Alex screamed, clutching at his left eye. He flailed around, thrashing from the pain and blood-

Wait.

Alex paused, suddenly realizing that something was off.

The pain Alex felt when that old man stabbed him was still clear in his mind. But he didn't actually hurt. Not only that, but something else was off.

He had been lying on his front, but he was on his back now. Not only that, but the surroundings...

A spackled white ceiling. Pictures of him and Mei mounted on the walls. A few certificates and plaques, as well as some pictures she gifted to him when she was younger.

It was his room.

Alex slowly sat up, watching as the covers slid down from his body.

No blood. His pajamas, and not the black suit he was wearing.

"Was... Was it just a nightmare?" Alex clutched his head, trying to wrap his mind around what happened.

And then he heard a knock on his door.

"Al? Are you okay?"

A sleepy female voice. Young.

And one he never thought he would hear again.

Alex stumbled out of his bed and then walked over to his door. But before he took two steps, his knees gave out and he crashed on the floor.

"Al!"

The door slammed open and someone ran over. Before he could react, a pair of delicate arms wrapped around him, tugging him up. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Alex didn't respond. Instead, he stared at the person calling out to him.

Frazzled black hair, still messy from sleep. Bleary hazel eyes staring at me with concern. The cute face that he had just seen stiff and lifeless now animated and vibrant with emotion.

Mei.

He didn't think. Alex pulled Mei into a tight hug and held her close.

"A-Al?!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry." Alex trembled, feeling tears run down his face.

Even if it had just been a nightmare. Even if this was a dream. The fact that Mei was here and alive-

"G-Geez." Mei wriggled away from Alex and then shook her head. "Weren't you the one who said to not stress yourself with finals. Sheesh."

Alex blinked and wiped away his tears.

Mei stared at him with a strange expression. Sad, happy... and something Alex couldn't make out.

Before he could speak, Mei stood up and left the room. "I'll make some coffee and oatmeal."

With just that, she was gone.

Alex stayed there in silence for a bit, kneeling on the floor. But after a few minutes passed and he heard Mei stumbling about in the kitchen, he knew it wasn't a dream. But then...?

Alex frowned and swept his gaze around.

...Yes. It was his room. His backpack was there, stuffed with his textbooks. A few notebooks were open, pages scrawled with derivatives and integrals. And his phone was lying on the floor next to his desk.

A typical scene for a high schooler. Something meaningless would blur into every other day.

But Alex remembered this day. This room. This exact layout.

He turned his gaze to the calendar on his wall.

Today's date was circled with a big red marker. June 13th. Friday.

The day he lost Mei forever.

xxx

Mei strapped her seatbelt on and frowned. Looking at Alex with her clear hazel eyes, she frowned and said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"...I'm fine." Alex placed his seatbelt on as well and then reached out to start the car. "Just... nerves."

Nerves and confusion.

Was this a dream, or was it the one he saw before waking up? Which was truth and which was fiction?

Did he imagine Mei dying like that because of the stress, or... Was he really back?

Mei rolled her eyes and said, "I told you to not stay up late, Al. What are you going to do if you fail because you're too sleepy? Won't it be hard to get into Yale then?"

Alex turned to look at Mei.

Sharp words. Slightly exasperated.

It was different from how he remembered her. But... now that he thought back, she had been off that day as well, hadn't she?

Alex frowned and said, "Is everything alright, Mei?"

Mei froze. For just a split second, her lips pursed and her eyes shifted. A moment that Alex wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been paying attention.

But then it was gone and Mei laughed. "Of course everything's fine." She reached out to tap Alex's arm and said, "Stop worrying about me and worry about you, Al. Today's your last day of school, isn't it? Knock the socks off those tests."

A bright smile. One that seemed to reach her eyes.

But...

"...Okay."

Alex shifted his gaze and started the car, his thoughts still chaotic.

xxx

The atrium just past the main entrance of Alex's high school.

Mei had gone ahead, mentioning something about meeting up with friends for breakfast.

Friends that Alex didn't know about.

Standing beneath the second floor balcony, Alex frowned, rubbing his left eye as he watched the other students head off to clas.

"Morning, Bro! Ready to get outta here?"

A cheerful male voice.

Alex blinked and looked over to see someone walking over to him.

An Asian young man with black hair and intelligent brown eyes hidden behind thick glasses. He wore a white dress shirt and jeans, carrying a black sidebag for his textbooks and notes.

Chue Xiong, Alex's childhood friend.

*static*

Chue, standing beside Alex. His hand on Alex's shoulder, and a solemn expression. "It's okay, Bro. You couldn't have known. Even if you went home earlier..."

