The sunlight hit his eyes, warm and golden.
He blinked slowly, half expecting to wake up back in that cold, dying room.
But no — this was real.
The air smelled fresh, the birds were singing outside, and somewhere in the house he could hear a woman's voice calling,
> "Breakfast's ready!"
His heart skipped.
That voice…
It was his mother's.
He froze, trying to process it. The last time he'd heard that voice was twenty-five years ago — right before she died.
His throat tightened.
He wanted to run out, hug her, cry, scream — but instead, he sat there, shaking.
> "This isn't a dream," he whispered again.
"This is my past. My real, living past."
He walked to the mirror.
A young face stared back.
No wrinkles. No tired eyes. No sickness.
The same man who once wasted his youth — now standing with the wisdom of his future.
He clenched his fist.
> "I got another chance. A real one."
He sat on the bed for a long moment, thinking.
His old life flashed before his eyes — poverty, anger, laziness, wrong friends, and all the "tomorrows" that never came.
He had promised himself thousands of times that he would change… but never did.
Now he didn't just have a reason — he had proof.
Life had given him back his breath.
> "This time," he whispered, "I won't live like a fool."
He opened the small notebook beside the bed — the one he used to doodle in.
He tore out the old pages and wrote in bold letters:
NEW LIFE GOALS
1. Build knowledge — Learn from books, not from failure.
2. Build health — Without a strong body, no dream can survive.
3. Remove garbage from the world — both literal and mental.
4. Create wealth, not excuses.
He looked at the list and smiled faintly.
The words weren't perfect — but the intent was pure.
Downstairs, his mother called again.
> "Come on, you'll be late!"
He took one last deep breath.
That single breath carried all the pain of his past — and all the hope of his future.
> "Alright, Ma," he said softly.
"I'm coming."
For the first time in decades, he smiled — not because he was happy, but because he finally believed that he could be.