Am I... dying?
Kaeden made a feeble attempt to lift his head, dropping it back down when a wave of pain passed through his whole body. Everything hurt; it was impossible to make sense of anything.
He took in a shaky breath, letting his eyes flicker closed. A sense of dread crept over him, bringing with it the faintest hint of relief. At least now he could forget all his troubles and go to a better place.

When Kaeden opened his eyes again, he found himself in his house, instead of the cold street he'd been left to die on moments before. He knew right away that this was reminiscence from the way his family members behaved like he wasn't there.
"Mom!" Kaeden followed the direction of the squeaky voice to a little boy who couldn't have been more than four years old. It took him a moment to realize that it was a younger version of him.
"Yes, sweetie?" he recognized the voice this time as a younger version of his mother. It was clear she was trying to act cheerful, but there was an air of distress that enveloped her as she spoke.
"Kaeby wants to know when Dad's coming home." Kaeden almost smiled at his old nickname, but the mention of his father stopped him dead in his tracks. This must be when Dad died, he thought sadly, sending Kaeby a pitying look. If only I'd known...
His mother hesitated, unsure of what to say, before she bent down to comfort him. "Daddy's just on a... a trip right now. He won't be back... for a while."
"Will he bring back lots of souvenirs for Kaeby?" he asked, sounding excited.
"Of course." Her voice cracked, making it clear that she was trying as hard as she could to not break into tears in front of her son.
Kaeby didn't seem to take any notice. "I'll go tell Tamy!" With that, he bounded out of the kitchen and up the stairs, where Kaeden followed rather unwillingly.
When Kaeby entered the room, he bounded over to his sister's bed and jumped onto it to sit next to her. "Guess what, Tamy? Mom said that Dad won't be back for a while 'cause he's onna trip, but when he does come back, he'll bring lotsa souvenirs!"
She lifted her head, giving her little brother an incredulous look. "Kaeden, you dolt!" she shrieked, causing Kaeby to flinch.
"Dad's not—!" When she noticed the frightened look on his face, she took a deep breath to collect herself. "I'm sorry. Kaeby."
Kaeby nodded approvingly. "Don't worry. He'll be back before you know it."
Tamy offered a weak smile, wishing that her brother was older so that he'd understand. He'll never know...

Kaeden blinked, and the scene changed.