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Slowly, you fluttered your eyes open, awoken by the soft crackling of a fire not too far away.
'The hell?'
Brows furrowed, you carefully sat up, some of your hair falling to shade your face.
"How did I—?"
Like a freight train, you were suddenly hit with the events of the past few hours, a sharp gasp ripping from your throat as your hand quickly came to grasp your stomach, only to find that its giant, gaping hole was gone.
Rapidly, your chest began to rise and fall, confusion and panic settling into your bones.
Where were you?
What happened?
Were you dead?
Were you alive?
Who brought you here?
'I'm scared...'
"Hey, hey, hey, take it easy there," a painfully familiar voice assured, resting a hand on your shoulder. "Everything's alright, kid... you're safe now."
Your heart, even though it was already lifeless, came to a screeching halt, your breath catching in your throat.
It couldn't be...
Hecouldn't be...
Slowly, you turned around, glassy eyes carefully trailing up nine feet of clumsiness.
Passing his bottle of booze...
Passing his heart-lined shirt...
Passing his soft smile...
To reach the kind eyes of a man you never thought you'd see again.
The eyes of your father.
"CORAAA!" you sobbed, completely breaking down as you tackled the man in a hug, bringing him to the ground.
He was quick to reciprocate, if not more eager, a few stray tears rolling down his face at the sight of you.
"Look at you..." he sniffled, his hand coming up to cup your cheek as his voice trembled, "How'd such a stupid kid grow into such a beautiful woman?"
For years, he observed, his spirit playing a guard dog and watching over you as time flew by, subtly guiding you in the right direction whenever you began to stray.
He was there for you through countless victories, and there for you through countless losses, though you might not know it.
And even though he was horrified by the circumstances of your death, he'd be a liar if he said he wasn't over the moon to finally be able to hold you again.
