---
"Maybe… I can restart."
It had been two months since the rooftop.
Since the night I almost disappeared.
I was still healing — not just outside, but inside.
But for the first time in years…
I felt something like hope.
---
I signed up to complete my education.
Took every class seriously.
Pushed myself.
And now…
I had a job.
---
I stood at the train station platform — clean shirt, old shoes, and shaking hands.
My heart raced — not with fear,
but with something new.
Excitement.
> "Can I really do this?"
"Will my coworkers like me?"
"Maybe… I'll even make a friend?"
---
I looked around and saw her.
Lena Myles.
She had long dark hair, bright eyes,
and a voice that could calm storms.
We went to the same school once —
never spoke,
but I remembered her laugh.
> "Did she get hired too?"
"Should I say hi?"
"Could I ever… be her friend?"
The idea made me laugh quietly.
> "What am I thinking? A girlfriend?"
"Slow down, Riyan."
---
As the train doors opened, I stepped in and found a seat by the window.
The morning sun painted everything gold.
Across from me, a little boy dropped his toy robot.
It broke apart on the floor.
He looked like he was about to cry —
but before the tears fell,
I knelt down, picked it up, and started putting the pieces back.
His mother smiled in surprise.
> "Thank you," she said softly.
I handed the toy back to the boy.
> "Fixed," I said with a small grin.
The boy nodded, hugging it close.
He stopped crying.
And for a moment…
I felt like I had done something right.
---
Then the train shook.
People looked around, confused.
A sound — like the sky tearing open — echoed in the distance.
I turned to the window.
And saw it.
---
A massive fireball,
streaking across the sky like an angry god.
> "A meteor?" someone gasped.
It was heading straight for the station.
There was no time to scream.
No time to run.
I froze.
My chest tightened.
My mind flashed back—
> Grandpa's smile.
The quiet dinners.
His voice in my head:
"Live, Riyan."
> I should've laughed more.
I should've made friends.
I should've lived…
Then—
BOOM.
Everything went black.