It was 11:59 PM.

Kian sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the clock as it ticked closer to midnight. His hands trembled, a nervous energy pulsing through him. It had been years since he last attempted it—years since his life had changed in ways he could never fully control. But tonight, something was pulling him back, an invisible force he could no longer ignore.

"12:00 AM"

The moment the clock struck midnight, Kian felt the familiar sensation flood over him—like falling backward into an endless abyss. His room spun around him, blurring into darkness, before everything went still.

When his eyes fluttered open, he was no longer 22. His hands were small again. His legs dangled off the chair he sat on, barely touching the floor.

He was 7 years old.

Kian blinked in disbelief, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. It had worked. After all these years, he was back. The smell of crayons and old books filled the air, and he instantly recognized his surroundings—the old classroom where he had spent his childhood. His heart raced as he looked around, the faces of his childhood classmates frozen in time.

This was the first time he had traveled back after giving up all those years ago.

He hadn’t meant to come back here. This place, this time—it wasn’t what he wanted to relive. He had come so far, changing so much in his life. Good grades, standing up to bullies, escaping bad situations. But one thing still haunted him, a memory that had burned itself deep into his mind: the death of his mother.

He had failed to change it.

“Kian! Stop daydreaming!”

His teacher’s voice broke his thoughts, pulling him back to the present—or rather, the past. His 7-year-old self looked up at her, dazed, unable to reconcile his two lives.

As class resumed, his mind was elsewhere. What was the point of coming back here? His mother’s death, the one event that haunted him, was something he couldn’t change. No matter how many times he tried.

After school, Kian walked the familiar streets toward his home. The sun cast a golden glow over the neighborhood, and for a moment, he felt a strange peace. But that peace was quickly shattered when he reached the front door of his house.

There she was.

His mother. Alive, smiling, and waiting for him at the door. Her hair glistened in the afternoon light, her face free of the sorrow and pain that Kian had been carrying for so long. Seeing her like this—healthy, happy—felt like a cruel twist of fate.

“Kian, what are you doing standing there?” she asked, a playful smile on her face. “Come in, dinner is ready!”

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away before she could notice. He stepped inside, his heart heavy with the knowledge of what was to come. He knew he couldn’t stay here forever. He knew that no matter what he did, this moment would slip through his fingers like sand.

But for now, he allowed himself to feel something he hadn’t felt in years: hope.

——————————————————————

Later that night, Kian sat at the dinner table, watching his mother laugh and talk about her day. His father joined in, joking around like old times, oblivious to the weight on Kian’s shoulders. It was a perfect evening, a snapshot of a life he could never truly have again.

As the clock struck 11:55 PM, Kian excused himself from the table and went to his room. He knew what would happen next. The power to travel back in time only worked for a short while, and he would soon return to his present life. It was a curse, to be given brief glimpses of a past he couldn’t hold on to.

He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable shift. The clock ticked louder in his ears.

11:59 PM

And then, just before midnight, he whispered to himself:“I’ll try again tomorrow.”

In the Present—

The next morning, Kian woke up in his 22-year-old body again, the weight of time heavy on his shoulders. The failure to change anything about his mother's death continued to haunt him.

His phone buzzed with a notification. A new message from a number he didn’t recognize:

“I know you can time travel. Meet me tonight at the bridge.” 💬

Kian’s eyes widened. Who could know about his ability? No one was supposed to know. And yet, the message felt too real to ignore.

A new mystery was unfolding—one that would drag Kian back into the world of time travel, where not everything was as it seemed. And this time, he wasn’t the only one who could bend time.

To Be Continued