Niall awoke to the most beautiful tableau he had ever seen.
All around him, twinkling stars, swirling galaxies and a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors painted the vast expanse of what he could only surmise to have been an endless void.
Yet, what was probably the most striking, was that he was seated on a glowing white chair, a similarly glowing white table situated between him and the opposing chair.
And on that opposing chair, was an equally shimmering humanoid figure that gleamed with an ethereal white.
Vaguely shifting, thereby making it impossible for him to assess if said being was even remotely recognizable, Niall watched it gaze at him with interest.
Not that he cared.
The entirety of this situation was something that could be easily explained... at least to Niall.
’Quite the interesting dream I’m having. Should write it down as soon as I wake up,’ the young man thoughtfully mused to himself as he kept looking around.
’Speaking of waking up, did I make it to the shelter last night?’ he asked himself with a small frown.
’All I remember, is stumbling into that benc--’
"You’re quite the lucky one, Niall Parker," a voice unlike any Niall had ever heard, ripped into his thoughts.
Niall’s cool-gray irises flickered, and then widened in realization.
In an instant, something seemed to tug on his mind, informing him that this wasn’t a dream by any stretch of the imagination.
Slowly turning his head sideways, he soon locked eyes with the celestial figure who continued;
"Tonight, was a once in a lifetime opportunity for you and you grasped right onto it." the heavenly voice continued.
To that, Niall gulped warily and then, asked in a measured tone;
"W-w-what... what do you mean by that?"
"The myth of wishing upon a shooting star is very real, I’ll have you know." the voice began to explain.
"Everyone’s been blessed with that opportunity from their moment of birth,"
"Unfortunately, since each individual’s shooting star comes at the most random moments in their lives, most people never get to make use of it."
"More importantly though, since accepting a wish comes with a crucial condition to be met by the wisher, even the lucky few who get to wish upon theirs, fail to meet the requirements for their wishes to be accepted."
Then, with a pause, the celestial figure continued;
"I am your shooting star, Niall Parker, and your stars must’ve truly aligned for you to have not only wished upon me, but equally also met the conditions to have your wishes granted."
Hearing the explanations, momentarily attributing it to something that came straight out of a cheesy B-grade movie people loved to watch during Christmas season for comfort, Niall did the smart thing and proceeded to inquire about the crucial condition he’d supposedly met.
"And what, exactly, is this crucial condition, if I may ask?" he cautiously inquired with a quiet gulp.
"A good karma grade," the celestial star replied and then expatiated;
"A minimum of 70, to be exact."
"You, Niall, have an extremely good karma grade. 90 out of a 100. That’s very rare."
To that, Niall almost laughed.
Nothing could ever make him believe he was that good of a person. Not with his parent’s death lingering over his head like a guillotine these last couple years.
He’d been so ridden with guilt, he had never been able to bring himself to visit their ranch, long after they had died.
The shooting star on the other hand, upon inferring from his thoughts and the self-deprecating smile that slowly stretched across his lips, casually began to speak;
"All your life, you’ve always been respectful to your parents. Always been loyal to them,"
"The only instance of you ever being rebellious, was deciding to chase your dreams, instead of taking over the ranch like your father wanted,"
"And even then, you’d done it in the most respectful way possible,"
"As for you assuring them you were fine even despite everything crashing down, that was equally an act of love on your part. Misguided, maybe, but still an act of filial piety nonetheless,"
"Their deaths, whether you choose to believe it or not, was just an unfortunate incident you had no control over."
To that, Niall clenched his fists tightly, his head lowered as tears brimmed on the edges of his eyelids.
"If I’d just told them... if I’d just been honest about things... maybe, just maybe they’d still be alive," he whispered, his voice cracking with grief.
Yet, unfazed by his emotions, the shooting star continued;
"But what really set you apart, and what really put your good karma at such a high grade, was sticking to your moral code despite the environment you found yourself in,"
"Granted it had severely cost you many opportunities to have become what you truly wanted, you stuck to it nonetheless,"
"Not because you couldn’t, but solely because it didn’t feel right. That quality, that strong moral compass... that’s the defining reason you’re here right now,"
"And I believe it’s about time you’re rewarded for it."
