The night sky engulfed the city streets, making it seem as if a dark veil had dropped on to the city. There weren't any stars that could be viewed, people paced harriedly to wherever they intended to go. Some who were heading to start their night shift while others were getting ready to end theirs.
Honk!!! Honk!!! "What the hell is going on out there?" A man in a tailored black suit asked while seated at the back of car.
"Ohh sorry sir! I seemed to have spaced out for a moment." The driver responded.
The traffic light had already turned green but the driver did not move and in frustration the other driver at the back honked at him to get moving.
" Just be careful next time." The man with the tailored suit responded.
The driver, Lao Fei had been the man's designated drivers for a week now and Lao Fei could not help but to admire this man's life. He would occasionally start conversations with him to find more about what he does for a living.
Ring!! Ring!! The phone besides the man rang, he quickly picked it up and answered. "Xiang speaking, the client was satisfied with our work, we propose a mixture of Vanilla bonds and some exotics. Yes, looking forward to tomorrow," the man in the suit talked with a refined accent. Which showed his sophistication.
Then immediately after hanging up his phone another one rang. Without hesitation he picked it up and held it over his ear once more.
Xiang, speaking. What!! No, I don't have my computer on me at the mome… Lao Fei noticed his face turned solem for a moment picking up the phone.
He asked with a shred of concern on his face, worried as if something bad was about to happen. " Is everything alright sir…."
"Speed up we need to get to my house as soon as possible." He yelled at Lao Fei.
Lao Fei stepped on the gas peddle, he didn't need to know much just that probably he'd get a tip after this. Vrooo... Honk!!Honk!!! The road became chaotic all of a sudden.
Cars swayed left and right as they sped up through every intersection. Lao Fei heart was pounding and Xiang could only helplessly sare at the his watch as Lao Fei drove.
" Oh my God!!! We just got a tip that The Wei Country will start a war with Li Country in the next Fifty minutes, if this blows up we'll loose all our positions on the oil trades, we need to short. Mei how much can you take out without raising any suspicions." Xiang was on the phone.
"Thirty million but I that's on foreign markets, the five hundred million in local market is where we have most of our assets." Mei spoke anxiously.
"Try to talk through any brokers to start dumping as soon as the market opens tomorrow," Xiang was still on the phone." Tell the others to do so right now."
"How much...." Honk!! Honk!!. Bang!!!
"What's going on? Where am I?" Mmmh
"Why is it so dark in here and cold, last thing I remember I was in a car, then a bright light, then everything went dark,then,then…"
" Am I dead oh my God, I probably am, but why? I guess this wasy fate all along. After studying so hard and trying to land a good job, it ends here in a road accident."
" I didn't even get to have kids let alone marry and have a beautiful wife to take home over the holidays. It can't end here, I can't let it end here."
"Do you want to live?" A strange voice came from the abyss.
"Who's there?"
"Damm it why doesn't anyone just answer the question they are asked…Do you wanna live or not!"
"I do, I want to live"
"There we go, hey!" A sharp light engulfed the darkness revealing a boy and in a strange room that looked like a modern styled studio room. " I thought this form might make you feel comfortable. " The boy was dressed in blue T-shirt with superhero photo drawn on it and brown shorts.
"Who are you?"
"Really, that's what you are worried a about,after just dying."
"So I did really die," he thought to himself.
"I mean the whole darkness thing, and you in a random room, while coming from a car. Should be pretty obvious."
Awkward silence. "Anyway my name is….mmh forget about that, here's the deal."
"Why the heck is that supposed to mean, at least tell me who you are kid!"
"Kid? Why you, I'll have you know the only kid here is you, young man!" the boy shouted as if aggravated.
"Well if you are old why do you look like a little kid."
"Mortals so shallow minded, you couldn't even recognise your younger self even if you faced him directly." he looked at the man with a smirk on his face.
What! That's me when I was a kid?....He thought to himself.
"Back to the main issue at hand, I'm here to give you a proposal," the boy said.
"What kind of proposal?" he asked.
"Weell… to be honest it's more of options rather than a proposal since you already chose to live." the boy said crossing his arm.
"I'll give you two options," the boy smiled.
"I can send you back to where you came from but you'd have no memory of your past life, and I don't know what you'd come back as a cow, bird, fish or an ant. You'd be lucky enough if you were born as a girl."
"That doesn't seem like living,does it? What's the other choice?"
The boy gave off a malicious grin. Before switching instantaneously like an extatic child. " You can revive in another world full of wonder, magic, adventure, monsters like those videos games and novels you all read." He said while pointing a screen of an animation playing on the flat screen TV.
"What do you say, best part you'll retain all your memories." The smirk, though faint could still be seen.
"I feel like there's a catch, what's in it for you?"
"Ohh nothing much, I just need you to get rid of something for me."
"And what is that?"
"Your regret," they boy smiled innocently. "Think of this as a Do over, live life to the fullest, will you do that for me, Lao Fei."
Lao Fei contemplated on the remark and then smiled back and nodded in response. Promising him just that, he didn't know who this person is or rather what it was but he felt very close to him as if someone finally understood him.
The floor collapsed on itself and Lao Fei fell down the abyss before being swallowed by a bright light. As if suddenly recalling something, he reached out his arms to the boy who was floating. "Wait you didn't tell me who you were!!"
"This should be entertaining to watch," the boy smirked once more. He then jolted as if recalling something. "Ahh…. that's right there was another guy to, now where is he," he flew around with right hand over his eyes as if a person looking for something under bright light.