The next day, Kai could barely focus through all his classes.

  His mind kept racing, replaying everything that had happened.

  The trip back in time.

  The accident.

  The terrifying near-loss of Leo.

  “If I hadn’t fixed it in time…”

  But now, there was one thing he needed to do.

  “I have to see Leo. I have to know for sure that he’s okay.”

  As soon as school ended, Kai headed straight for the theater room, weaving through students in the hallway without even really seeing them.

  His heart was pounding, but this time it wasn’t about fear — it was about making sure Leo was alright.

  When he walked through the doors, the warm energy of the theater group wrapped around him like a shield against his thoughts.

  Brandon was already joking loudly about something, Sam was sitting on stage swinging her legs, Naomi leaned against the wall with her usual smirk, and Lila was off to the side reading a script.

  But Kai’s eyes went straight to Leo, who was sitting on the edge of the stage, grinning at something Brandon said.

  “He’s here. He’s fine.”

  Kai let out a quiet breath of relief.

  “Hey, Leo,” Kai called, making his way over casually, though inside his chest was still tight.

  Leo looked up and grinned wide.

  “Yo, Kai! What’s up, man? You ready to lose again at racing games later?”

  Kai let out a soft laugh.

  “We’ll see about that.”

  He sat next to Leo, studying him quietly for a moment.

  “You good? I mean… after everything last night?”

  Leo shrugged, still smiling.

  “Yeah, man. I’m fine. Why?”

  Kai hesitated, searching his face for any hint of something wrong, but Leo looked totally normal, totally himself.

  “Nothing,” Kai said finally, forcing a smile. “Just making sure.”

  “You’re weird, bro,” Leo laughed, nudging him playfully.

  Kai chuckled, but inside, a weight still sat heavy in his chest.

  “If only you knew how close it was… if only you knew I almost failed you.”

  The others gathered around as Mr. Alder called them in for warm-ups, but as they were stretching, the conversation naturally turned back to the night before.

  “Man, I still can’t believe how fun last night was,” Brandon said, grinning. “We need to do that again soon.”

  “Yeah, that was the best,” Sam agreed softly. “I haven’t laughed like that in a while.”

  Naomi smirked.

  “Except for the end,” she said, crossing her arms.

  The group quieted slightly, and Kai tensed, watching them.

  “Yeah…” Brandon nodded, his voice softer. “That motorcycle accident… that was rough.”

  “Still can’t get that image out of my head,” Leo added, shaking his head.

  Kai swallowed, heart pounding.

  “If they only knew how much worse it could have been.”

  Lila, who had been quiet, looked over at Kai, her eyes lingering on him thoughtfully — like she was noticing something about the way he sat, the way his gaze dropped.

  “Yeah… it was sad,” she said quietly, still watching Kai.

  “But,” Brandon said suddenly, clapping his hands together, “we’re all here. So let’s make tonight a good one, alright?”

  The group smiled and nodded, though the heaviness of that memory still lingered.

  Kai forced himself to smile with them.

  As they began warm-ups, moving in circles and laughing at Brandon’s over-the-top impressions, Kai watched them all — his friends — alive, safe, laughing.

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  “I did it. I fixed it.”

  But even in that moment of relief, a new thought burned in his mind:

  “I can’t ever let myself play with life and death again. Not ever.”

  He knew now how thin that line was — how easily fate could shift when you pushed it.

  The group was still buzzing after theater class, gathered near the door, laughing as Brandon tried to convince everyone to head to the arcade again.

  “Come on, guys! Last night was epic. Let’s do a rematch!”

  “Yeah, let’s go!” Leo grinned, nudging Sam.

  But Kai hesitated, the smile on his face strained.

  “Hey, Kai, you in?” Brandon called, noticing him standing back.

  Kai shook his head quickly, forcing a smile.

  “Nah, I’m good. You guys go ahead without me. I’m… tired.”

  Brandon raised an eyebrow.

  “You sure, man?”

  “Yeah. Just need some time, you know?” Kai said, avoiding their eyes.

  Lila watched him for a moment, frowning slightly — like she saw right through him.

  “Alright, well… next time,” Brandon said, giving him a nod.

  “Yeah. Next time,” Kai echoed, but his heart wasn’t in it.

