章節 11: A second chance to live with no regrets

"Big sister, wake up!"

"Big sister, wake up!!"

"Big sister, wake up!!!"

Huh!? Bella Lim opened her eyes. She looked around and saw a little boy was tugging on the sleeve of her pajamas. That little boy was her precious little pumpkin.

Little pumpkin?

"Little pumpkin!" she woke up and jumped down the bed. She stood a few steps away from little pumpkin who was looking at her in dismay. Her eyelashes flattered several times before she reacted again.

"Oh, merciful God! thank you for letting me see my little pumpkin again," she said and ran to hug the little boy who was still confused with the weird actions of his big sister.

"Little pumpkin, I am glad to see you again. Let big sister looks at you. Good, your cheeks are still plump. Good, good… you're indeed my little pumpkin,"

Bella Lim kept mumbling when suddenly she let go of little pumpkin and ran to her desk.

"20 July 20XX" as she announced the date, her eyes grew big. Bella Lim had a habit of crossing the date in the calendar so that it would be easy for her to tell the date for each day. This habit was ingrained in both her mind and body, therefore, the date next to the latest date that was crossed was supposedly today's date.

"Little pumpkin, what is today's date?" she was still in disbelieve.

"Big sister today is your 21st birthday!" little pumpkin walked closer to his muddled big sister and tugged the edge of her pajamas.

"Hmm?" Bella Lim was still not on her right mind, but she couldn't bear to ignore little pumpkin that was looking at her with his signature pleading look.

"Big sister, are you okay? Can this help you?" little pumpkin said as he held out his left hand with fingers rolled into a ball of cuteness. Then, he revealed the thing that was hidden inside that cute little ball.

There was a tiny bookmark made from fabric on his palm. Seeing the bookmark, Bella Lim couldn't contain her bewilderment as she fell on her knees. There was an unexplainable expression on her face.

That bookmark was little pumpkin's present on her 21st birthday. Her birthday was celebrated on 20 July every year! Therefore, it was true that today was 20 July 20XX!

"Happy birthday, big sister!" little pumpkin's singsong voice rang in Bella Lim's eardrum like a beautiful symphony.

Oh God, I truly was reborn! She wasn't hallucinating!

"Thank you," she said. With a voice that sounded more like a whisper as she once again pulled her little pumpkin into an embrace. Her hug tightened the more she thought of the things she had gone through.

"Little pumpkin, how old are you?" she asked after spending a good amount of time to reminisce her past. Her embrace loosened and now her two hands were rested on little pumpkin's round shoulders.

"I'm six years old. Big sister, are you okay? You look like you lost something precious," little pumpkin said as his tiny fingers patted Bella Lim's head. His eyes were staring at her with worry.

'Yes, I am. I almost lost you,' Bella Lim wanted to tell little pumpkin this sentence, but she also understood that this thing was something she should keep to herself.

"Don't worry, big sister just had a really bad dream last night. That's why I look confused. I thought I lose you," she said. In a sense, what she said was true because her 'death' almost made her lose the opportunity to be with her little pumpkin again.

Thank God. Thank God she was reborn.

"Pumpkin, why are you still in your pajama? You should get ready to school while big sister will get ready to go to work," she asked only to meet her precious little pumpkin squeezing eyes.

"Big sister, have you forgotten? I'm no longer a pre-schooler. I was expelled yesterday because of my fight with Mrs. Ann's son,"

"Also, why are you getting ready to work big sister? Yesterday, we promised to go to Mistcoast theme park,"

Perplexity shone on Bella Lim's face as she heard what little pumpkin was saying. His grumbles were too cute but the things that he said were making her questioned her sanity.

"Mistcoast theme park? Why?" she asked with her eyes dazed to the ground. Mistcoast was the main capital of Azure and one of its landmarks was the Mistcoast theme park. The fee to enter this landmark was a hefty sum. Therefore, it was impossible for her to bring little pumpkin there with only her small salary as a barista.

"Big sister, did you forget again? Yesterday, you told me that today we will celebrate your success at work. Big sister, why do you ask a lot of questions? little pumpkin is tired," little pumpkin pouted. His cheeks puffed as he took a deep breath and released them as if he was letting go of a huge burden.

"Hehe, my cute little pumpkin is really cute when he's mad. Alright, go and take a shower. We are going to Mistcoast theme park after this," Bella Lim said. Her face now returned to normal.

Little pumpkin instantly recovered his earlier liveliness. Then, he urged his big sister to follow him to his bedroom with the reason that he wanted her help to choose a suitable outfit for their outing to Mistcoast theme park.

Bella Lim was smiling from ear to ear as she followed along with the little boy's enthusiastic plan. Then, she went back to her room once little pumpkin entered the bathroom.

She sat on the floor while hugging her knees. At this time, she had a thorough understanding of her situation. She was reborn into her 21 years old's self. The date on the calendar as well as little pumpkin's gift confirmed this fact.

However, if she was 21 years old, little pumpkin should be 4 years old. Moreover, the only time she had brought little pumpkin to Mistcoast theme park was the day after she was promoted as the manager of Simply Café.

So, why?

Bella Lim was truly puzzled by the current predicament she was in. She stood up and wandered aimlessly inside her room until…

"Ahh!" she exclaimed as she smacked on her left thigh.

Bella Lim recalled the entity cloaked in golden light and the things he said: First, you'll bring along your work as the manager of Simply Café in your next life. Second, Ryan Lim will retain his current age as a six years old boy. Third, you'll find out when the time is right...

Tears began to accumulate at the corner of her eyes as she wobbled and slumped onto her bed. Now, everything was making sense.

Bella Lim cried her heart out for she couldn't explain how grateful she was. Her experience seemed to happen only in fantasy, but now she knew that she wasn't dreaming. She was given a second chance.

A second chance to live meaningfully. To live without regret. To avoid committing another grave sin.

"Thank you," she uttered the two words with utmost sincerity.

She walked out of her room and saw little pumpkin walked out of his room; he was already dressed in the attire she had picked earlier. Seeing his big eyes that were looking at her with glee, she felt her soul cleansed into something new. Something more meaningful.

"Little pumpkin, we should live without regret. Okay?" she said with a big smile on her face. Little pumpkin nodded as if he understood what his big sister was saying. Bella Lim giggled as she hugged her precious little pumpkin.

As for those that caused her death, she would think about them later. Furthermore, wasn't she reborn two years before the whole thing occurred? Now that she knew what would happen two years later, she had more than enough time to think of a plan to help Eric Wu handle his problem. Right now she was only thinking about how she could enjoy the rest of the day with a little pumpkin.