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.

Jessica get a few

way over, Jessica had noticed apple vendors lining the street. She'd bought a bunch, and now everyone was holding one, grinning for

social media platform. Vince had picked this date for a reason; now, movie teasers were flooding the internet, and there was even

the campaign, Vince switched on the big screen in their private room. The film channel was running their trailer during

waves, only to fade quickly to

message in a

into a fragile glass bottle. Somewhere, a mother's

scene shifted: a ship, moments before disaster. A pregnant woman in labor, her screams splitting the night as a storm raged outside. Just as the child was about to be born, a monstrous wave hurled the

...

was transfixed, eyes glued to the

the trailer. Daisy watched tears streaming down her face. She'd grown up without a mother, in the film, the boy's mother had given him life at the cost of her own. Yet, she found ways to stay with him, even

drew to a close, 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 stars above had formed a message

closing caption read: "Let the umbilical

the boy's body,

in a Bottle*-coming

knew every beat of the script, but seeing the trailer, so beautifully

and

were

This movie was their silent cry as well.

and it was

reach the world.