*Chapter 1: A Second Chance**


    When I was born, the first thing I saw was my mother''s tears.


    They slid down her cheeks like liquid hope, heavy with exhaustion and something else I couldn''t name. I was the only boy after three girls - a miracle, they called me.


    At four years old, I entered a classroom for the first time. The air smelled of chalk and sweat, and a strange woman stood at the front of rows of tiny desks. "Who is she?" I wondered. "Why are there so many children here?"


    The answers came from that woman - my teacher. She watched me with curious eyes, like I was a puzzle she wanted to solve. "He''s different," she told my sister one day. Not gifted. Not special. Just... different.


    I could read people. Not their thoughts, but the things they didn''t say. The way my father''s jaw clenched before he punched the wall. The way my mother''s smile frayed at the edges when she said "Everything''s fine." I never told anyone. What was the point?


    For a while, my family was proud. "Look at him," they''d say, "so smart, so sharp." But pride is fragile. It shatters.


    And when it did, the pieces cut deep.


    I don''t remember exactly when everything collapsed. Maybe I don''t want to. But I remember the shouting. The slammed doors. My mother''s voice cracking as she begged my father to "just stop, please."


    Then one day, she asked for a divorce.


    And he killed her.


    I don''t care if it was an accident. I don''t care if he "didn''t mean to." The result was the same. She was gone, and he was a monster.


    And me?


    I was just the boy left behind.


    ***


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    Puberty hit like a betrayal.


    I watched the other kids at school - laughing, flirting, living - and tried to mimic them. But something was wrong with me. I understood emotions, but couldn''t feel them the way they did. It was like watching a play from behind glass - close enough to see, but never to touch.


    They noticed.


    "Freak."


    "Weirdo."


    "Why''s he always staring like that?"


    I stopped trying.


    At home, my sister worked herself to exhaustion, too tired to talk, too drained to care. I wanted to scream at her - "Look at me! See me!" - but what right did I have? She was surviving. I was just... existing.


    And existence is heavy when you don''t know why you''re carrying it.


    ***


    The questions came at night, sharp as knives:


    Why should I live this life?


    Is my fate decided, or do I shape it?


    Maybe I don''t deserve to be here at all.


    Philosophers say people kill themselves when the pain outweighs the purpose.


    I think I fit these words perfectly.


    I tried to end it all.


    But i couldn''t, I gave my self false hope, such as, maybe someone will understand me,right?


    I was wrong.


    I didn''t do it because i was afraid.


    But now, I have nothing to lose.


    So I bought the pills.


    Ate them without hesitation.


    And whispered, "I''m dead anyway."


    ***


    I woke up.


    Not dead.


    Worse.


    Trapped in a body that wouldn''t move, in a hospital bed that smelled of antiseptic and despair. The doctors said I was disabled now. Yes, the suicide failed. Now, even death rekected me.


    My sister never visited.


    Maybe she was relieved.


    I would''ve been.


    ***


    Then he came.


    Footsteps I didn''t recognize. A voice like a smirk given sound.


    "You can call me Alex, Oliver."


    My throat was raw, words slurred from the mental damage. "Wh-who arr-re you?"


    He tilted his head, amused. "It''s not important. Though, I heard you failed at suicide. Is that right?"


    Rage boiled in my chest. "Wh-what do y-you w-want?"


    Alex grinned. "Haha, don''t worry. I''m here for your good."


    Something in me snapped.


    Tears burned down my face, but my voice came out clear - too clear, like my body had forgotten it was broken:


    "What do you mean, ''for my good''? You think I''m supposed to trust you? Do you have any idea what I''ve been through? All I ever wanted was a normal life! To laugh, to have friends, to find someone who understands me. But all I''ve ever gotten is pain and loneliness. I''m sixteen, and it feels like I''ve already lived a lifetime of misery... Why can''t I have the one thing I need?" Although i could barely talk, but these word came out fluently, maybe because they were from my heart, not my mouth.


    Alex''s grin didn''t waver. "Ooh, the brave guy''s crying. What a shame." He straightened, eyes glinting. "But as I said, your life now is no longer important. So let''s get to the real question - Oliver Gerrard, do you want a second chance?"


    I didn''t hesitate.


    "Yes."


    He asked me to grab his hand, So i did


    In a moment


    The world dissolved. The vision wasn''t clear but i heard him saying


    "Welcome to Re:chance"


    Re:chance what is that?


    When I opened my eyes again, I stood in a village straight from a fantasy - rolling green hills, wooden huts, a sky so blue it hurt.


    And two children playing in the dirt.


    With wolf ears.


    One tilted his head. "Big brother, did you hit your head?"


    The other giggled. "We''re monsters, obviously. Haha."


    My breath caught.


    Monsters?


    Is this a dream? A delusion?


    Or...


    Is this my second chance?


    I ran.


    Not away - toward. Toward the unknown, the strange, the possible.


    Because if this was real...


    Then maybe, just maybe, I could be too.


    [End of Chapter 1]