My Time

Year 2015 Rain poured endlessly from the sky, dropping against the roof of my car in a steady, almost hypnotic rhythm. The road ahead stretched into darkness, illuminated only by the dim glow of the streetlights, which flickered as if struggling to stay alive. There were no other cars. No voices. Just me... and the sound of the rain. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, glancing at the small box fastened with a seat belt on the passenger seat. A cake. A chocolate one. His favorite. A small smile formed on my lips. My youngest brother has been talking about this day for weeks. No, months. He counts down his birthday like it were the most important event in the world. Every morning, he would even remind me how many days were left, his eyes full of excitement. "Make sure you're home early," he said this morning. "You promised." I did promise. And I always kept my promises. The soft hum of the engine and the tapping of rain created a comforting silence. In fact, I liked it. Moments like this, where everything felt still,l were rare in my life. Then my phone rang. The sharp sound cut through the quiet, making me flinch slightly. I glanced at the screen. My oldest younger brother. I sighed before answering. "What?" As expected, he didn't bother with greetings. "Where are you? When will you get home? Can you turn on your location?" His voice was urgent, almost impatient. "I'm on my way home," I replied calmly. "About ten minutes. And no." A pause "Denver is looking for you." Of course he is. "Then tell him I'll be there soon." Another pause. Shorter this time. "...Fine. Just be safe." The call ended before I could respond I let out a small breath, placing my phone back down. "Yeah, yeah," I muttered. The silence returned, wrapping around me like a blanket. But something felt... of.f I reached toward the dashboard, about to turn on the music when... A sound Faint at first. A strange, metallic noise. frown, my brows knitting together. "What is that...?" The noise grew louder. Sharper. Wrong. A chill ran down my spine. I pressed the brake. Nothing happened. My heart skipped a beat. I pressed harder—still nothing. "No... no, no, no!" Panic surged through my body like electricity. My foot slammed against the brake pedal again and again, but it felt useless, like I was stepping on air. "Stop. Stop!" My breathing quickened as I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white. The car continued forward at the same speed, completely unresponsive, The curve ahead. I knew this road. Too well. If I didn't slow down... "I can still turn... I can still-" I twisted the steering wheel. The car responded,d but barely. Then A figure. A man. Standing in the middle of the road. "What the-?!" Instinct took over. I jerked the wheel to the side, trying to avoid him. The tires screeched against the wet road. The world spun Crash. The impact slammed into me with brutal force. Pain exploded through every nerve as the sound of shattering glass filled my ears. Something warm trickled down my forehead. Blood. Smoke rose from the front of the car, spreading into the air. My vision blurred, darkness creeping in from the edges. Everything felt distant. Muted. Heavy. I tried to move. I couldn't. My eyelids dropped. So tired... Then A voice. "Aiza..." Soft. Gentle. Unfamiliar. "Aiza. Open your eyes..." Open... my eyes? Then darkness swallowed everything. ~~~ When I opened my eyes again, the world had changed. Gone was the wreckage. The pain. The rain. Instead, I stood in a vast, endless space. The ground beneath me was smooth and pale, almost like glass, yet covered in a thin layer of drifting smoke that surrounded my feet. The air was neither warm nor cold. Just... empty. "What the heck...?" My voice echoed faintly, as if the space itself was hollow. "Welcome to the other side." I froze. The voice. The same one before. "Who's there?" I demanded, turning around. "Show yourself!" No answer. Instead, a soft glow appeared in front of me. A hologram. It flickered once... then shifted. A mirror. I stared at my reflection. I wasn't wearing my bloodstained clothes anymore. Instead, I was dressed in a long white gown that flowed like water, the fabric moving even though there was no wind. My hair fell neatly over my shoulders, untouched, uninjured. "...What is this?" The mirror shimmered. Then it changed. Words appread "You are given a chance to change your fate." "My fate?" I repeated, frowning. The text vanished. Replaced by another image. A girl in a school uniform. Me. "You're a character in a novel, Aiza." I went still. "You're a second lead... destined to die." "...Excuse me?" "And you brothers..." the voice continued calmly, almost mechanically, "...are the villains of this story." Silence. Heavy. Unbelievable. Yet the images continued. "Your oldest younger brother, Thiago Dalil Xu," The voice said. "A ruthless CEO based in Manila. He's in love with the female lead and constantly opposes the male lead. In the end... he loses everything." Another image. "Your middle brother, Mateo Ezekiel Frada. A top celebrity. Controversial. Reckless. He targets the male lead on a variety show... and is eventually destroyed by public backlash." Another. "Your youngest brother, Denver Rue Jimenez. A delinquent. A bully. He harms the male lead's younger brother... and pays for it with his freedom." Each image struck harder than the last. "And you," The voice concluded. "Aiza Mirian Collins... is the male lead's deceased first love. Your only role is to misunderstandings... even after your death." I stared at the shifting images, my mind struggling to process everything. "All of this is yours and your brothers' fate. And you were the first one." This was insane. Ridiculous. Impossible. I pressed my palm against my forehead, letting out a dry, disbelieving laugh. "This is too much." A character? A novel? A tragic ending for all of us? I looked up, my gaze hardening. "Having my own consciousness as a character is already weird enough," I muttered. "But being dragged into some cliché storyline?" I shook my head. "No thanks." Silence lingered for a moment. "What will you do?" The voice sounded curious this time. I exhaled slowly. Then answered, firmly. "I refuse." The smoke around my feet swirled slightly. "I refuse to follow a script where my brother suffers, and I die just to make some love story dramatic." My fists clenched at my sides. "I'm not playing that role." A pause. "...Understood." The light in front of me brightened. "I will guide you," the voice said. "In your journey to change your fate." I narrowed my eyes slightly. "A guide, huh?" "You may call me... Nova." I let out a small breath. "...Fine." If this were real... If I truly had a chance... Then I would take it. I lifted my chin, my voice steady. "Alright, Nova." My gaze sharpened with determination. "Take me back." Because this time. I won't die. And I won't let my brothers fall into ruin. Not in this story. Not in any world