  As soon as he got home, Kai went straight to his room, locking the door behind him.

  Leaning against it, he let out a long breath.

  “I can’t. Not after last night. Not after almost losing Leo.”

  He sat on his bed, running a hand through his hair. His mind was racing.

  “I need to stop. No more going back to the past. Not until I understand what I’m really doing.”

  His eyes landed on the console, quietly waiting on his desk.

  “At least this is safe.”

  He turned on the console, slipping into the familiar world of games, trying to distract himself from the storm inside his head.

  But as he played, racing through digital landscapes and fighting pixelated enemies, it felt empty.

  No matter how intense the game got, it was nothing compared to the rush of being out of his body, of bending reality.

  “It’s not the same,” Kai admitted to himself.

  “Flying through time… feeling everything so sharp, so real…”

  His hands gripped the controller tighter, fighting the pull growing inside him.

  “No. I promised myself. I have to stop.”

  But still, the temptation gnawed at him, whispering at the edge of his mind.

  Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

  Kai stood abruptly, turning off the console mid-game, the screen flicking to black.

  “Okay. If the past is dangerous… if I can’t control what I change…”

  He paced the room, thinking fast, his mind spinning.

  “What about the future?”

  The thought made him stop in his tracks.

  “I’ve been so focused on going back… but what if I went forward?”

  His heart thudded.

  “But… the future isn’t like the past. I don’t remember the future.”

  The realization made him pause, doubt creeping in.

  “If I need a memory to travel into… how can I go to a place I’ve never seen?”

  But then —

  Another thought.

  A dangerous thought.

  “What if… I don’t need a memory?”

  His eyes widened as the idea took hold.

  “What if… I just need to imagine it?”

  He sat down slowly, mind reeling.

  “If I can travel to memories with a feeling — like a car and fuel — what if I can build the car from scratch?”

  “What if imagination is the door to the future?”

  The very idea sent a thrill of excitement and fear through him.

  “No one has memories of the future. But if I create one in my mind… detailed enough… vivid enough… could I travel there?”

  Kai stood and walked to his closet, staring at the candle on the shelf.

  His hands shook slightly — part fear, part anticipation.

  “But what if it’s dangerous?”

  Still, the thought refused to let him go.

  “I’ve opened doors I can’t close. Maybe this is the next one I’m meant to open.”

  He took a deep breath, his mind torn between fear and temptation.

  “Tomorrow… maybe tomorrow I’ll try.”

  As he lay down that night, staring up at the ceiling, the idea spun in his head like a storm.

  “The future… a door I’ve never walked through.”

  “What would I see?”

  “What would I learn?”

  As sleep finally pulled him under, one thought lingered:

  “If I could see the future… would I even want to?”

  The weekend had finally arrived, but Kai’s mind wasn’t at ease.

  He had made up his mind.

  Today, he was going to try something he had never done before.

  “No more past… this time, I’ll try to see the future.”

  After breakfast, Kai went straight to his room, shutting the door behind him, the outside world fading away.

  Sitting in the closet, candle flickering softly, Kai took a deep breath.

  “Okay… let’s do this.”

  As always, he closed his eyes, letting the pyramid form, the spiraling sensation lifting him from his body, sending him to the now-familiar smoky space filled with floating colors.

  But this time, when the feeling of joy — his usual fuel — filled his chest, he didn’t search for a memory.

  Instead, he began to build something new in his mind.

  “A perfect day. The sun shining on a beach, smiling, feeling free.”

  He imagined the warmth on his skin, the sound of waves crashing, the feeling of sand between his toes.

  The kind of day he always wished for but never had.

  Kai focused harder, picturing every detail, filling the scene with color, sound, and emotion.

  But before he could hold onto it for long, the feeling began to fade, slipping away like water through his fingers.

  His eyes opened slowly, and he was still in his closet.

  Nothing had changed.

  “It didn’t work…”

  A mix of frustration and disappointment settled in his chest.

  “Maybe I can’t do it. Maybe I’m not ready.”

  Kai sat in silence for a while, turning the failed attempt over in his mind, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

  “Maybe imagination isn’t enough.”

  Just as he was about to try again, a knock came at his door.

  “Kai? Can you help me? I need to go to the store,” his mom called.

