JUSTIN POV
A ray of light struck my closed eyelids.
I slowly became aware of my surroundings.
My body felt strangely light.
Justin (thinking):
I should be dead, right?
Then why the hell do I feel so light?
Oh my God…
Don't tell me I'm in hell. I'm innocent, dude! 😱
Just as my thoughts began disappearing into the void, a familiar voice interrupted them.
Not devilish.
Not demonic.
Not even remotely terrifying.
Actually… it sounded annoyed and strangely comforting.
Voice:
"Justin! Wake up! You need to get ready for school!"
School?
What kind of hell has schools?!
I slowly opened my eyes.
Justin:
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" 😱
Voice:
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHOUTING, BRAT?!" 😑
My eyes finally focused.
My brain stopped functioning.
My soul temporarily left my body.
Standing beside my bed was—
Justin:
"A-Aunt Lauren?!"
I stared at her face.
Then at her hair.
Then back at her face.
Justin:
"YOU LOOK YOUNG!" 😱
We were inside Devis Palace.
More specifically, my bedroom.
Except everything looked exactly like it had ten years ago.
Lauren, Joseph's wife and the third daughter-in-law of the Devis family, raised an eyebrow.
Lauren:
"What the hell? When did I become old?" 😒
Justin:
"No, wait! You said school?"
Lauren:
"Yep."
Justin:
"Me? School?"
Lauren:
"Unless you've secretly become a university professor overnight." 😎
I swallowed.
There was only one question I needed answered.
Justin:
"Could you please tell me my age?"
Lauren looked at me as though I'd asked whether the sky was blue.
Lauren:
"Fifteen. Why?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Justin:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" 😱
SHIT! NOOOOOOOOO!
I WAS FIFTEEN AGAIN?!
Lauren immediately covered her ears.
Lauren:
"MY GOD! MY EARDRUMS!"
She turned towards the door.
Lauren:
"SISTER MEGAN! COME HERE! THIS BOY IS GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY HEARING LOSS!" 😡
Within seconds, Megan rushed into the room.
Megan, Stephen's wife and the second daughter-in-law of the Devis family, looked genuinely worried.
Megan:
"OMG! What happened?! Justin!"
I froze.
My eyes landed on her.
She looked young, too.
So young.
I remembered her older face from my previous life.
The woman standing before me was the Megan I had known ten years ago.
Lauren:
"No. No way."
She slowly turned towards me.
Lauren:
"Don't you dare—"
Justin:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" 😱
Lauren:
"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—!"
---
MEANWHILE, AROUND THE PALACE…
THOMAS'S ROOM
Thomas, Stephen and Megan's fifteen-year-old son, suddenly jumped out of bed.
Thomas:
"EARTHQUAKE! TSUNAMI! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" 😱
He looked around frantically.
Nothing.
No earthquake.
No tsunami.
Just another perfectly ordinary morning.
---
EMILY'S ROOM
Emily, his fifteen-year-old sister, glanced towards the ceiling.
She calmly continued combing her hair.
Emily:
"Again? That Thomas idiot." 😐
She wasn't even surprised anymore.
---
MAIN HALL
Joseph sat comfortably on the sofa, enjoying his morning tea.
Stephen was checking something on his phone.
Jonathan sat silently, sipping tea with his usual cold expression.
Grandfather and Grandmother were having breakfast.
Suddenly—
Joseph:
"Stephen… it's your son." 😎
Stephen:
"Again?" 😑
Grandmother:
"What happened now?"
Grandfather:
"What did Thomas do this time?" 😒
Nobody looked particularly concerned.
After all, there were only two boys in the house who could produce such noises.
Thomas, who screamed almost every morning because of his nightmares.
And Justin, who rarely raised his voice.
Justin usually behaved like a little adult, hiding his emotions and keeping everything to himself.
So naturally, everyone blamed Thomas.
Jonathan:
silently sipping tea.
He didn't even bother looking up.
---
BACK TO JUSTIN'S ROOM
Megan:
"JUSTIN! BE QUIET!"
Justin:
"…" 😶
Gone case.
I slowly lowered my head.
These people didn't know.
And they couldn't know.
I was twenty-five inside.
I remembered everything.
The loneliness.
The whispers.
The pitying looks.
The way people avoided certain topics whenever I entered a room.
I had grown up as the boy whose mother ran away.
The boy whose father barely spoke.
The boy everyone treated carefully, as though one wrong word might break him.
Nobody scolded me.
Nobody shouted at me.
Everyone tiptoed around me.
But now…
Hearing Aunt Megan yell at me for screaming…
For some strange reason…
It felt warm.
Familiar.
Like family.
My stupid heart actually began to ache.
I missed this.
I missed being scolded for something so silly.
Lauren noticed my expression.
Her eyes narrowed.
Lauren:
"Why are you making that face?"
I quickly looked away.
Justin:
"Nothing, Aunt Lauren."
Lauren turned towards Megan.
Lauren:
"SISTER!"
Her voice was loud enough to shake the windows.
---
MAIN HALL
The moment Megan shouted, Joseph slowly put down his teacup.
Joseph:
"Uh-oh… Sister-in-law Megan is ANGRY." 🙁
Stephen:
"Wait. Did I hear… Justin?" 😶
Jonathan finally lifted his head.
Jonathan (thinking):
…Did my son just yell?
Joseph suddenly froze.
Joseph:
"WAIT!"
He looked towards the staircase.
Joseph:
"WAS THAT MY WIFE'S VOICE?!" 😱
Lauren almost never shouted.
In fact, she was usually the calmest person in the house.
If she was shouting, something terrible had happened.
Stephen, Joseph and Jonathan simultaneously turned towards Justin's bedroom.
Their expressions were completely different from a moment ago.
Stephen: 😨
Joseph: 😶
Jonathan: 😟
Grandmother:
"Why are all of you staring like that?"
Nobody answered.
Because, apparently, the morning had just become dangerous.
---
JUSTIN POV
I sat on my bed, breathing heavily.
Let me summarise my current situation.
I was twenty-five years old mentally.
Fifteen years old physically.
And somehow…
I had travelled ten years into the past.
Back to the time when everyone whispered behind my back.
Back to the school days I hated.
Back to the days when my mother's absence followed me everywhere like a shadow.
But this time…
I wasn't the same Justin.
I remembered what happened.
I remembered how my previous life ended.
I remembered losing everyone.
And I remembered dying without ever getting the chance to live for myself.
I looked at my hands.
Small hands.
Fifteen-year-old hands.
Then I looked towards the bedroom door.
Outside were people I had lost in my previous life.
My aunts.
My uncles.
My grandparents.
My father.
They were all alive.
They were all here.
A small smile appeared on my face.
Justin (thinking):
This time, I'll do things differently.
I'll protect the people I love.
I'll make my own decisions.
And I won't let my mother's past destroy my future.
I clenched my little fists.
Justin:
"This time…"
My eyes narrowed with determination.
Justin:
"I WILL NOT LET MY LIFE REPEAT!"
And somewhere outside the room—
Lauren:
"MEGAN! YOUR NEPHEW IS ACTING WEIRD!"
Megan:
"THEN SEND HIM TO SCHOOL BEFORE HE STARTS SCREAMING AGAIN!"
Justin:
"…"
Maybe surviving my second life will be harder than I thought.
TO BE CONTINUED…