Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Did someone just send her a Christmas Eve gift?

Herbert.

It had to be him. Again.

Timothy grabbed his phone and called Secretary Allen.

"Go buy 999 gift-wrapped apples and have them delivered to The Gilded Whisper Estates. And arrange for a Christmas tree."

He hung up before Allen could respond.

Timothy picked up the apple sitting on the vanity, meaning to toss it into the trash -but after a moment's hesitation, he set it back down. The last time he'd pretended to throw away that necklace Herbert gave her, she'd been furious. Why was he getting so worked up over an apple anyway?

Was she out to dinner with Herbert again tonight?

Agitated, Timothy pulled out his phone and dialed Jessica.

Meanwhile, Jessica had already bought the gold-plated cutlery and bowls. Carlisle and his crew-five key members in all-were present to witness her officially naming Daisy as her goddaughter.

Just as her phone buzzed with Timothy's call, Jessica glanced at the screen and muted it, choosing not to answer.

Vince beamed at her. "Hey, why don't I take a photo of you and Daisy to commemorate the occasion?"

"Great idea,” Jessica replied.

then helped Jessica get a

vendors lining the street. She'd bought a bunch, and now everyone was holding one, grinning for the

picked this date for a reason; now, movie teasers were flooding the internet, and there

the big screen in their private room. The

just in time to catch the start: the screen exploded in a wash of deep-blue waves, only to fade quickly to black. Over the sound of surging tides, words appeared,

becomes a message in a bottle, can you hear the silent

boy lay sprawled on a beach as waves crashed over him. The umbilical cord snaked from his abdomen, twisting into a fragile glass

in labor, her screams splitting the night as a storm raged outside. Just as the child

...

transfixed, eyes glued to the

the film, the boy's mother had given him life at the

all the glass bottle umbilical cords exploded into a brilliant starry sky. The deaf boy tipped his head back, and in the silence, it was as if he could see that the

umbilical

a cord emerged from the boy's body, alive once

in

knew every beat of the script, but seeing the trailer, so beautifully crafted, moved her deeply. The rest of

and

were

their eyes. This movie was their silent cry

it was

reach the world.