1 Prologue - Fate Change

His body felt cold. An instinct told him this was wrong but it was like his mind was mired deep in mud. The man was trying to get up but he felt no response from any of his limbs. Strangely, this did not bother him but the feeling of something dripping on his face did. Very slowly, he forced his eyes open.

Blinding light gave way to a young woman bawling over him. He could see his hand in hers but there was no feeling to it. Again, he felt no panic and when he commanded the hand to grip back, it did respond even without feeling. Her smeared face jerked up and saw his eyes looking at her.

"Don't die, please don't die! I was the one who wanted to die but you—" Her words finally unlocked his sluggish mind. It was like he was seeing his day in rewind for a bit before it replayed in his memory.

He was early to the office. The cubicle was as joyless as ever. He had never understood decorating a cubicle at work. It was not meant to be enjoyed but to be endured in his mind. That being said, he adored his coworkers. His neighbor on the right had photos of her family and loved talking about her kids adventures. The man enjoyed the conversations and happily let her talk about them for hours to make the doldrum of work pass faster.

The one of the left though was pushing the boundary of acceptance as his desk was decked out with just shy of over the top models and posters of various shows and anime they enjoyed. Nothing was inappropriate but there was barely any room for the computer on the standard gray desk let alone even the various mugs the young man used to drink his coffee or water during the day.

Still, the man enjoyed both his neighbors. He loved people. He had grown up in a massive family and just in that extended group was almost every kind of person you could imagine. They had epic fights followed by making up over games and drinks. For all the difficulty, the man loved them all and thus strangers were just as good to him as family. His friends often told him he was too nosey or close to them, but all cherished him.

He was not massively successful but his life was content. The day had been rolling along when he was tapped to run for lunch in his area. Usually, people would bring their own, but quite a few would get together and pool some money for a decent take out. The man was 'volunteered' to go get this order and he really did not mind. It was time out in the sun and out of the stuffy office so he accepted. He had done this a thousand times before so what would it hurt?

His sisters had been pestering him lately about getting a girlfriend and starting a family, but the man did not really feel the need to. He absolutely was attracted to several women, but he simply watched from afar as others connected with them and seemed to find happiness. If he saw someone being bothered, the man would do something, but aside from that, he simply was content.

He looked out over the heavily populated sidewalks as the usual traffic and sounds of conversation filled the air. The city was all going to lunch, thankfully he was picking up a prepared batch for his coworkers and himself. He was looking at the lights and seeing when it would be good to cross when something at the side of his vision snatched his attention.

He was told that he often seemed able to tell when people were in trouble. A scrunched eyebrow, a trembling hand, or something else so subtle that many missed, he always caught. Sometimes he could just get them to laugh and it would all be good, but other times he had to get involved for months before things could be worked out.

This moment in the street was like all those other times. His eyes caught something that stood out, but this time it was hardly subtle. A young woman in a tan sweater and dark skirt was standing in the crosswalk while the timer ran down for the pedestrians. Her dirty blonde hair covered her face but he saw sunlight sparkle on something falling down from her face.

His body moved slowly, looking to see if anyone else noticed her but the vast majority just moved around her without looking up. Their phones had all their attention. Technology had made many things convenient, but the man felt his own face frown at the complete lack of awareness people had to someone in distress. The woman did not move out of the center of the crosswalk as the timer reached zero and it beeped its last warning.

Cars began to honk and drive around her, but she did not move. It seemed he could wait a bit, but then a truck came barreling down the lane and he noticed the driver was not looking up at that moment. Whether it was a phone or radio did not matter, it was the worst timing. The man moved instantly and people called out to him for being rude before they saw the woman and realized why he nearly knocked them over.

A part of him was irritated as some put up their phones to record what was about to happen. He honestly loved people, but humanity as a whole could disgust him. He shoved that down and flung out his body to tackle the woman out of the way. At the last instant, the truck driver saw her and changed his direction. Sadly, the man realized he would now be the one to be struck. Time slowed to a crawl.

He saw the dead amber eyes of the woman look at him before life suddenly trembled into them. She now went from sad to horrified to realize someone had come for her in her lowest moment. The driver went from anger to a parallel of horror as he realized another human being was about to be smashed by his truck.

The man in front of them both strangely smiled and opened his mouth to quickly say what needed to be said.

"Live, and find your smile again!" The short sentence confused the cute woman but then the world became nothing to the man. He vaguely recalled a sensation of being touched by steel, but it was like his mind cut off after that. He was not a dumb man. Even at a simple 30 mph, his odds of living were slim.

He returned to the present and forced his face to smile. He saw those same amber eyes that had been so dead jump at his actions. His body was so cold and he could not feel the hand he held, it could not be long left now.

The lack of fear felt odd, but he focused on the young woman. It would be his last act and he did not want her to be dragging this guilt with her. He only hoped it would work.

"I—want—you—to—live—a—good—life." It was hard. Each word took a breath to get out but he saw the awe in her face and he saw his own arm obey his command on his right side lift up and wipe away her tears. She grabbed that hand as well and looked right into his vision as she nodded.

"I promise. I will find a way, but you have to fight! You have to live!" She was trying to buy death but the man knew death would not care. Still, he smiled again as a cough wracked his body. He tried to breathe and it was almost impossible but he had to try one more time.

"I—believe—in—you." Her face became slackened with many emotions, but different tears fell now. It was not the tears of giving up, but the tears of grief. He saw it at last. Just like he could pick up subtle signs of distress, there were equally subtle signs of joy. She was going to live. She was going to find her smile again.

The man smiled as much as he could as he finally let his body do what it wanted to do so badly. The light of the world began to dim but his eyes were wide open. He saw the grief flash in her face but she pushed it down to smile at him as long as she could. She would be ok now, he felt it in his heart.

As the end finally came, the man did feel one regret. He wished he could have known for certain if he lead a useful life. He was content but he had generally drifted from one job to the next without a real plan to build a life of his own. He guessed he would never have that now. The darkness finally closed over and the world was gone forever.

Fate has been changed. Words suddenly echoed and the man jumped up in an empty white space with his body fully intact and no injuries at all. The man looked around, but no one was here. It was not the street, a hospital, or anything at all really. It seemed to stretch forever.

"No way…" So there really is an afterlife, but what now?