Careless

One day Marylin sees an elderly woman and her granddaughter, Princess, nearly hit by a speeding car and drives them home. She learns that Princess lost her mother and that the grandmother's small income is barely enough to feed them. In Careless, Marylin urges her cautious husband Kelechi to adopt Princess, and the childless couple agrees. The girl is treated as their daughter: Kelechi calls her his princess, Marylin gives her a teddy bear named Lily and sings lullabies, and they share meals even when Princess refuses her food or wants to stay home from school. When Marylin becomes pregnant with a son, she leaves Princess waiting outside school, calls her lazy, mocks her name, and accuses the girl of witchcraft. A cut finger in the kitchen earns Princess a scolding, and when she says she is ill, Marylin refuses to take her to the hospital. Kelechi bandages Princess and comforts her, but Marylin only grows more hostile, saying that Princess bewitched her and is not their child. After Marylin throws Princess out of her room one night, Kelechi takes the girl back to her grandmother, pays the woman, and warns that Princess may not be safe with his pregnant wife. At home Marylin is relieved, then she suffers a fall, and the early image of a woman bleeding on the floor returns as loss and guilt overwhelm her. She talks to Princess's photograph, says she sees the girl in the house, and threatens to kill herself if Kelechi leaves without taking her to Princess, so he gives in. At the grandmother's house Marylin kneels, apologizes, and begs to take Princess home, but the grandmother tells them they are too late. Princess had gone out hawking with friends to help the household, and a driver has knocked her down and run off. The family rushes out and finds Princess motionless in the street, covered in blood. In their grief, Kelechi reminds Marylin how often he begged her to change, and together they mourn the girl, knowing their carelessness cost her life.