I wake up in an empty bed, and I sit up. I yawn and slowly get out of bed. I walk into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. It’s been six months since my near-death experience, and I’m still here…alive and well. I smile at myself as I run my fingers through my short boy hair cut. I look and feel a lot better than I ever had in my life. I guess you can say I had a new awakening. I walk out of the bathroom and walk my way through the hall into the living room. I smile as I see Alice sitting on the couch with her laptop on her lap. I walk behind the couch and wrap my arms around her neck. She jumps a little and sighs heavily when she finds out that it was me.

“Ooh—you scared me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”  I lay a soft, sweet kiss on her cheek. “What are you writing?”

“A new topic for KCRW.”

“Can I ask what it is?”

“It’s about breast cancer. The significance for females to get a check up, and the consequences that you can go through if you don’t get it checked.” I give her a slight nod.

“I’m going to get something to drink. You want something?” I begin to walk away.

“I’m good. You want me to fix you anything.” Alice looks away from her laptop.

I shake my head. “No, I’m good.” I smile at her, and she smiles back. I walk into the kitchen and grab the orange juice jug from the refrigerator. I sit it on the counter and grab myself a cup from the cupboard. I pour some in the cup and put the cap back on. I lean against the counter and look at the fridge. I look at the old article that Alice had of me on fridge. I walk up to it and begin to read.

          The up and coming tennis player Dana Fairbanks is on a winning streak at the La Hoya Tournament. She’s the greatest player of the tennis world since Billie Jean King…

I look away from the article and then look at the picture of myself. I look strong, athletic…I look great, but I wasn’t great. I had breast cancer…BUT I beat it. I’m a survivor of all the obstacles that was thrown at me. I finish my juice and put the cup in the sink. I walk into the living room again, and Alice was on the phone.