[ WP ] 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... As the world ends , your life flashes before your eyes . Yet , it is n't the life you remember living .

*This is my first time responding to a prompt here. * 
 
 Fires were occurring everywhere, from the ground to the sky above. Buildings crumbled, bricks and stone crashing hard on the ground. Cracks emerged on the Earth and spread open, showing never-ending voids. The air filled with smoke. People screamed in terror. As I watched the world come completely to its end, I remained frozen. 
 
 Suddenly, the scenery changed. One minute, I watched as the Earth tore itself apart. The next minute, I was looking up at my Mom ’ s face. She smiled and made silly noises at me. I felt completely safe. I was away from the horror and destruction. I was also seventeen years younger. 
 
 My vision was blurry. I felt as it I was reliving a memory. But this wasn ’ t my memory. My mom died during my birth. I only knew of her from what my Dad and Grandparents had told me. My Mom never got to smile at me. She never got to take care of me. *Why was my mind doing this to me? What was the point? * 
 
 Then, there was a flash. In an instant, I found myself as a child sitting on the bus, heading to boarding school for the first time. I looked out the window at Mom and Dad. They waved goodbye as they held hands. I waved back as tears streamed down my face. I felt scared because I was going away to a place where I knew no one. 
 
 I never went to boarding school. Dad didn ’ t have enough money to send me to such a place. I went to the public school right by my house. I got to stay with my Dad and see him every day. *Also, why was my mind putting my Mom in the picture again? * 
 
 Another flash occurred. I was now in eight grade. I ’ ve just gotten done practicing a routine with the cheerleading squad. After practice, I said goodbye to a bunch of people as I left to go home. They said goodbye back, smiling broadly at me as they said, “ See you tomorrow. ” 
 
 Yet, I was never a cheerleader. Nor was I popular in school. I always kept to myself, reading my comics and playing video games. I was a nerd who only had a couple of friends. I lived a life that was unlike the one that my subconscious mind was flashing back to. 
 
 After another flash, I found myself as I was only a year before the world came to an end. It was a partly cloudy day and the temperature was perfect. I was in college just like I was in my real life at that point. I yearned to be outside rather than in a classroom listening to a boring lecture. 
 
 But, again, things were different. As I walked on the Harvard campus grounds towards my next class, I knew this was not my life I was reliving. I did OK in high school, but not well enough to get into Harvard. *Was that a regret? Was this my subconscious telling me somehow that this is what should have happened? * 
 
 *How was I listening to this overweight professor talk about Calculus? That never happened. I was terrible at math and always got bad scores on tests. I never got to take Calculus. This was just strange. * 
 
 Actually, this whole experience was beyond strange. It was not my life I saw. *Was it someone else s? Was it the life I wish I had led instead of the one I actually did? * 
 
 I never had time to ponder those questions. I suddenly looked up as the sky broke apart, showing an array of stars brightened by the enlarging Sun. I heard a loud boom and an even brighter flash obstructed my vision. Then, there was nothingness. 
 

