Rebirth Into My Second Chance

My mind was a mess, not knowing where to go.

I hailed a cab and told the driver, "Take me to the old foster home in the suburbs."

The driver hesitated before responding, "Isn't that place torn down and turned into an amusement park?"

His words left me speechless. I was totally choked up, like someone had just grabbed my throat.

The foster home was gone, too? Well, it made sense. One company owned it, and it had been over a decade since I last saw it. Its demolition was inevitable. It was as though I no longer had a hometown or the feeling of having a home. My soul felt as if it were drifting away.

As we arrived at the site of the foster home, the driver was still talking, "The Hilton Group always owned this place. They took in many kids back in the day. The Hilton Group made it one of the best foster homes and poured much money into it. Even the education resources were top-notch. But after the head matron passed away, the place went through several hands and never quite recovered. This year, the Hilton Group decided to reclaim it and turn it into an amusement park. They've expanded it quite a bit." From the car window, I could no longer recognize the place. Cranes and bulldozers were at work, and the Hilton Group's logo was everywhere. So, the Hilton Group was shaping many destinies, including, indirectly, mine. "What happened to the kids from the foster home?" I asked.

The driver shook his head. "Who knows?"

I got out of the car, standing there with nowhere to belong. It was no wonder that even in death, my spirit wouldn't find rest.

construction site, I encountered a security gate that required facial recognition for entry, which I obviously couldn't

out at me.

live in the foster home. I just wanted to have a

at the site with a mocking smile, "What's there to see now? The foundation's already laid out. It doesn't

if I could only take a handful

hometown, the place of my

to just anyone. Best you leave," the guard said, somewhat apologetically, as he started to shoo me away. I knew I was putting

site. It was the same one I had seen at my apartment building, with the same driver waiting outside, presumably for his wealthy

family. The gap between people could be so vast. They had everything. Yet, I was even unable to take a handful of dirt... I wanted to keep my parents' ashes,

my shadow stretch out under the setting sun, feeling utterly desolate. When I got back

getting to his apartment door, about to use the fingerprint scanner.

But I couldn't afford to pay him for it. Still,

approached him with eyes downcast. "Thanks for the door lock. But I don't have much money to