Josh peeled his eyes open. It was still dark outside but he was able to make out the shapes of his sparse furniture from the little light that filtered through the gap on the bottom of the door.

He turned over but the ruckus outside made it impossible for him to go back to sleep. Josh sighed, flung the thin blanket that covered his emaciated body aside and heaved himself out of bed.

Hunched over, his gaze fell upon the whitewashed wall at the end of the bed. It was bare, except for one thing. He hobbled over to it and raised his hand to the one piece of possession that gave him hope. His sister had sent it to count down the days.

'Just one more day to go!' Josh thought. He didn't know if he was ready to survive the world, but he also knew that he needed this badly.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Medicine!" a voice barked at him, while impersonal hands shoved a smorgasbord of smarties into his right and a glass of water into his left hand.

Josh stared the colourful pearls and for a fleeting second considered escape. The feeling was nearly overwhelming. Josh's hands curled into fists, nearly crushing the glass he held.

Then he snorted. Hulk would stop his frail body with one move. Josh's right hand shot up almost involuntarily and deposited the foul-tasting promise of redemption in his mouth.

'One more night!' Josh whispered when the pills kicked in.

He fell back onto the bed and found himself unable to focus on the ceiling, never mind the breakfast Shrek had placed on the table for two.

"Gotta eat your breakfast, mate!" Josh's roommate sounded concerned. "You be getting out of here tomorrow, man. You don't wanna go with your feet first."

"Hey, don't sound so sad, man!" Josh was oddly touched. "I'll be back soon anyway."

"Nah, man! You'll make it this time. I have a feeling, you know."

Josh grinned.

"Lucky guy! I can't remember what a feeling feels like."

"Oh, stop the pity party, man. Sis is picking you up tomorrow. Fuck, man, I'll be thinking 'bout you tomorrow evening, stuck here in rehab, while you are sharing the family dinner."

Josh closed his eyes for a second, then pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked at his sister's gift. Such a small thing, but it meant the world to him. She was not only giving him one more chance, she was giving him trust. And he was determined not to abuse it this time. His body was slowly giving up on him. Twenty years of constant substance abuse does this to a man. But he wasn't going out like this, broken and lonely. He would have his family back, if only for a short while.

Only one more advent calendar door to open before the first family Christmas dinner he had since his parents had kicked him out with a sleeping bag and his cherished heroin junkie kit.

Josh sat down next to his roommate and took a bite.