I was laying there, in a puddle of my blood. People around me were taking pictures or running away. As I felt my last breath leave my lungs, I thought about how sad I'll be not being able to see my loved ones. With that thought, I closed my eyes and died. Or at least that's how it should've been.

---

I was 31 when I had died. I had loving parents, good friends, and a stable job. Couldn't say I was the happiest man alive, but I for sure was happy and content with my life. However, it all changed because of an accident.

It was in the middle of the day when I went out for lunch. It was my break, and I was hungry. Not packing lunch, I thought it'd be a good idea to grab something from the nearby convenience store. But while crossing the street, a truck zoomed through a red light and hit me. The rest is history.

"So how the fuck am I in my old room?" I said aloud.

I looked around me and I saw all the things I had during my high school days. A signed poster to the left of me, a computer by the door, and my younger brother beside me sleeping.

I had already known the date. It was two days before my first year of high school began. Saturday. I had also checked whether it was a dream. Pinching myself, counting my fingers. I did all the above to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

It overjoyed me when I made sure it wasn't a dream. A second chance to make sure I didn't have any regrets. I got out of my bed and walked to the living room, where I saw my parents watching TV.

I wanted to go over there and hug them, but I wasn't someone who liked to show much affection. It made me uncomfortable and made me feel awkward. So instead, I just sat beside them and greeted them.

"Goodmorning."

The two responded and asked how I slept.

"Alright, I guess," I answered.

My parents asked a couple more questions before turning their attention back to the TV. The three of us watched the movie in peaceful silence. Once it was complete, I left the living room and returned to my room, where my now awake brother, was playing on the console.

I turned on my PC and sat in my chair, waiting for it to finish loading. Once the home screen popped up, I went straight to google and started googling if anyone else had ever returned to the past. As you may have guessed, nothing came up.

'Maybe I'm special.'

That was the only thought in my mind. Although unrealistic, how else would I come to terms with why I came back to the past? Although a second chance was amazing, having to relive terrible events would not.

"Bro, you wanna one v. one?" I turned around and looked at what my brother wanted to verse me in. A first-person shooter.

"Sure."

I had nothing better to do, so might as well destroy my brother in the game. However, what I didn't put into the equation was that I didn't play this game for over a decade. So I inevitably got destroyed.

It left a sour taste in my mouth, but I couldn't do anything about it. So, like any older brother who lost in a game, I said "Wasn't even trying."

My brother laughed in my face and pointed out how sweaty the controller I was using was.

"You just suck."

How dare this little shit say I suck! 'I'll show you.' I swore I would practice and destroy him the next time we versed.

After having fun on the console, I went back to my computer.

Before I could search anything up, my mom called for my brother and I. "Santiago, Damian, come and eat."

We both got up out of our seats and walked to the living room, where the dining table was. The two of us sat down with our parents and started eating the food on our plates. The four of us had some small talk that I honestly missed.

My parents and brother lived far from me. It was a two-hour drive from my place to theirs. At first, I would often drive down, but working a full-time job was mentally exhausting. So I started visiting less and less.

"So, Damian. Are you excited about the ninth grade?"

"I guess. A little worried about exams though," I answered my dad.

"Haha, don't worry. From what I remember, exams aren't hard if you study a bit," my dad said.

Back in the day, those words calmed me down. Hearing them again was nostalgic and made me feel happy to be back.

"What about you, Santiago? Are you excited about the eighth grade?"

"Yeah. I just hope I get a good teacher."

My mom, hearing Santiago's answer, laughed. She then told him to not be the class clown and all the teachers would be good.

We slowly ate our food and joked around while doing so. Laughter filled the room, and it honestly made me want to cry. I'm so happy that I could be with them again. However, I had to suck it up. I couldn't allow my tears to ruin the atmosphere.

After we ate, my brother and I left our apartment and walked to the nearby park with a basketball. When we got there, we moved to the area with the basketball nets.

The sound of bouncing balls filled my ears. We stepped to the side and watched the game that was being played. I sat on the small grassy hill and took out my phone. I got a notification from an app I hadn't used in a while.

