"James... James... Wake up...!"

"..."

"James...."

"Yes!"

"Wake up..."

"Yea...mom!"

...

"Hey, buddy, wanna make a bet?"

"Who do you think is gonna win today? Manchester United or Real Madrid?"

"What type of question is that? Obviously Manchester United."

"Why?"

"Why? Because Ronaldo is playing."

"You sure."

"Yes."

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think Real Madrid is going to win today."

"Whaaaa...Why?"

"I don't know. I just feel like they are going to win."

"Whatever! You bet right ?"

"Hey, hey can I bet too?"

"Of course, sweetheart, you can."

"Ummm. Barcel....ona."

"You mean Barcelona. It's not even their game today."

"Ohh. come on !"

"Ok... Barcelona right."

"Yes."

"Then Barcelona it is."

"Hey dad, If I win, you are going to buy me the new PlayStation."

"Really? And what if I win?"

"I don't know."

"You will not play any video games for 1 month."

"What? Come on dad? One entire month."

"You wanna bet or not?"

"10 days."

"29 days"

"15"

"28"

"16"

"27"

"Guys!"

"What?"

"What?"

"John, you drive the car, and James, you shut up. No one is betting on anything."

"Oh... Come on darling, we are just playing. Right James?"

"Yes... But I thought you really were going to buy me a PlayStation."

"One month."

"Deal"

"Deal"

"Guys"

"Hahaha ha"

"Mom...mom...aau..mom...I am sorry, hahaha,"

"Dad, why are you laughing?"

"Because your brother is going to lose."

"No, I won't"

"Listen, James, when we reach there, don't let Jess's hand go. Okay,"

"Yea...mom"

"And you will also keep holding my hand, right?"

"Come on, mom, I am not a kid, you know."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not."

"James, don't argue with your mother."

"But... I am almost 18."

"Son, no matter how old you become, you will still be our son and we will still be your..."

Honk!!!!

"Wha...."

Screech!!! Screech!!!

"Da....d"

Screech!!!!!!

Bam!

....

James's eyes shot wide open. Seeing the very familiar ceiling above him, he rose from his bed, covered in sweat with erratic breathing. A laptop showing some documents he was working on was just beside him, still on. This mess was not something new for him. As he calmed himself down and looked towards a certain picture which was hanging on the wall, a faint sad smile appeared on his face.

It was the picture of his family, whom he lost 8 years ago in a tragic accident. Some random driver changing his song, without noticing the road hit them head-on.

But somehow miraculously, James survived, with serious injuries. Nobody knows how, but he survived.

The driver was charged with 3 counts of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

But...

'Was it enough? Did it bring back his parents and sister?'

'No... It didn't.'

Once someone is gone, nobody can bring them back. They are gone forever. That's how this world works. It's the eternal law that could not be broken.

...

After getting up and doing some stretching, James picked his phone, which had some missed-call on it, reviewed his notifications and again threw it on to the bed, and went to the bathroom.

...

'Was I a good son? Was I a good brother? Did I really love them?' James asked these questions to himself countless times. But... there was no one to answer...

After recovering from his injuries, James was rarely seen outside again. He became a shut-in, depressed loner, tried to end his life many times but failed, and at last, enrolled himself in the most prestigious university in the city. Following his father's footstep, took mechanical engineering classes and a bunch of other electives.

He rarely attended classes, but was always placed at the top of the class. God knows how, but James did it. He graduated at the top of his class. With exceptional memory and above-average IQ, he had practically become a walking encyclopedia of knowledge.

But... He was alone, always alone. He belonged to nowhere. He rarely interacted with others, thinking, one day everyone is going to leave him.

'Do you ever feel alone in a room full of people?'

'Yes, I do.'

It was like he cut himself off from the rest of the world.

Much of his time was spent at home watching anime, reading manga, creating something, and even breaking that thing. These were the only things that helped him withstand the pain and suffering.

But to what extent...

...

