Vince Dalton was startled, to say the least. He felt like it was a dream, yet his surroundings were all too real.

[Did I time travel ten years in the past? I’m not in my regular body and instead inside a 13-year-old version of myself. If not time travel, maybe reincarnation?] he pondered as he wracked his mind to understand what was happening.

Vince looked into a mirror behind a closet and was stunned to see himself again as a young boy. His features were still mostly the same, with black hair and a not so muscular build. Skinny fat could be a better term to describe himself but not ugly by a decent margin.

The sound of knocking brought Vince back to his senses and opened the door to welcome what he expected to be his mother, the only other person who lived in this tiny home. “Need anything, mom?” he nervously asked as he was still trying to gather himself.

Her name was Leah Dalton, and she had the same black hair as Vince. She was beautiful, but the frailty took away from it. The sight of his mother invoked sad memories of the times he spent with her as her sickness had gotten worse and worse until she passed a month before high school graduation.

Money was never in abundance in their home, but Leah worked hard every day to provide for the son she loved so very much. She had been widowed only a few years into her marriage; all the odds seemed to stack against her. In comparison, Vince’s gripes in life were much less burdensome than what his mother had to struggle with.

By instinct, Vince hugged his mother Leah softly while holding back tears from coming. He was so happy to see her that the unexpected reincarnation plus time travel was currently of little importance. Leah was surprised by her son’s reaction but accepted the hug without question with a big smile on her face.

“Did building your new computer make you this happy? I’m so proud of you for working hard around town and saving money. I would have preferred to give you one as a gift for your good grades, but you understand our situation. You are a smart boy, and I’m lucky to have a son like you.” she said with love and care.

“I’m the one who should be thankful to have a mom that’s as awesome as you!” he replied with all honesty and gratitude. “Look, mom! I just finished configuring the desktop computer after assembling it an hour earlier. It was my first time, so it took me a while, but the operating system is already installed and in working condition.” he said proudly.

“Great job, Vince!” she replied, but she didn’t understand the specifics of computers and electronic devices in general but knew how difficult it could be for a kid like Vince to do.

“Alright, I’ll go and make some dinner and let you have some fun with that computer of yours but remember that bad grades will force me to confiscate this from you, do you understand?” she said sternly. “Of course, mom. I’d never let you down,” he replied.

She walked away towards the kitchen and left Vince to his enjoyment. This interaction lit the fire in his heart and brought him purpose. He remembered his thoughts before suddenly being reincarnated ten years in his past. Finally, it became clear to him.

Vince would pour the need for excitement and fulfillment in his life towards his mother’s salvation and their family’s prosperity. A new path has been made available to him, and he was now determined to uphold his promise.

He sat back down in front of his desk with plenty of thoughts and ideas whirling in his mind—a few deep breaths taken to calm himself down.

[It looks like only a web browser and the regular windows applications are currently installed, so I better install some valuable tools.] he thought.

Vince opened a new tab on the web browser. He searched for a particular free application named PatchMyPC and was able to find the installer after a few clicks.

[Wow! This application always made fresh operating system configurations much easier to perform. Lucky that the first version just came out a few months ago.] he thought.

Vince went ahead and installed all the software he learned how to use and apply at university and the workplace.

[Install a source code editor such as Eclipse IDE, Github desktop, CodePen, and other full-stack development software, which may take a while to download.] Vince thought.

In his previous life, the first thing he would have downloaded and installed was a PC video game program called Steam to connect and play video games with friends, and so he went ahead and queued it up last for completeness.

[I better prepare myself for the days to come, especially if I’m to achieve what I’ve set out to do with this second chance given to me.] he thought.

After an hour, he ate dinner with Leah and was delighted to share a meal with her again. 

They talked and laughed throughout, and it gave made him feel pure joy and the eagerness to fulfill his promises.

He turned the computer off after all the software tools had been downloaded and installed. 

There was still class tomorrow and a good night’s rest was a welcome idea considering the consecutive all-nighters he had to pull in an attempt to finish that cursed project, yet now it seems it was a blessing in disguise.

EDITED