When I woke up, it was dark outside. I looked to the side and saw my mother sleeping next to me, sitting in a chair. I smiled and tried to say something, but I couldn't. Because of that, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
No matter how hard I tried, not a single complete word would come out of my mouth.
'What did I do to deserve this?' My past life was a mess, but after being given a second chance, I end up with a sick body. I was given a system and special abilities, right? So why didn't they take care of this cancer for me? Couldn't God have done that?
I looked out the window, feeling disappointed.
'At least the tumor was removed and I'm not at any risk anymore. At least that's what the doctor said.'
I pulled the white blanket off my body and sat on the edge of the bed.
I looked at my mother again and smiled.
'Her neck is going to hurt if she keeps that position.'
I jumped off the bed, which wasn't low, and tried to stand. But as soon as I hit the ground, my legs gave out and I fell on my butt.
"Ouch!" I shouted instinctively.
"Kyo!?" My mother woke up, her eyes wide. She saw me on the floor and rushed over to pick me up. "Are you okay? Did you fall off the bed!?"
Since I couldn't speak, I shook my head, denying it.
"Did you try to stand up?" she asked calmly, and I nodded.
"You can't stand yet, your body is still very weak. You need to wait a few days, okay?" I nodded again, and my mother placed me back on the bed. I stared at her in silence for a few seconds, and she smiled.
"What is it? Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?"
"…" I shook my head.
"I see, you're not sleepy, are you? But it's really late, you know?" My mother picked up her phone, and I saw it was already past 3 a.m. "What is it? What do you want?" I started pointing at her phone, and she handed it to me.
Then I created a text file on her iPhone and wrote:
[I can't speak at all. It's probably because of what happened to my head. I would like a phone or a notebook so I can write.]
I showed it to her, and as soon as she finished reading, she let out a soft laugh. "Hahaha, so that's it. Wait here a moment."
My mother went to her bag, then took out a notebook with several pages and a pen and handed them to me. She knows I'm very smart for my age and that I can write.
I opened the first page of the notebook and wrote:
[Where is Dad?]
"Dad is at home resting. He has to work in the morning."
[Don't you have to work too? You work from home, right?]
"Don't worry, my notebook is in my bag, I can work using it. Besides, my boss gave me a few days off to take care of you!"
[I see.]
"Hahaha."
[What are you laughing at?]
"It's fun talking to you like this. It's amazing that you can write so well at such a young age. Your handwriting is even prettier than mine. Here, let me show you~~" My mother took the notebook and started writing.
[Kyo, Mommy loves you very much. Get better soon, okay?]
Reading her message, tears instinctively welled up in my eyes.
Does someone like me really deserve such a good mother?
####
The days passed, and I was finally ready to leave the hospital. Over the past few days, I improved my diet, did some physical therapy, and also had an appointment with a speech therapist.
The movements of my body are great, but I still can't speak. In fact, I haven't improved at all.
Whenever I need to talk to my mom or dad, I use my notebook, which is filling up quickly. I admit I've always liked writing a lot—I even had a diary in the past.
Even if I didn't have much to write…
And after three more days, I was finally discharged from the hospital.
Now, with my head shaved and a large scar on it, people looked at me with pity. I smiled bitterly as I walked through the hospital corridors.
My mother placed her hand on my head and said,
"Don't think too much about it. Your hair will grow back soon, okay? And you're still handsome, don't let this affect you."
I smiled at her and nodded.
As soon as we got outside the hospital, my father was waiting by the car. When he saw me, he gave a big smile and grabbed me under my arms, lifting me into the air.
"How are you doing, champ?"
Since I couldn't answer, I just smiled and nodded.
After giving me a hug, I got into the back seat of the car, and we started driving through the streets of Tokyo.
A few minutes later, we arrived home.
'I missed this place.' Today is March 24, 2026. How long was I in the hospital? I don't remember exactly, probably almost a whole month.
So much so that my hair has already grown a bit.
As soon as I entered the house, I went straight to the living room sofa and sat down. I grabbed the remote and opened Netflix.
'There are so many episodes of shows to watch! They even released a new series!' With sparkling eyes, I started playing an episode of a series called "True Love." My mother, seeing this, just smiled bitterly.
I thought she would stop me, but she didn't.
After a few minutes, my mother asked what I wanted to eat, and I wrote in the notebook that I wanted fried chicken, since it had been a long time since I had eaten it.
"Just for today, okay?"
I nodded and went back to paying attention to the episode.
I didn't even notice time passing, and when I realized it, it was already time to sleep.