July 10th, 2026. A Friday. Taji finally expelled the foreign object that had resided within him for over a decade. Under the cold fluorescence of the operating room, the doctor’s practiced hands parted his flesh, extracting the fragments. When he awoke, he felt an odd sense of liberation, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted. Yet, simultaneously, the sharp memories etched into his body by those fragments resurfaced with startling clarity.

The night Bryan had fired the gun. New Year’s Eve, 2017. A rusted firearm found in a derelict warehouse. A single shot. Then, chaos and terror. Taji gasped for air, the frantic voices of paramedics echoing in his ears. A torn shirt, the cold floor, and Bryan’s retreating back as he fled, leaving Taji behind. It all felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. The day he was discharged from the hospital, unceremoniously, because he had no insurance. Two weeks later, a visit to a psychiatrist, but his mind a jumble, he couldn't articulate his thoughts and ended up in a crisis center. All of it felt like it happened yesterday.

But today, July 10th, 2026, everything had changed. After ten years, the bullet fragments had finally been removed. And most importantly, Bryan had come to see him. His eyes held the weight of a decade’s worth of guilt and regret.