My Sister Had 18 Years Left. I Had None

Everyone can see the glowing countdown above Clara's head, marking the year she will die at eighteen. Because of it, Clara is the centre of the family's world, while her twin Chloe is left with the leftovers and the cold words.

On the eve of Clara's eighteenth birthday, the family flies to Aspen to grant her wish to die closest to the sky. Chloe, coughing violently in bed, begs to be taken to a hospital. Her mother tells her to watch the house and asks where the money for her bills would come from. The door locks behind them. Then the pain vanishes, and Chloe finds herself watching her parents feed Clara in a first-class cabin, where Clara alone asks whether any food was left for her sister.

Chloe remembers the dresses only she received ruined, the slap on their tenth birthday, the mechanical pencil Clara pressed into her hand. She realises the blood she coughed onto the floor was her last breath, and that Clara's countdown is gone.