When Sam spotted the caller ID, his heart throbbed, and he felt a lump forming in his throat.
He was on the verge of tears. The emotions were so strong and sudden that they caught him off guard.
'Pull it together, Sam,' he told himself, shaking off the wave of feelings that threatened to drown him.
He had a call to answer.
His previous life had been all about striving for success, being the best, making money, and shooting for the stars.
He'd been so wrapped up in his ambitions that he hadn't noticed his family slowly fading into the background.
They were there, but he'd left them behind in his race for greatness.
His relationship with his family had turned chilly. It wasn't because they didn't love each other, but because he'd been so stubborn, so set on following his own path.
He was all about inventing new stuff, innovating, and breaking boundaries.
He wasn't one to follow the crowd and certainly didn't like the idea of working for anyone else.
Sure, he was a bright guy, but what good was being bright if you forgot about the people who mattered most?
Even though he was a whiz kid, his passion for innovation and workaholic nature created a chasm between him and his family.
'I let my work become my world and forgot about the real world. I forgot about them,' he thought, feeling a pang of regret.
'I was too busy building my dreams that I forgot to build memories with them.'
Even though he was miles away, engrossed in his work, Sam knew his parents held him in high regard. They were proud of his achievements and his innovations.
But their relationship was much like the shallow end of a pool - safe, comfortable but lacking in depth.
There weren't any heart-to-heart talks, no sharing of hopes, fears, or dreams.
His days were filled with formulas, equations, and prototypes, leaving no room for meaningful conversations with his parents.
'I was always too caught up in my own world, too engrossed in my work to spend quality time with them,' Sam thought, feeling a twinge of guilt.
His parents were always there, always supportive, but he never really let them in, never shared his life beyond the basic day-to-day updates.
They wanted him to find a life partner and settle down, but every time they broached that topic, he'd shut it down and cut the call short.
'Just the thought of settling down made me uncomfortable. I was always running, always chasing the next big thing. I didn't have time for love, for marriage,' Sam mused.
The end result was predictable - his calls with his parents dwindled. He didn't cut them out entirely, but their chats became less frequent, slowly fading into the background noise of his hectic life.
'I let them down. I let myself down,' Sam thought, feeling a lump forming in his throat.
He couldn't help but think of the missed opportunities and connections. It was a regretful realization.
Now that he was back on his feet, a tidal wave of forgotten emotions crashed into him.
'I messed up, didn't I?' he thought, a bitter taste of regret settling in his mouth.
All those long nights and early mornings, the thrill of a successful experiment, the sheer joy of crafting something new and exciting - all of it felt empty.
'What's the point of all these achievements if I don't have anyone to share them with?' he asked himself, his mind replaying those precious moments of triumph, now tainted with a tinge of loneliness.
He thought back to his last moments, his past life.
'I died alone, amidst my inventions, away from my family,' he realized.
It was a sobering thought that made him see his past mistakes in a new light.
'Mom and Dad were right. I should have listened to them,' he admitted, feeling a wave of sorrow washing over him.
'I pushed them away, buried myself in my work, and for what? An empty victory? A lonely end?' he questioned; his past decisions seemed misguided and foolish.
His heart ached with regret, longing, and, most importantly, a desire to set things right.
He had been given a second chance, and he was determined not to repeat his past mistakes.
He wanted to live a life filled with shared joys, with family, and with love.
He wanted to make his parents proud, not just with his inventions, but with the person he had become.
The familiar tune of his ringtone jolted Sam from his deep thoughts.
His heart thumped with excitement and anxiety as he picked up the call.
The voice that was about to come from the other end was one he hadn't heard in too long.
"Hello, Dad! How are you?" he asked, trying to sound casual, as though the weight of their estrangement wasn't hanging heavily in his voice.
There was a pause before his father's voice boomed through the phone, "Eh, Lad. DO YOU REMEMBER US? WHY DID YOU NOT CALL US? DID YOU FORGET US? Now that you are graduated and all, you seem to be getting successful, HUH!"
The tone was harsh, but behind the stern words, Sam could hear the hurt his father was trying hard to conceal.
Hearing his dad's bitter rant struck a raw nerve, stinging Sam's heart.
His eyes welled up with tears, a lump formed in his throat, and he found it hard to swallow.
He wasn't crying outright, but his face was a map of sorrow and regret - a silent confession that he missed his parents more than words could express.
"I am sorry, Dad," Sam managed to choke out, the words barely above a whisper.
But they held a world of regret and longing.
He wished he could turn back time and make things right, but he also knew that apologies meant little without actions.
"Now you say sorry. What is the use after the bird plucked the wheat? What a bad seed," his dad retorted, the disappointment in his voice palpable.
The words hit Sam like a punch to the gut, but he knew he deserved every bit of the criticism.
"Chasing your dreams, son, is one thing. But turning your back on the ones who raised you, who loved you despite everything. . . that's just disgraceful," his dad continued, his voice becoming progressively more biting.
"You let success and ambition blind you. You were too absorbed in your own world to even care about us."
"Did you ever think of us, of how we felt? Waiting for your call, yearning to hear your voice? We were just spectators in your life, Sam. That's not what family is meant to be."
His father's voice was filled with reproach and disappointment, the harsh truth revealing the depth of the pain his negligence had caused.
His father's words hit him like a ton of bricks, each sentence making him cringe with regret.
Sam realized that his actions and inactions had hurt his family more than he could ever comprehend.
The criticism was harsh, but it was also a wake-up call for Sam. He had messed up big time and needed to make things right.
Just when the conversation was spiraling down, his mom, Maya, intervened.
"Stop scolding him every time. Who knows what he's going through? You better stay silent, or else you will have to sleep on the couch today. Humph!"
Her voice was stern yet laced with a mother's concern and protectiveness.
The sound of his mom defending him tugged at Sam's heartstrings.
His tears threatened to spill over, his heart filled with gratitude and love for her.
He was reminded of her nurturing nature and how she always stood by him.
"Mom, I miss you!" he blurted out, his voice choked with emotion.
"Okay, okay, don't cry. Don't cry. If things are tough, you can always come home. We can work it all out. No need to live a hard life; your parents are still here," his mom comforted him.
She misunderstood his tears as a sign of him struggling with his life, perhaps failing and unable to find a job.
'If only she knew,' Sam thought, a bitter-sweet smile crossing his face at her misinterpretation.
"It's not like that; I was just missing you guys!" Sam confessed his voice barely a whisper now.
"No worries, no worries. Come home, dear. We have a surprise for you," his mom's voice came through, a hint of excitement in her tone.
The mention of a surprise took Sam by surprise. He didn't recall any surprises at this stage in his previous life.
'What could it be?'
"What is the surprise, Mom?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"You come home soon, dear. You are going to have a sibling!"
The revelation stunned Sam.
"What?" he gasped, his heart hammering in his chest.
The shock made his mind whirl with a flurry of thoughts.
'A sibling? That was definitely not part of his past life's script. It was news he didn't see coming.'
'Did coming back change everything?' he wondered, a sense of anticipation and trepidation washing over him.
"That's great news, Mom! I will come in 2 days," he said.
"No worries, son. Be safe."
"Okay, Mom. Bye, Mom." Sam said before ending the call.
He sat quietly for a few moments, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts, trying to come to terms with the unexpected revelation and contemplating how drastically different this life was turning out compared to his previous one.
Shaking off his thoughts, he got up and booked a flight home, his heart filled with anticipation, anxiety, and a longing to be with his family.
Despite the whirlwind of emotions, he knew one thing for sure - he was eager to mend the broken bridges and reconnect with his family.
No matter what, he was going home.