Opening the app, I immediately saw myself in the camera. When I saw my facial features, I was surprised. The whole day I hadn't looked in a mirror, so seeing my face was shocking. My face was thin but had baby fat all over. I had healthy white skin, short, black hair, and hazel-colored eyes that weren't affected by the eye bags I had once had.

I looked down and lifted my shirt, pretending to wipe the sweat from my face. Like that, I saw my skinny body. Well, not skinny, but more average. I had a six-pack, but they weren't there because I was incredibly fit.

However, I was happy with my body now. I left myself go in my late twenties, giving me more of a dad's body.

After praising my handsomeness a little more, I looked at the photo someone sent. It was one of my acquaintances. He sent a picture in what looked like a shoe store. I then snapped a picture of the people playing basketball and sent it to him.

Not long later, the people playing basketball asked my brother and I if we wanted to join. We both nodded in confirmation and stood up. We were both tall for our age. I was nearing 6ft, and he was only three inches smaller.

They placed my brother and I on different teams to make it equal.

We ended up playing two games with some breaks because of the hot weather. My team won both, but both times the score was only a difference of two or three. Tired, and with the sun setting, my brother and I packed our things away and walked home.

Once we got home, we both took turns showering, since there was only one bathroom. Since I was the older one, I obviously went first, and let me tell you. A nice cold shower after playing under the scorching sun is a blessing.

I went to the living room and sat on the couch beside my parents. They asked what we did, and I recounted our time at the park. I explained how my brother couldn't guard me, making them laugh, and when my brother eventually came out of the shower, he joined the conversation.

We talked for hours while watching a show no one paid attention to. The four of us were too busy talking about our past and future goals.

"what do you want to be in the future?"

Since I was starting my high school career, my parents wanted to know if I had any future aspirations.

"Probably become a surgeon or get into computer programming," I responded.

My mom, who asked, nodded her head in agreement, but my dad said nothing. Finally, after a few seconds, he spoke. "That's good. We always need doctors and computers are in these days. But be prepared to be in school for a while if you wanna become a doctor. Haha."

"That wouldn't be good," I said, making the three laugh.

"Don't worry. You still have four years to think about what you wanna study."

I nodded at my dad's words. I didn't know which career path I wanted to walk on, but I knew I wanted to do something with a lot of money. This time around, I wanted to give my parents everything they deserve.

By the time we finished talking, it was already late. My brother and I left the living room, where my parents slept, and went into our rooms.

Today was a day I would never forget. Not only cause it's my first day back in time, but because it made me realize how much I took my parents for granted when I was younger.

I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep. At least that's what I wanted to do. But my brother kept talking to me.

Annoyed, I looked him in the eyes and said "Go to sleep."

I don't know if I was just tired or going crazy, but his eyes glowed in an unnoticeable purple hue for a brief second before he fell asleep.

At first, I thought he was joking around and fake sleeping. But after moving him around lightly, he snored. Not only that but he didn't smile or anything that would show he was joking around.

To wake him up I had to slap his face. And like anyone who gets waken up by a slap, he was a little grumpy.

"What's your problem? Why'd you wake me up?"

I tried doing the same thing as last time. I don't know why but something in me told me to try it. Looking him in the eyes, I told him to go to sleep. After saying that, he actually fell asleep.

My mind was racing and my heart was beating out of my chest. I stumbled backward and fell on my bed.

"T-this can't b- no way."

'I-I have p-powers?'

Powers were fiction. There's no way I could have something as unrealistic as that. However, I thought about my situation. 'I returned to the past after dying. I returned to the past after dying.'

I repeated that sentence again and again. And once the realization dawned on me, it left my mouth open wide enough for an apple to fit through.

Excitement and worry rushed through me. Excitement because I actually had a superpower. Hypnosis at that. A power that I can use to get rich and do whatever I wanted. Worry because If anyone finds out, they can use me as a lab rat.

Since I was so excited, I could barely fall asleep. However, exhaustion washed over me and I fell asleep even without wanting to.