When Alexander joined his father and mother downstairs, he found them having breakfast.
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They were overjoyed to see him, of course! Because of their different schedules, it had been almost a month since the last time they'd seen each other. His mother had simply left him food in the fridge, which Alexander ate during the infrequent times he was outside "Horus." Despite living in the same apartment, they hardly saw each other.
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Alexander kissed his mother on the cheek, then his father, then sat down to enjoy the croissants and pan au chocolat which his father had brought from a nearby bakery.
.
But the atmosphere during breakfast was strange. Alexander's parents kept exchanging odd looks, and once breakfast was finished. They all sat for a few awkward moments, which was unusual.
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Eventually, Alexander's mother looked at her husband, then at Alexander, and said, "Alexander... I have something to tell you."
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Alexander listened attentively.
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"Yesterday I was at the clinic," she said. "They detected a tumor in my left breast. According to the analysis, it's in Stage Three already. That's, um, a very aggressive and… dangerous… phase…"
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She burst into tears, unable to continue.
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To hear the word "cancer" from his mother's lips was terrifying, even if Alexander had prepared for this event due to experiencing it in his first life. After all, that had been one of his great regrets in his first life, that he'd been unable to give his mother the money she needed for treatment.
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This time would be different!
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Alexander said, "Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you, too. I know that for the last few months, I've not really been present. Well, I'm happy to say that all the work paid off. I've solved all our economic problems, I think."
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Hardly able to contain his pride, Alexander showed them the sum in his bank account, the immense amount of 14,500,000 credits.
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Both his parents' jaws dropped in shock!
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Alexander added, "Mom, it's going to be okay! You'll have the best cancer treatment in the world! More than that, our crappy life is over! We'll be able to move in a few days to the best district in Paris! I'm sure that, in a few months, I'll be able to get as much as fifty million, and we can even go live on Mars!"
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His father rose slowly…
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And slapped his son across the face.
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"You think money buys everything?! How dare you! Our life is far from shitty! Your mother and I worked hard, day in and day out, to give us a better life than most! We've always had food on our plates, even if we've had to tighten our belts from time to time… but when have the three of us been miserable? Alexander, we've 'always' been happy together! This race for money and fame has made you forget what really matters, your family! We need 'you' right now, not just your money!"
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His mother, still shaking with tears, stood and embraced her son. "It's Stage Three cancer, Alexander... The doctors said even the best treatment in the world will probably be ineffective. It's all right. I don't care about that. All I want is to enjoy being with my son for the next few months, before I join the creator."
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Chaos filled Alexander's mind.
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In his first life, his parents had cursed and lamented at their lack of money once his mother received his diagnosis.
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"If only we had the money!" they'd said. "Then it would all be fine! This is the lot in life for people not lucky enough to be rich, I suppose!"
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It was partially because of this idea that his mother could have been saved if they'd only had more money that Alexander had abandoned real life and spent so much of his time in "Horus."
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But now…
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This was a hard blow. Alexander slowly realized that his parents' lamentations in his first life had been a method of coping with the tragedy. Somehow, it was far more hopeless, in their minds, to have a disease that nothing could cure than to think, "If only we had more money…"
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And, of course, it wasn't just a matter of money, but of personal arrogance. He couldn't bear the thought of again becoming the same loser he'd been in his old life.
