THERE IS A common misconception that life begins at birth, and that it always starts at the same time. Hypothetically speaking, it does, although some will argue that it begins at conception, with the splitting and multiplying of cells. But regardless of what you believe, it does inarguably begin with a decision.

Perhaps your life began with a late night, and a bit too much to drink. Perhaps it began on your darkest day; when the worst thing you could ever imagine had already happened, and there was nothing that could change it or bring them back. When your father boots you out of the house. When your mother falls in love with a bad man. When you begin to believe that, finally, the world will not be pulled out from under you again, and then it is.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I wish I could tell you that this story has a happy ending. I wish I could say that I saved his life and undid the Unimaginable. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out in the end—at least, not in the way we want them to. And if you want to know the truth, it’s that nothing lasts forever. Every one of us wishes for happiness. We wish on every dandelion, every sunny day, every drop of rain. We hope that things will get better, and they will. After all, everyone deserves a happy ending.

But not everybody gets one.