No sooner had the celestial star said that, Niall’s teary, reddened eyes, watched as said being waved a hand over the table.
In an instant, five glistening white orbs flickered into existence as the celestial star began;
"Given your deepest regrets stem from your naïveté and your inability to have been honest with your parents, I believe your regression comes without saying."
To that, Niall’s eyes widened in genuine disbelief, his heart rapidly beginning to thump in his chest.
However, before he could calm his beating heart, especially since a strong part of him still believed that this was all too good to be true, the celestial star spoke with a gesture;
"As for your other wishes, do pick up the orbs."
Doing as he was told, Niall’s fingers lingered for a moment and then, swiped the orbs off the table carefully.
Each one looked like a miniature star contained within a thin spectral sphere that could shatter at a moment’s notice if improperly mishandled.
Taking extra care to ensure they didn’t fall into the endless expanse all around him, he then awaited instructions from the ethereal figure.
"Each orb contains the celestial energy required to grant you a wish,"
"And by deeply concentrating on what you want, it will grant you an appropriate gift to fit the bill by merging with your soul upon crushing it."
"Go on. Give it a try." the celestial being urged.
Staring at the orbs in his palms, each one shimmering with an unfathomable energy he truly couldn’t wrap his head around, Niall heaved a deep breath.
Then, calming his heart with a deep exhale, Niall took one orb in his right palm, his concentration unwavering.
The first wish he had... was to accurately remember every little event and incidence that had happened and would continue to happen in his life.
No sooner had he crushed the orb with that thought in mind, the celestial being’s voice rippled across the vast expanse of the breathtaking tableau;
The Gift of Recollection.
A bit stunned by the ethereal echo cascading through the void, Niall quickly regained focus and picked another orb.
His second wish, was to be blessed with the ability to strongly and distinctly discern the aspectual nature of people and things.
The Gift of Discernment.
Picking the next orb, Niall crushed it a few seconds later.
His third wish, was to rapidly assimilate, deeply comprehend and effectively apply whatever he felt inclined towards learning or doing.
The Gift of True Aptitude.
Moving onto the fourth wish, Niall paused this time, his thoughts churning as he tried to come up with a meaningful addition to the gifts that had already been bestowed upon him.
Then it hit him.
To truly and efficiently maximize the best all his gifts had to offer, he himself had to always be in tip-top mental and physical conditioning.
The Gift of Vitality.
Holding the last orb in his palm however, Niall pondered to himself for an extremely long while.
Upon realizing he couldn’t come up with anything he truly felt was of a worthy enough addition to his other gifts, he slowly turned to face the celestial figure.
"If you don’t mind," he cautiously began.
"Would it be possible for me to hold on to this instead?" he politely requested with a hopeful expression.
"I can’t seem to come up with anything worthwhile at the moment and I really don’t want to half-ass it."
Seemingly considering his request, the celestial star soon spoke in response;
"Sure. I don’t see why not."
To that, a genuinely grateful smile adorned Niall’s features;
"Thank you, for being so forthcoming."
"Well, you earned it. Do well to use the other gifts, and whatever you settle on for the last."
"Now," the celestial star’s vaguely humanoid form leaned forwards, seemingly excited at the prospect of what was to come.
"Time, day, place. Tell me, where and when would you like to regress to?"
Hearing that question... coming to terms with it and simultaneously accepting that it really was about to happen, Niall, without a single second wasted, responded in a way that stunned even he himself;
"10:00am, Monday, 6th of April, 2015. Los Angeles, Goldleaf Talent Agency, 6th Floor, Callow’s office."
No sooner had Niall stated the exact moment he wanted to regress to with pinpoint accuracy, the celestial star’s humanoid figure snapped a finger that echoed like a thunderclap through the void!
In an instant, the edges of the void thinned out, pulling back and closing in on itself into warping streaks of lights as Niall’s form gradually and synchronously faded with it.
"Goodluck, Niall Parker. This time, ensure to bring all of your dreams to fruition."
Those were the last words Niall had heard before his entire being was siphoned back in time.