"Maybe… I can restart."
It had been two months since the rooftop.
Two months since the night I almost disappeared forever.
Some nights, I still woke up shaking, drenched in sweat, the echo of my grandfather's voice fading into the dark. Other nights, I stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and wondering if I really deserved a second chance.
I was still healing — not just outside, where scrapes and bruises had faded, but inside, where invisible wounds still throbbed in the quiet hours.
But for the first time in years…
I felt something like hope.
---
I signed up to complete my education.
No more drifting through the halls like a ghost. I took every class seriously, even the ones I used to hate.
I pushed myself. Forced myself to raise my hand. To answer questions even when my voice trembled.
And now…
I had a job.
---
I stood at the train station platform early in the morning. The air was cool and smelled faintly of roasted chestnuts from a vendor nearby. My hands shook as I held my small work bag — an old one that used to belong to Grandpa.
I looked down at myself: clean shirt, neatly ironed, though a little faded; old shoes with scuffed edges; hair combed back as best as I could.
My heart raced — not with fear like before, but with something new.
Excitement.
> "Can I really do this?"
"Will my coworkers like me?"
"Maybe… I'll even make a friend?"
The thought felt both terrifying and thrilling, like standing at the edge of a cliff but knowing you might fly instead of fall.
---
I scanned the platform, people hustling around me — business suits, school uniforms, parents juggling sleepy kids.
And then I saw her.
Lena Myles.
She had long dark hair that shimmered under the morning sun, and bright eyes that seemed to catch every little detail around her. Her laugh, even quiet, had once sounded like bells echoing across the courtyard.
We went to the same school once.
We never spoke.
But I remembered how she would stay after class to help clean the chalkboards, how she shared her lunch with anyone who forgot theirs, and how her laughter made even the coldest winter mornings feel warm.
> "Did she get hired too?"
"Should I say hi?"
"Could I ever… be her friend?"
The thought made my chest tighten and a small, nervous laugh escape my lips.
> "What am I thinking? A girlfriend? Slow down, Riyan."
---
The train screeched to a stop, doors sliding open with a hiss. A warm gust of air rushed past me as people shuffled inside.
I stepped in and found a seat by the window. The morning sun poured through, painting the floor in golden stripes.
Across from me, a little boy played with a small robot toy, its arms spinning clumsily. He wore a bright red cap that was too big for his head.
Suddenly, the train jolted, and the toy slipped from his hands. It clattered to the floor, pieces scattering under seats.
His wide eyes filled with tears instantly. His mother reached out to comfort him, her face already bracing for the coming wail.
Before I even thought about it, I slipped down to the floor, stretching my hand to collect the pieces. The floor was cold against my fingers, and the smell of iron and dust filled my nose.
I found the robot's tiny head under a seat, grabbed it, and started putting the pieces back together.
When I handed it to the boy, he looked at me with a mix of surprise and wonder, his tears frozen mid-fall.
His mother's tense shoulders dropped. She smiled, relief softening her face.
> "Thank you," she said softly, her voice almost breaking.
I felt a warmth bloom in my chest.
> "Fixed," I said, giving the boy a small grin.
He nodded quickly, hugging the toy close as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
He didn't cry.
And for a moment…
I felt like I had done something right. Like maybe, just maybe, I could be someone good.
---
Then the train shook violently.
A deep, rumbling growl rolled through the carriage, making the windows shudder.
People looked around, alarmed. A man dropped his coffee, brown liquid spreading across the floor like a slow-moving stain.
A strange sound, sharp and echoing, thundered from the sky — like metal tearing apart or a giant screaming in pain.
My heart slammed against my ribs. My breath caught in my throat.
I turned to the window, gripping the cold metal bar beside me, and felt my blood drain from my face.
---
Outside, the sky was no longer blue.
A massive fireball streaked across the heavens, slicing through clouds like a flaming blade. Trails of smoke twisted behind it, leaving scars across the sky.
> "A meteor?" someone gasped, their voice thin and shaky.
I couldn't move. My fingers dug into the metal bar so tightly they ached.
It was heading straight for us.
I saw people begin to rise, some stumbling over each other, others frozen in place with their mouths open in silent screams.
The little boy across from me clutched his robot, eyes wide and unblinking. His mother threw her arms around him, shielding him instinctively.
My mind raced.
> Grandpa's smile.
The quiet dinners in our cramped kitchen.
The old blanket he used to wrap around me when I had nightmares.
His voice, echoing even now: "Live, Riyan."
> I should've laughed more.
I should've talked to Lena.
I should've made friends.
I should've… lived.
A burning regret surged through me like a second heartbeat.
And then—
BOOM.
A deafening explosion swallowed every sound. A wall of white light and heat slammed into the train, shattering glass, twisting metal like paper.
My body flew backward, the world flipping upside down.
Then—
Everything went black.
---
Next: When he opens his eyes again, nothing will ever be the same.
→ Tap "Next" to read Chapter 3
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