I don't know if this is a confession, a record, or just a way to keep myself sane.
All I know is that this is real — the story of my life.
The names will be different. Some places too. Some choices… I might rewrite them just to see what could have been.
But the feelings? The moments that kept me awake at night?
Those are mine. Unchanged.
I'm not telling you my name. Not yet. Maybe never.
Because this isn't about me.
It's about you. About anyone who has ever stood at the edge of a moment, wondering if the next step will change everything.
So let's start where it all began — my fifteenth birthday.
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I was really excited for it all. I'd planned a trip with my friends to the arcade — only two of them showed up. We went looking for it but couldn't find it at first. After two hours of wandering and finally giving up, we realised we'd been standing right below it the whole time. We laughed so much.
We played some 2K, WWE, Mortal Kombat — and then stopped. The shopkeeper was clearly under the influence, so we decided not to pay. We headed back home. I was a bit late, around 9 p.m. My mum was angry, but what could I do? I'd had too much fun to care.
I forgot to work out that day. Later, we went for a family dinner and also invited my aunt's family — including her grumpy husband. I don't really like him, but we get along fine. It was fun. But I didn't know then that this would be one of the only few moments like that in this weird yet character-building year.
(God, I sound like an anime MC.)