1 Oliver

Oliver had a huge hammer in his hands as he smashed the concrete over and over again. Bang, bang, bang. Sweat ran down his forehead, his shirt drenched. Oliver was a construction worker who worked long hours...

He was raised in a dysfunctional family; his father was a raging alcoholic who was abusive and beat him black and blue for most of his early childhood. His mother was a prostitute who had long left him at the whims of his father, leading to a childhood full of trauma. She did not care whether he lived or died, and he was on his own for most of his early childhood, abandoned by his father and mother.

He didn't know what a family was, and as a kid, he pretty much raised himself. His life in high school was pretty lonely, and he was a scrawny kid, malnourished, and everybody called him a weirdo. He was bullied and pushed around, and he didn't do well in any of his courses. Once he graduated from school, he had no prospects and quickly got a job as a construction worker, whose job involved back-breaking labour for long hours.

One day, on his way back from work, he saw an old man sitting near the pathway to his one-bedroom basement, which he had rented and called his own home.

Oliver was really tired and hungry, and he had a granola bar in his hands, and nothing else. He had worked eight long hours without any food, just barely surviving on some water. The old man stopped him and called out to him. "Hey, young man, I am hungry. Can you offer me something to eat?"

Oliver was really hungry and at this point, starving. All he had was his granola bar. He saw the old man who looked homeless and really beaten down from life and its hardships. "I am really hungry. Please give me some food," said the old man.

Oliver had pity and thought there is always someone who had it worse, and he gave the old man his only food for the night. The homeless old man took the bar, thanked him, and gave him a long look, saying, "I hope you get whatever you wish for," and went on his way.

Oliver was almost home, and it had started to rain heavily. He thought, "What a drag! Man, I don't even have anything on me, and this rain…" Cursing his luck and the gnawing hunger in his chest, he was dirty, wet, sleepy, hungry, and tired, just wanting to get home and go to sleep.

At the last corner, he crossed the street, and a truck that he didn't see was on its way and collided into him. BOOM! Everything was spinning. Oliver was hit by the infamous truck "Kun," which had taken out countless humans before, and now it was his turn to taste the asphalt.

As blood was spilling everywhere, Oliver's vision was becoming blurry. As he took his last breath, Oliver caught the sight of the dirty homeless old man that he had given some food. Oddly, he walked in the opposite direction. "How is he here?" With this last thought in his mind, everything went dark, and Oliver was gone.

Oliver woke up from a deep slumber, as if he had been sleeping for a very long time. As he woke up, he heard a feminine voice yell out, "Oliver! Oliver! OLIVER, wake up! Look what's at the window," she said.

Someone he had never known before was jumping up and down in a room that was too big to be his. She jumped up and down, looking at the window, yelling, "Look, look!" She opened the window, and a grey owl flew in.

Oliver stared at the owl full of curiosity, unlike any other owl he had ever seen before. His eyes shone brightly, clutching something in its talons. A letter.

The little girl was so full of energy as she yelled, "Open it, Ollie! Open the letter!"

Oliver opened the letter and was shocked at first at how tiny his hands were, not calloused at all, very pale and white like a child's. "What is going on?" he thought. As he started reading the letter, the little girl started yelling, "It's here, Ollie! Your letter is here!"

As the little girl was making the ruckus, Oliver read the letter, which was something he surprisingly recognized. It was a letter of invitation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Oliver was stunned as a series of memories came rushing to him, and he realized he was dead and had reincarnated in the world of Harry Potter. For some reason, he was relieved and excited at the same time, thinking of his past life. He didn't miss it at all.

A beautiful, tall lady came walking into the room, to whom he felt very connected. He was stunned by her beauty and by what she did next.

"Son, your letter from Hogwarts is here! Come here, give mommy a hug!" She hugged him, and Oliver felt a feeling that he had never felt before in his life: love. Tears started running down his cheeks. His sister also joined the hug, and he felt so at peace; he wanted this moment to last forever.

"Ah, son, why are you crying, dear?" And then he fainted again, from all the back-to-back shocks he had experienced.