A nameless man was dying in the bed of his apartment, alone. The silence of the room was almost oppressive, broken only by the weak, irregular sounds of his breathing, which sounded more like laments than signs of life.
His face was pale and sweaty, and the deep wrinkles now etched on his skin told of a suffering that seemed endless. His eyes, which once reflected some kind of desire or curiosity, were now empty, as if all light had been drained from them, leaving behind only a living corpse.
He tried to move, but his muscles were weak, heavy. He tried to lift his hand, but it no longer responded, as if his body itself had given up on him.
"Is this how it ends?" he thought. "Dying alone, leaving nothing behind but bitter memories?" The pain in his body was unbearable, but the pain of knowing that, deep down, no one cared was what truly suffocated him. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to escape, but all his memories came crashing like a wave, bringing with them more regret, more failure.
His thoughts were confused, clouded, shifting between moments of lucidity and fever-induced delirium. Sometimes, he thought he heard footsteps. Soft, almost imperceptible. As if someone were approaching his door.
"It must be death. She's coming for me now," he thought, trying to accept it. The thought brought no relief—only the certainty that there was nothing left to do.
The pain wasn't just physical. It was a constant, cutting ache that came from within, and he knew it would never end. In his mind, he could see all the moments of his life parading before him. Every betrayal, every mistake, every wrong choice, all blending into what felt like an eternity of regret. And in the end, what did he see? A wasted life.
"Is that it? Was that all? Did I do this to myself?" he thought, feeling anger rise in his chest. But that anger had no target. It was inside him, consuming everything.
The apartment seemed to fade away, the walls blurring in his hazy vision. The room, with its sad walls and timeworn furniture, slowly disappeared as he sank into the bed, swallowed by a darkness that seemed to engulf everything. It was as if nothing else existed, as if his very life was being erased, slowly, with no one around to care or even notice.
And then, the thought returned.
"Will anyone miss me? Will anyone remember me? Or will it be as if I never existed?" He let out a low, humorless laugh. Of course not. No one ever really cared. He had been just another face, another body, another forgotten piece of flesh in the routine of people who never even noticed him.
In his final moments, the anger, like poison, spread through him. Not for anything specific. Not for something he could change now. But for the entire life he hadn't known how to live right. For the wife who betrayed him, for the daughter who never understood him, for the choices he knew he'd never have another chance to fix.
"Unfair. All of this is so unfair," he thought, as the pain intensified. "I deserved more. I deserved a chance."
But there were no more chances. Nothing was left. His body stopped responding, his chest tightened, and he felt that finally, what had long been coming was about to happen. The end. And deep down, he knew: there was nothing more to do. Only to let go. The hate, the rage, the frustration. It would all go away with him.
"Fuck it," he thought, finally surrendering. There was nothing left. Only the end.
The world around him dissolved into complete silence.
And he let go.
---
Suddenly, a soft glow filled the room. He opened his eyes, and an ethereal figure, like a mirage, formed before him. It was a young woman with pink hair that fell in gentle waves to her shoulders, and a white uniform that shone with an almost divine purity. "Am I hallucinating?" he thought, trying to focus his blurred vision. The figure seemed to solidify, becoming clearer with each passing second.
She smiled, a kind and reassuring smile that contrasted with the harshness of the world around him. "Hello," she said, her voice like an angelic song, reverberating through the small room's walls. "I am the Goddess of Reincarnation."
He blinked, confused, his mind struggling to comprehend what was happening. "Am I hallucinating…? Is this real?"
"Yes," she replied, stepping forward, her bare feet almost floating above the floor. "You're on the brink of death, but your time has not yet come."
Before he could protest, the world around him changed. The apartment faded, replaced by an endless garden, full of lush plants and vibrant flowers, each more beautiful and vivid than the last. At the center, a sakura tree stretched to infinity, its petals dancing in the air as if they were alive. He looked around, amazed. "Where am I?"
"This is the Garden of Souls," said the Goddess, appearing by his side as if she had always been there. "It's where souls come before being reincarnated."
He shook his head, trying to process it all. "Reincarnated? Why? My life is over…"
She nodded with understanding, her gaze full of empathy. "Yes, but your karma is good, and your life was full of suffering. You deserve a second chance."
He frowned, the pain and disbelief still on his face. "I don't want another life. I'm still attached to this one. There are things I want to resolve."
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Instantly, images of his life flashed before his eyes. He saw his wife betraying him, the pain and humiliation he felt. He saw the daughter he had raised calling her mother's lover 'dad.' And then he saw all the misfortune and agony that marked his existence, every betrayal, every disappointment, culminating in his lonely and agonizing death.
"This…" A fury welled up inside him, a rage he thought he had overcome. "This is unfair. I want revenge!"
The Goddess shook her head, her expression still serene. "Revenge would corrupt your good karma. But I can offer something better. I will reincarnate you in a world where you will be valued, in a better body, and with all the bad luck of your life reversed."
He hesitated, but the temptation was too great. "And if I accept, everything will be different?"
She nodded, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Yes, you will have a life full of luck and opportunities."
He closed his eyes for a moment, pondering, weighing his options. Then, he opened them with renewed determination. "I promise nothing… but I accept."
The Goddess smiled, and with a gentle gesture, his body began to dissolve into sakura petals. He felt an unfamiliar lightness as his being unraveled, preparing for a new life. The petals surrounded him, swirling in a vortex of colors and fragrances, until he disappeared completely.
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