Chapter 28

**Back to Reality**

*Athena's POV*

The next morning, I was up early, though it wasn't exactly by choice. My old, beat-up alarm clock—the one that had somehow survived my coma without losing a minute—blared its harsh, grating beep at precisely 6:00 AM. I groaned, slapping it into silence with more force than necessary, and sat up in bed. For a moment, I just stared at the wall, trying to gather the energy to face the day.

There was something about waking up after being in a coma that made normal life feel almost surreal. The days blurred together, each one lacking any sense of real purpose. I was grateful to be alive, sure, but a part of me felt like I was still trapped in some strange dream, one where the routine of my old life had taken over, even though I wasn't sure it fit anymore.