December 31, 2018.

It’s New Year’s Eve. A time when people excitedly count down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the New Year arrives. It’s a time where some families sit down and watch TV together, they watch the countdown. Some people choose to be with their friends, at a party. Some people choose to isolate themselves. They countdown the hours, minutes, and seconds alone.

Alone. The sole word ran through Sehun’s head. I’m always alone aren’t I? He looked at his surroundings. He is on the rooftop, gazing at the few stars that shined bright enough to be visible. He was alone on the rooftop, no one joined him, no one knew his whereabouts, no one cared enough.

Sure, Sehun had a few friends, but they were just friends. Nothing more than that. If they saw him, they talked to him, they hung out with him for some time until they had to go their own ways. Sehun chooses to not get too close to people. He limits himself.

Why does he limit himself? Just because. Sehun realized that it’s pointless to keep people too close or to keep them too far. So he stops right when he thinks he should.

As he looked at the stars, he heard the people at the park counting down the seconds.

“5…”

New Year, nothing new.

“4… 3…”

Maybe I should try to change a few things about myself?

“2…”

Maybe I should keep people further away from me.

“1…”

Forget it. A new year doesn’t mean anything. I’m just getting older.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Oh look, fireworks.

The fireworks released bursts of colours in the sky. From vibrant reds, to lime greens, every colour imaginable glowed in the dark, slightly starry sky. The colours however, didn’t affect Sehun in any way. He couldn’t care less about the fireworks. Instead, his mind automatically started thinking about other things. Nothing of extreme importance though. Mostly the simple things any 18 year-old in high school would be thinking about.

Sehun quietly left the rooftop, and returned to his room. The entire house was silent. His room was dimly lit. Sehun had no one to spend his winter vacation with, but he didn’t mind at all. Sehun’s parents weren’t in the country. They decided they needed some “alone time,” and they trusted Sehun enough to let him stay home.

Odd enough, Sehun isn’t what you’d expect him to be. Most guys around his age have been exposed to drinks or drugs or cigarettes multiple times. They’ve been to parties that lasted for hours until the police had to get involved. They’re players, and they’ve given up on education. Sehun on the other hand, is more reserved, quiet, and potentially well-mannered. He avoids what he knows he should avoid. He skips parties he’s invited to, because he knows what to expect. He doesn’t date just any girl he deems attractive, and he’s dead serious about his education.

As Sehun got into bed, he left one lamp on, and took a book from his nightstand. He stared at the title. It stated “The 5 People You Meet In Heaven”. He realized he had this book for quite a while now, but had never gotten the opportunity to read it.

Sehun stared at the book’s cover. Staring back at him was a small ferris wheel sketched in black, along with the title written in a simple font, in the colour red. The cover had a red border. The author’s name was written in a red box. Below the box, it mentioned the author’s other novel, “Tuesdays with Morrie” in a deep shade of red. The top of the cover stated “#1 New York Times Bestseller” in italics, full capitalization, and the colour red. The background colour of this cover however, was a light, coffee-like colour.

They say the colour red represents energy, action, desire, and passion. Sehun knew this, of course. He was curious about why the colour red was chosen, and why the book is about 5 people someone would meet in heaven instead of 2, or 4, or even 7.

He opened the book, and began reading.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A MAN named Eddie and it begins at the

end, with Eddie dying in the sun. It might seem strange to start a story

with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know

it at the time.