*static*

Alex clutched his left eye, feeling a sudden headache.

"Hm?" Chue walked over and threw his arm around Alex's shoulder. "You alright, Bro? Need an energy drink?"

Alex brushed off Chue's arm and shook his head. "No. I'm fine. Just..."

A flash of color on Chue's wrist.

Alex blinked and said, "What's that?"

"Hm?" Chue raised his wrist and said, "This?"

A red and white string bracelet, tied around Chue's wrist. And next to those, a row of white strings, also tied around his wrist.

Chue laughed and said, "Just a good luck charm. My parents want me to do well, so they did a ceremony to get our ancestors to bless me... Well, something like that. It's complicated. But anyway." Chue adjusted his bag and started walking. "You ready for the tests?"

"Yeah..." Alex gave an absent-minded response and frowned, rubbing his left eye.

"Great! Cause I'm not. Now, what was Le Hospital's rule about again?"

"It's L'Hopitals rule, Chue."

"Right. That. So... what is it?"

Alex sighed.

xxx

The school day passed by in a blur.

It was finals, after all. And after going through the tests, Alex confirmed that it wasn't a dream.

The tests were the same. The general conversations of his classmates. Chue, handing him an energy drink at lunch. Him, being approached by a girl about seeing a movie later. Others, chatting about how hard the tests were.

He didn't care. Instead...

"Come on, Bro." Chue wrapped his grabbed Alex's shoulder and said, "April's totally got the hots for you! This is your last shot!"

The entrance of the school.

The day was over, and the seniors were let out early.

Alex remembered that.

But he hadn't been the only one let out early that day.

Alex brushed off Chue's hand and glanced at his phone. The missed message that was sent while he was taking his tests.

[Meimei]
I feel sick so I'm going home early. A friend is taking me, so don't worry.

The notification he brushed off in the past. Something he just remembered about as he walked out from his last test and confirmed what he knew.

Then...

"Bro?"

Alex pulled out his keys and started running towards the parking lot.

"H-Hey! Wait, Bro! Al!"

'Please... Please!'

xxx

*static*

"What were you thinking?! If you had gone home a few hours earlier...!"

"Meimei...! My baby girl...!"

*static*

"Shut up, shut up, shut up." Alex shook his head and got out of his car.

He was home. Flooring it as fast as he could, he parked the car on the street and ran to the front door.

*static*

Mei, lying on the floor. Pills scattered all around, her eyes closed and body already cold.

*static*

"Dammit! Unlock already!" Alex fumbled with his keys, trying to unlock the door.

But then he remembered that it had been unlocked at that time when he-

"Stop. It's not. It won't."

He grabbed the doorknob and threw open the door. "MEI!"

"Al...?"

A weak voice.

Alex ran inside, sweeping his gaze around the room.

The same.

The past and the present overlapped.

But he snapped out of it and ran forward. "Mei!"

She was alive. She was breathing. There was time.

The bottles were still there. The pills were there. But she was alive. Mei was still alive, so...

Alex grabbed Mei and lifted her up. "Hang on, Mei. Hang on-"

"I'm sorry." Mei leaned her head against Alex. "It hurts, but I'm sorry."

Alex glanced at her and shook his head. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Tell me when you get better."

His heart was racing.

Time. He needed time.

How much time was left?

*static*

"...She overdosed. It's hard to tell exactly when it was, but it should have been around the time you would normally get home. Maybe-"

*static*

Alex glanced at the clock on the wall.

3:13 PM.

"Al..."

Mei's weak voice.

Alex froze and looked down at her.

Mei's eyes were dull. Murky and unfocused.

"I'm here, Mei."

She shook her head and whispered.

Alex couldn't hear it, so he leaned closer.

"...I hate you."

Alex froze.

What did she just-?

Before Alex could finish that thought, Mei stopped moving. Her labored breathing stopped.

"M-Mei?"

No response.

Alex blinked and looked down at her. "Meimei? H-Hey. You're fine, right?"

She didn't open her eyes.

Alex pulled Mei close and said, "Y-You can hate me all you want. I know I've been a terrible brother. I know I messed up. But...! Please! Wake up! Wake-!"

xxx

>>> rewind()
Traceback error. var CoD is undefined. var affection <= 0 is true. var instigator is undefined.

>>> payCost(life)
>>> print(life)
363 days of life remain for Alex Li.

>>> print(checkpoint)
"06/13/12"

>>> restartDay(checkpoint)
"reloading..."
"waking processes..."

>>>