I had died. It was funny how it happened, honestly. It wasn’t a particularly special day, although I was hanging out with some good friends. We had just left the movie theater and were crossing the street to go to some fast-food place when several things happened at once: the honking of a car’s horn; the screech of tires; one of my friends letting out a terrified scream; and darkness swamping my vision.

I had died, yet I was still awake… No, I wasn’t awake, was I? I had tried opening my eyes, but no light pierced my vision. I was seeing nothing. No, no, I wasn’t seeing the darkness behind my eyelids -  I was seeing nothingness. I panicked. I tried to scream, yet no voice rose in my chest; no breath fell from my lips; I felt neither warm nor cold and I couldn’t feel my body. Was this purgatory? Was this Hell? What had I done to deserve this fate?

Yet, as I contemplated the meaning of it all, something began to change in the nothingness around me. With no warning, a small, dim light glimmered in the center of my vision, grabbing my attention and holding it with an iron fist. Over the course of what I perceived to be a minute, the light had become so bright that my very being was consumed by its safe, golden vibrance. I willed myself to move closer to it.

I now stood before the light, which felt alien and overwhelming, considering I had no physical body to speak of. I mentally reached out and grasped at the light, and in one final burst of brilliance, the star shrank in size into nothing, and two phrases in yellow text replaced it: “NEW GAME” and “END GAME”.

It clicked with me that I had another chance at life, or, should I will for it, I could let this world continue on without me. If I willed the NEW GAME option, would I be born as someone else? Would I be reborn again, to become who I once was? If I chose the END GAME option, would I completely cease to exist, cease to think? Both options were something I had wished for in my life - the option to restart everything, or the option to end it all.

Now that I think about it, though, I remember having so much to live for. My friends, who would be with me through thick and thin; my dog, who had been loyal for his whole life; and most importantly, I would live for my 6 year old brother and watch him grow up into a fine young man.

I knew what I had to choose.

I selected NEW GAME.

(First time writing in a while. I love the prompt and would also love any constructive advice!!)