I've failed.

I failed to keep my promise to her; I failed to keep him safe. Leaving him when he needed me most, right at the end of it all. Ever since he walked through those doors 7 years ago, I've been protecting him, keeping him safe...keeping my promise.

I'm paying the price for it now though.

It's all dark here. Black, but different shades, like strands of magic woven together shrouding me from the rest of the world. Ahead of me is a mirage, a pool of emerald green gleaming in the distance.

I pull myself to my feet, and slowly limp across the cold flagstones, my uneven footsteps echoing in the darkness. As I journey on, the shadows around me start to recede, and brightness sets in.

She's right in front of me, but a veil of ethereal mist separates us. I can't reach her, I can't tell her I'm sorry, I can't...

So many things I cannot do...but then I guess that's the price you have to pay for failure.

Tendrils of mist begin to snake around me, pulling me further into its clasp. I reach out my hand, elongated fingers teasing the mist apart, trying to create a pathway, but it's of no use.

She's gone. The darkness sets back in.

I used to think, that once death had me within his grasp, the world's vice-like grip on me would loosen, and I would finally be free. I used to dream of the day when the chains would unshackle, clinking as they fell to the floor. But now that day has come, and they still remain, testament to my mistakes and my crimes.

I can remember the terror and the screaming, the horror on people's faces, the tears streaming like rivers down faces. Haunting me each night, like a never-ending film. By god, I hope I'm dreaming, because if this was the afterlife, I would rather be living.

Suddenly the scene changes and I'm alone in an empty room, shrouded in white. Below me I see the damage, the ruins of the world I left behind...

Heaps of rubble piles up in the distance; blackened grass crackles underfoot; the skies darken. Remnants of paper smolder as they float to the ground, landing at the feet of those not lucky enough to have escaped.

A man walks into the room. Dressed from head to toe in bright, iridescent colours, he has about him an air of wisdom, as if he seems to know something I do not. With one gnarled and blackened hand, he beckons me to follow. Peeling myself away from the scene below me, I do so and soon find myself alone as the scene shifts once more.

A scarlet and black train stands before me, steam and smog rushing out of the funnel, masking everything else in sight. Rustic bricks are laid out along the ground, making elegant patterns- long since worn out by the troops of children rushing to get on in time.

A young man stands before me, the ghost of his past etched onto his face. Next to him, a woman- a cascade of copper red hair framing her face as she looks on to the child running around, tracing patterns with one battered trainer.

The boy runs straight through me; a constant reminder that I'm not really there. With a pained expression, the couple takes a look to the child and turn away, slowly disappearing into the crowds.

He looks up- the boy- and notices they are gone. Looking to me, I see the face of a child I once knew. Jet black hair, lightning bolt scar and emerald green eyes. Her eyes, masked by the face of a man I once hated.

Once hated...but not now...

And with that I realise this is not the end. I could return, atone for my sins, protect him once more-and with that thought anchored in my mind, I begin to fall to the ground, as the world takes me back- granting me the second chance I never truly deserved...