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, James smiled, fixing his shirt. With brown hair and blue ocean-like eyes, his face had rather attractive features, but it wasn't something otherworldly. And eyes aside, it was a pretty average face, one that you would forget after not seeing for a couple of days.

Especially for today, he chose formal wearings, a black blazer, white shirt, black pants and, yes, a black tie.

After graduating, he was selected by a Govt. affiliated company during placement, where he started working as a junior engineer. And in just 4 years, despite having poor social and communication skills, he was promoted as the head technical advisor for the entire company solely because of his exceptional knowledge and talent, which outmatched everyone. It was an impossible feat to pull, but he did it. His plans were complex yet simple and very easy to implement, which drove the company into millions of profits with each passing year. Higher ups were happy and James got a hefty salary to live on, but he was never happy. It was like he was always trying to reach something beyond his grasp.

Giving a last look at the empty apartment, as he closed the door. After even getting the job and earning a large salary, he was never able to socialise himself or get along with anyone.

Walking down the road, James finalised what he had to say in today's meeting. He was the technical supervisor for the entire company, managed hundreds of people, but still was not good at conversation. He had to recite every line before any meetings, and thus, he avoided attending most of them.

But today's meeting was not just some ordinary one. If everything goes as planned, then he would the see the first implemented version of Nightangel, the project he was working for the past two years.

After the accident and the trauma he faced, James vowed himself to create something that would change the automobile industry and make it safer than ever so no one else would have to go through the pain and suffering like he did, and the result was 'Nightangel'.

Though it was a personal project, but seeing its capabilities, the company in which he worked asked him to accept them as a partner and after a bit of talking, James agreed, which showed its results. The company funded the entire project and in just 1 year, the first working version of Nightangel was brought before the public eyes, which he alone wouldn't be able to achieve in over 3 years.

After another year of trial and error, Nightangel made it into the production line, and today was the day.

Today was the day when the first vehicle, with a full-fledged working version of Nightangel, would be released.

And by sheer luck, or what you might say coincidence, today was the day when his family died 8 years ago.

If everything went as planned, then it would revolutionise the whole automobile industry. People won't have to worry about any accident or losing their loved ones. And James was walking to the cemetery where his family lay to let them know about today. He visited them more often, but today he really wanted to tell them about Nightangel.

As he walked further down the road, he saw a young girl, probably 7 years old, holding both of her parent's hands and walking in front of him.

It was a beautiful sight to behold, just like how he walked with his parents. Seeing that a soft yet broken smile appeared on his face, but that didn't last long as the young girl ran away towards the road chasing something or someone, leaving her parents' hands.

And within moments, she was in front of an oncoming truck waiting for her time to end but someone from the crowd ran like no one else had ever seen & pushed the girl out of the way, but it was too late for him to avoid the impact.

A massive twenty ton object slammed him with full force, throwing him 30 feet away like a rag doll. His head struck the asphalt road, cracking it in the process.

Blood flowed out profusely. Many people rushed to him, but it was too late.

He was already gone.

And that individual was James who never knew what took over his body. He just ran with everything he got, with no care to the world. His one & only goal was to save that girl & he did it, but the consequences were grave.

He wanted no one to experience the same fate as him. He wanted no one to lose their loved ones. There was no one left who cared for him, who loved him, but this girl had her life before her. She could live a happy life with her parents, with her family. She could make her dreams come true, and it was more than enough for James' conscience to act.

Still, the question stands. Was it worth it? Was her life worth more than his?

Yes, it was.

As James lie down on to the road, closing his eyes slowly, he saw blurry pictures of some approaching footsteps & soon they were before his eyes. He tried to look who they were and what he saw was something surreal.

It was his family who were looking at him with merry faces. Finally, he met them again. Their fates intertwined again & today was the same day he lost them years ago & today was the day he lost himself.

"Let's go James..." spoke the three in unison & started walking towards the bright shining light from where they came and James kept looking at the fading miracle before finally closing his eyes to submit himself to the eternal darkness.