Blood... Sweet, sickly blood that marred your face, your once pristine and unblemished skin that was now stained red. How tragic to meet your end so abruptly. You lived an average life - moderate household, loving family, excelled in academics, had many friends - and yet to be shot in an alleyway on your way home? It was unprecedented... Uncalled for... Unfair... You were still young, still had a life ahead of you to live and to be gunned down at some street corner by a desperate rat in rags with a firearm? The thought of it made you bitterly laugh, but there was nothing more that you could do.

You were dying, that much you were aware... And no amount of screaming at heaven could reverse the damage that had been done. Then a different being answered your call, granting you that exact second chance... Cold, your body was cold. Unable to open your eyes, you felt as if you were drifting upon the freezing waters of what felt like a bottomless sea. The sensation of weightlessness surrounded you, as if you were floating in the depths of a dark, endless ocean. The silence was absolute, pressing against your ears like a physical force.

Is this what death felt like? It was scary, terrifying even to think about. To be subjected to eternal darkness, no signs of a pearly gate or paradise but absolutely nothingness. You should've expected this but one can dream right? One can dream of a heaven and hell that would await after death... Now what? you wondered. Is this really the end of the short life you lived on earth?

What about your family? Who'll comfort your parents about your death? Your baby sister? How'll she feel about her older brother who suddenly passed just a day after her birthday? Your friends will most likely mourn for you. What of your cat? Who'll look after her... Such a bitter end to your life, succumbed to the eternal abyss that now awaited you...

Strange noises could be heard, distant and muffled, but you were unable to make out the sounds due to the deafening silence that overwhelmed your ears. Yet you could tell that you heard someone speaking, a voice soft and musical like wind chimes in a gentle breeze... "───!" The voice called again, clearer this time, cutting through the silence.

They were watching over you, keeping a close eye on your progress in this new world... And this is the only chance you'll get. If you die again, that'll spell the end of you... forever. Who are they and why were you given this second chance? Was your desperation for another life really that pitiful that an unknown being answered your pleas? Or was this about something else entirely?

They didn't answer the questions that ran deep through your head. Only dragging on the prolonging silence, notifying you that you were waking up soon. They reassured you that they would meet one day in the future... Until then, you'll need to navigate your way in this new life of yours...