The daughter-in-law did not let her mother-in-law turn on the air conditioner because she was afraid of wasting electricity. Suddenly one sunny day, the whole neighborhood noticed a foul smell coming from the house.

The daughter-in-law forbade her mother-in-law from turning on the air conditioner in 40-degree weather for fear of wasting electricity — until one scorching hot day, the whole neighborhood was stunned by the foul smell coming from the house and the scene behind the half-open gate haunted everyone…

“I’m old, sitting with a fan is better, why turn on the air conditioner and waste electricity?” – is what my daughter-in-law says every time she sees me reaching for the remote control.

I live quietly in a small room at the back of the house, without windows.
Occasionally, my grandson comes in, gives me an old mini fan, and says:

“You’re patient, it’s hot every summer.”

I said nothing. I was used to it. I
just thought to myself:  I’ll just live a few more years…

Then came the fateful day – a scorching hot 41 degree day in mid-June.

People in the neighborhood who passed by covered their noses.
There was a strong smell coming from the house I lived in  : fishy, rancid, like burnt flesh mixed with corpses.

Some thought it was a dead rat. Some thought it was a clogged drain.
An old lady next door peeked through the crack in the gate —  and collapsed right away.

The police broke down the door.
A small room at the back of the house opened… on the hot brick floor, was  the old woman’s body curled up, her skin dry and wrinkled, purple from heat shock, next to a mini fan that had stopped spinning.

In the old lady’s hand was…  the air conditioner remote.
The battery indicator was flashing — she tried to turn it on, but the air conditioner was unplugged.

In his pocket, people found a small piece of paper, with shaky handwriting scribbled:

“I’m sorry if I’m bothering you guys…
But I’m so tired. It’s so hot. I just want to breathe easier…”

“The mother who cooked for her children all her life ended up suffocating in her own house – because of a remote control click.”