Chapter 1

Suddenly, there was only pure darkness surrounding me. "So, this is what death feels like huh." I thought to myself. I had given up on everything. "Are you really going to let things end like this?" I heard. "Who is there?" I asked while stuttering because of fear. "That's not important. What truly is important is the fact that your life has ended at such an age. Are you truly satisfied with this life that you have lived?" "Well, I died standing up to my dad so that should be enough." "Is that really the truth?" I stopped and thought deeply before answering again.

"If I am being honest with you, no. I haven't become a basketballer, made my mom proud or made Ayumi the happiest woman on the earth." "So, you are finally true to yourself huh. But you are dead so unfortunately that doesn't matter." That realization hurt me to the core. I tried to not cry but it was impossible. I fell to my knees and cried my heart out while punching the floor in frustration. "Shane, Vickie, Sarah, Alexander, Samantha, Ayumi and mom I miss you all. I want to spend more time with you. It can't end like this!"

"I see you have a lot of regret now. Go to them." I looked up in confusion. "What do you mean go to them? I am dead." "You were dead but you aren't anymore." "That makes no sense." "You see in those dreams you had where you saw a reflection of yourself, that was me. My name is Karma and I was sent by a very important friend of mine to be by your side. You see the universe you live in is called the Karmaverse and I am friends with its guardian. I was going to give up on you but you showed me you learnt a wonderful lesson."

"What may that be?" "You only cared about yourself. Yes, you suffered but so have many people. For example, your mom had to deal with an absent and abusive husband. But the fact your mom never gave up on living despite going through those lamentable experiences shows she cares for the people around her. If she would have given up on living, how would you survive? Think about it. If your friends and family would have lost you, they would have been seriously affected. So, from now on go on thinking about not only yourself but the people around you."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood back up. "I PROMISE YOU KARMA THAT I WILL NOT ONLY THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE THAT WAS THERE FOR ME BUT I WILL MAKE SURE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT I WOULD NEVER REGRET!" "Good now your friends and family are waiting for you." My body was engulfed in a bright aura and started to disappear. "Before I go, I have something to tell you Karma." "What is it?" "Thanks for watching after me." After the last word of that sentence my body completely disappeared. "It's not me you should thank. Don't you agree, Kemar."

Meanwhile, I could finally open my eyes. I looked around and found myself in an unfamiliar room. It was dark in the room. I got off my bed and searched the room thoroughly for a light switch. After a while I found it and flipped it. The sudden change from a dark room to a bright one hurt my eyes a bit. When I caught myself, I looked in the mirror and found out that there was a Band-Aid under my left eye. I touched that area which caused me to feel a slight pain. "I'm back. I'm back. I'm back!" I opened the door and looked for the closest person I could find.

"Excuse me. I would like to know where am I?" "Oh, you are awake! I have got to let the staff know about this. Follow me." As I followed her, she asked me various questions to make sure that I was ok. "Who is this young fellow with you?" "He is Kennedy, the patient whose face was bleeding while he was unconscious." "Oh, the deep sleeper. I'll call his mom immediately." I was so happy to have a second chance. I wondered how long it has been since that day. Then a thought came to me. I then proceeded to stress myself out about how much school I have missed.

In less time than I thought my mom came for me and I was discharged. As soon as we got home, my mom broke down in tears. "I thought I lost you." "I am sorry for making you worry." I hugged her and she told me that my father was arrested for assault. I asked her if I missed any school and she said that to not worry because my friends took notes for me. I'm so glad that I had such great friends. My mom gave me my phone and then I group called my friends. It was six in the morning so the call wasn't answered but soon after Ayumi called me.

"Are you okay?" "My face hurts a bit but I'm fine. How about you?" "I feel way better now that I know you're doing better." We talked on the phone for two hours straight before we hung up. Luckily for me, it was a weekend so I could rest a bit more. I stood in bed until it was afternoon time and headed towards the nearest park. There were lots of children there. I watched as they played and it was soothing. "Fancy meeting you here." I looked around and saw Ayumi. "What a coincidence this is?" "A good one for sure."

"So, what brings you to the park, Yumi?" "Well, I just thought some fresh air would be nice. How about you?" "I got bored at home to be honest." I looked around at her and saw tears flowing from her eyes. "What is wrong?" "I am just so happy. I thought that I would never see you again and now you are here beside me like you always are. That makes me so happy." I wiped the tears from her face and then hugged her. "I promise to be by your side until the end." I then looked her in the face and I kissed her on the cheek. Afterwards, she proceeded to kiss me on the lips.