Episode: 5
Morning sunlight reaches Stella's ghost as she watches her dead body slumped over the desk. In the kitchen, Mom bangs pots to lure Stella out with honey biscuits. Emma sniffs outside the bedroom door and tells Mom the room smells foul. Mom yells insults through the door, reminding Stella of past punishments. When Dad notices the heavy stench, he suspects a dead mouse and walks over to turn the bedroom doorknob.
Sunlight pours across Stella's lifeless form at the desk. Her spirit watches from above. Out in the kitchen, Mom prepares honey biscuits and clatters metal cookware. She intends to draw Stella out to beg for breakfast, though Stella has no use for food now.
Dad asks Mom if Stella is still staying inside her bedroom. Mom calls Stella spoiled and stubborn. She tells Dad to stop worrying about their daughter and says Stella can choose whether she wants to eat or stay hungry.
Emma approaches Stella's door, sniffs loudly, and yells for Mom. Emma claims the room smells awful and suggests Stella relieved herself on the carpet. Furious, Mom rushes over and pounds hard on the wood, loudly berating Stella for laziness.
Stella remembers falling ill with a stomach bug as a young child. Mom refused to clean her soiled clothes. Instead, Mom forced Stella to stand out in the street for everyone to see while calling her dirty and shameful.
Mom tells Emma to ignore the terrible smell and leave Stella to choke on it. Dad notices the stench drifting into the living room. Thinking an animal died inside the bedroom, Dad announces he will check the room himself.
Stella's ghost hovers beside Dad in the hallway, pleading for him to open the door. She wants him to see her darkened face and motionless body. Dad rests his paw on the metal handle and starts turning it.
“Stella still not out?”
“Stella! Are you too lazy to walk two steps? The bathroom's right there! Your legs broken? You went in your own room! No self-respect at all, just to spite me!”
“That smell is pretty strong. Let me check. Might be a dead mouse in there.”
“Dad, open it! Look at me! I'm right behind this door. Just turn the handle. You'll see I'm not moving. You'll see my face has gone dark.”
Dad grips the bedroom doorknob and begins turning the handle to search for a dead mouse. Floating beside him, Stella's ghost begs him to look inside and discover her lifeless body on the desk. Will Dad push the door open and finally see the truth, or will something pull him away before he can look inside?