  Kai sighed, standing up.

  “Maybe it’s better to get out anyway.”

  The store run didn’t last long.

  As they were about to head home, his mom’s phone rang, her boss on the other end sounding stressed.

  “Hi, I’m so sorry to ask, but could you drop by? I’m missing some documents and I’m freaking out,” her boss said, her voice tight with tension.

  “Sure, I’ll be there,” Kai’s mom replied, glancing at him. “You okay to come with me?”

  Kai nodded.

  “What else do I have to do?”

  They drove through quiet streets until they reached a stunning mansion near the shoreline, towering and elegant, with glass windows reflecting the sea.

  Kai’s eyes widened slightly as they pulled up the driveway.

  “Whoa… what even is this place?”

  Inside, the house was even more impressive — open, filled with light, expensive furniture lining every room.

  After a polite greeting, his mom’s boss led her to another room, leaving Kai alone in the living room.

  Kai sat awkwardly on the couch, flipping through TV channels to pass the time, when the sound of a knock on the door made him glance up.

  A girl about his age walked into the room, casually dressed but with an air of quiet confidence. She shot him a polite smile.

  “Hey,” she said as she passed by, walking straight to the door.

  Kai gave a small nod.

  “Hey.”

  She opened the door and a group of three other teens — two girls and a guy — came in, laughing and chatting like they were regular visitors.

  “Sorry I’m late, guys,” she said with a grin, letting them inside.

  Once they were all gathered in the living room, plopping onto the couches and chairs around, she turned back to Kai.

  “I’m Alina, by the way,” she offered casually.

  “Kai.”

  “Cool.”

  They sat, talking about random things — music, school, video games — and Kai, though quiet, found himself relaxing a little.

  Then one of Alina’s friends stood up, stretching.

  “It’s way too nice to sit inside. Let’s go out back to the beach.”

  “Yeah, let’s play something!” another chimed in.

  Alina grabbed a volleyball sitting in the corner of the room and turned to Kai.

  “You wanna come? Better than sitting here bored, right?”

  Kai hesitated for a second, but then nodded.

  “Sure.”

  “Better than just sitting here alone.”

  Following them through the back door, Kai stepped outside — and the bright sunlight hit his face, the sound of waves crashing softly in the background.

  The beach spread wide and open, golden sand stretching to the water’s edge, sunlight dancing on the waves.

  Alina and her friends ran ahead, laughing and tossing the volleyball between them as they headed down closer to the ocean.

  Kai blinked, taking in the scene, but nothing felt out of place — at first.

  “Nice place. Didn’t think her family would live this close to the beach.”

  As they reached a flat part of the sand, they began playing, passing the volleyball back and forth, shouting, laughing when someone missed.

  “Kai, you’re up!” Alina called, tossing the ball toward him.

  Kai caught it, smiling a little, his body moving without overthinking for once.

  “Feels good to just play. To laugh a little.”

  As the game went on, the sun warmed his skin, the ocean breeze brushing past them, salty and fresh.

  They laughed as someone tripped over the sand, and Alina teased one of her friends for missing an easy shot.

  And that’s when it hit him —

  A strange wave of familiarity.

  For a moment, his chest tightened, and his eyes drifted across the waves, the volleyball flying through the air.

  “Wait…”

  “This feels… familiar. Like I’ve done this before.”

  The laughter.

  The sun on his face.

  The beach.

  The volleyball in the air.

  It was the exact scene he had imagined earlier that day.

  His heart started to pound, realization slowly creeping over him.

  “No way… this is what I imagined this morning.”

  “But… how? I’ve never been here. Never met these people before.”

  He missed a catch as the ball bounced near him, Alina laughing as she picked it up.

  “Don’t zone out on us now, Kai!” she joked.

  “Yeah, sorry,” he said quickly, forcing a laugh — but inside, his mind was racing.

  “Did I… make this happen? Did I imagine this into reality?”

  As the game continued, Kai moved and laughed with them, but his thoughts kept circling back.

  “If I really did this… if I can shape the future like this… what does that mean?”

  “And what happens if I imagine the wrong thing?”

  The ocean breeze felt colder now, despite the sun still shining.

  “I need to figure this out.”

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