A Responsible Sister


簡瑜蓓

            It is often complained that people lack a sense of responsibility these days.  But, you know something, sometimes a strong sense of responsibility can be a terrible thing.

Once there was a happy family made up of the parents and two little daughters.  One day the couple had to go out of town, so they urged their daughters to stay in their bedroom upstairs and not to go downstairs even if there was any strange noise.  「We won』t come back until tomorrow morning,」 said the parents.

That night, there were strange noises downstairs.  The elder sister told the younger one to stay in the bedroom.  「I am going to check out what the noise is,」 said the elder sister.  She went out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her.  Suddenly, there was the sound of something rolling down the stairs.  Not knowing what the sound was, the younger sister stayed in the room in fear.

The night seemed particularly long.  The next morning the couple finally arrived home.  As soon as they opened the door, they saw their house was a mess.  Somebody must have broken into their house the night before.  They hurried upstairs to find their dear daughters, wondering if they were safe.  Shriek!  They found their elder daughter』s head at the landing!  They nearly fainted.  Rushing upstairs, they opened the bedroom door and looked for the younger daughter.  The sight almost drove them crazy!  The younger daughter looked pale with fright; she had gone out of her mind.  And her sister』s headless body, still bleeding at the neck, was holding her tightly as if to protect her. 

It was later learned that a thief did break into their house and had cut off the elder daughter』s head as she came out of the bedroom.

Is responsibility always good?  Judging from the story, I cannot help but doubt its greatness.

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