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.

snapped several pictures, then helped Jessica get a few group shots

over, Jessica had noticed apple vendors lining the street. She'd bought a bunch,

date for a reason; now, movie

on the big screen in their private

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, each letter tapping out with the rhythm

a message in a bottle, can you hear the silent

lay sprawled on a beach as waves crashed over him. The umbilical cord snaked from his abdomen, twisting into a fragile glass bottle. Somewhere, a mother's agonized cries in the throes of childbirth seemed to threaten the

splitting the night as a storm raged outside. Just as the child was

...

eyes glued to the

moments flashed across 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

a brilliant starry sky. The deaf boy tipped his head back, and in the silence, it was as if

"Let the umbilical cord connect

cord emerged from the boy's

message: *Message in

the script, but seeing the trailer, so beautifully

Carlisle and

were

at their eyes. This movie was

was

reach the world.