back upstairs.

"Honey! Mina really isn't in there!"

My mother followed him back down the stairs and pushed the door open, but just like my father, she only pushed it halfway.

I floated frantically between them.

"Mommy! Daddy! I'm right here! If you just push the door open a little wider, it will hit me!"

"Or... or just look behind the door! I'm right here!"

I pointed desperately at my own corpse.

They didn't react at all.

My mother frowned and turned to my father.

"Didn't the contractor give us two keys to that deadbolt?"

My father nodded slowly.

"I think so. You have one, and I have the other."

"I used my key all day," my mother said. "Where's yours?"

My father frantically patted down his pockets and checked his leather briefcase.

Nothing.

"That's weird. Where did it go?"

While my father was confused, my mother suddenly looked like she had figured out a grand conspiracy.

"Where do you think it went? Your precious daughter obviously stole it!"

"Remember when we used to play hide-and-seek? She always locked herself in a room. We spoiled her too much, so whenever we couldn't open a door, we just skipped that room. She probably swiped your key back then."

"So all that begging we did through the door this afternoon was completely useless. She already unlocked it, walked right out, and locked it back from the inside to make us think she was still in there."

My mother's voice grew louder and more furious. She pointed at the heavy door.

"Look at how manipulative she is! I literally cannot control her anymore!"

My father tried to rub her shoulders to calm her down, then walked down the hall to my bedroom and knocked hard on the wood.

"Mina, Mommy and Daddy are getting really angry now!"

He pushed the door open. The room was empty.

My mother didn't even bother looking inside. She just turned around and marched upstairs.

"She's running away from home at this age?! Fine! I hope she never comes back. I hope she dies out there in the streets!"

"I am utterly disgusted by her!"

I shook my head violently.

I didn't! I really didn't!

This time, even my father didn't defend me.

That night, my mother sat by Leo's bed, reading him a story to help him sleep.

Leo looked up at her with sleepy eyes.

"Mommy, why are you reading to me so early? Don't you need to go tuck Mina in?"

Knowing my brother was still thinking about me made a tiny spark of warmth bloom in my chest.

Leo was always so good to me. I promised myself I would do everything I could to save him.

But before I could finish the thought, my mother's words dumped ice water over my soul.

"We don't need to worry about her anymore. From now on, I'm pretending I don't have a daughter."

She stayed by Leo's side, patient and gentle, for a very long time.

When his breathing finally grew slow and steady, she reached for the bedside lamp.

I tried to stop her.

I was terrified of the dark. I always felt like monsters were hiding in the pitch black. I never slept with the lights off.

But my transparent hands passed right through the switch, and my mother couldn't hear my pleas.

Normally, she would leave the hallway light on for me.

Tonight, she turned everything off.

I had no choice but to curl into a tiny ball next to Leo's bed, my eyes darting frantically into the shadows, terrified of every creak in the house.

I didn't sleep for a single second.

The next morning, my parents dropped Leo off at school and drove to work.

They had a silent agreement to completely ignore my existence.

It was as if this house was exactly the same whether I was in it or not.

It wasn't until nine o'clock that my homeroom teacher finally called my mother's cell phone.

"Mrs. Evans? Mina isn't in class today. Is she feeling sick?"

My mother slammed her designer pen onto her desk.

She swallowed her rage and offered the teacher a tight, polite apology.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Davis. We had a little disagreement at home last night, and I didn't realize she was throwing such a tantrum that she actually skipped school."

"I understand. I'll find her and make sure she apologizes to you tomorrow."

The second she hung up, she called my father.

"Your daughter is skipping school now! She thinks she's untouchable!"

"Hurry up. You check your parents' house, I'll check mine. We are dragging her home today and teaching her a serious lesson in discipline!"

"She's so selfish! Do you know how much money we burn through for Leo's treatments? And for her clothes and food? If she makes us waste another day of work, I'm taking away her allowance for the entire year!"

They split up and drove to both sets of grandparents' houses.

But nobody was there.

They called the parents of every friend I had ever mentioned.

Everyone said the exact same thing: they hadn't seen me.

The hours bled away, and a whole day passed.

My parents found absolutely nothing.

While my mother was driving to pick Leo up from school, my father called her again.

"Honey, I even checked Chloe's house. There's literally nowhere else to look."

"Do you think... do you think someone grabbed her? Should we call the police?"

My mother opened her mouth. From the shape of her lips, it looked like she was about to say "yes."

Right at that moment, Leo walked out of the school gates.

My mother swallowed the word, waving her hand out the car window.

"Leo! Over here!"

Leo climbed into the backseat, looking at her with bright eyes.

"Mommy, I told my friends at recess that our house is super cool. I told them we have a pool, a playroom, a movie theater, and a sauna!"

"But none of them believed me! They said nobody has that many rooms in their house. Mommy, can I bring them over to show them?"

He grabbed her arm, giving it a little shake.

It was a trick I had taught him.

My mother froze for a second. I don't know if the gesture made her think of me.

But Leo's eager voice quickly pulled her back to reality.

She nodded down at him with a warm smile, then spoke into the phone.

"I got it. We'll talk about it when we get home."

"It's highly unlikely she was kidnapped. We've drilled stranger danger into her head since she was a toddler."

"Leo wants to bring some friends over right now. He misses so much school because of his treatments, it's a miracle he even has friends. We can't ruin this for him. Hurry up and tidy the living room. Cut up some fresh fruit. We need to be good hosts."

My father murmured an agreement and hung up.

I tried to grab my mother's arm. I was terrified the kids would get scared.

But there was absolutely nothing I could do.

Half an hour later, my mother pulled into the driveway with Leo and three of his classmates.

They saw the pool. They played with the arcade machines. They sat in the plush theater seats.

Finally, the group of kids stopped in front of the basement sauna door.

One of the boys looked up.

"I've never been in a real sauna before. Leo, can we try it?"

The second he asked, the other kids started buzzing with excitement, begging to go in.

Leo didn't hesitate. He smiled proudly and hit the digital temperature dial on the wall panel.

Upstairs, my father was arranging a fruit platter while my mother was busy calling the other kids' parents.

She was checking to make sure they were medically cleared for a sauna and letting them know they would be home a little late.

Everyone was busy.

Leo opened the heavy wooden door to check if the room was getting warm yet.

The second he stepped inside, he let out a horrifying scream.