AUTHOR’S POV
The final week of summer arrived with a bittersweet gentleness, the blistering heat of the previous months finally giving way to a cool, early morning breeze. The leaves on the trees surrounding the pristine grounds of the Eden Valley Rehabilitation Center were just beginning to show the faintest edges of gold. It was a time for transitions, for endings, and for the quiet, fragile beginnings of new chapters.
Inside the facility, David had officially completed his first full month of intensive rehabilitation.
The physical transformation was undeniable. The hollow look in his cheeks had filled out, his complexion lacked the ghostly, sickly pallor born of his worst days, and he looked genuinely healthier than he had in years. Yet, the internal work was far from over. He was st
