Author
Rewind
What if you woke up as your 17-year-old self?
Ishan wakes up as his 17-year-old self, back in the home he thought he had left behind. His past. His choices. His future. Now what will he do? Will he try to go back or will he rewrite his life once again?
The story
Ishan Gupta is a man who seemingly has it all—a flourishing career in Mumbai’s top advertising agency, a loving wife who has been his pillar of strength, and a future filled with promise. His hard work, sleepless nights, and relentless ambition have finally paid off as he secures the agency’s biggest deal yet. With a high-stakes presentation the next morning that could lead to his long-awaited promotion, Ishan feels like he is on the verge of something extraordinary.
That night, he returns home, sharing his excitement with his wife, Anika. She listens patiently, her eyes filled with quiet understanding, and then she smiles. “Tomorrow will change everything,” she says, her words lingering in the air like a prophecy.
And it does.
But not in the way he ever imagined.
The next morning, Ishan wakes up gasping for air, his body jolting upright as though pulled from a nightmare. But this is no dream—this is a reality far more impossible than anything his mind could conceive. He is no longer a successful advertising executive living in Mumbai. He is seventeen again, in his childhood bedroom, surrounded by old textbooks, cricket posters, and the unmistakable scent of home-cooked meals wafting in from the kitchen.
At first, he believes he’s hallucinating. His mind races to piece together the fragments of his memory, but everything from his adult life feels like a distant dream—his job, his achievements, his struggles, his marriage… Anika.
Where is Anika?
Shaken and desperate for answers, Ishan stumbles through his house, only to find everything exactly as it was years ago—his overprotective yet loving parents fussing over breakfast, the narrow streets of his neighborhood bustling with life, and his best friends, unchanged and unaware of the man he has become. It’s as if time itself has rewound, erasing the years that led him to where he was before. Is this a second chance to relive his past? A cruel twist of fate meant to punish him? Or is there a larger, unseen force at play?
At first, Ishan resists. He clings to the belief that this is temporary, that he will wake up and return to the life he fought so hard to build. But as days turn into weeks, the horrifying truth settles in—there is no escape from this reality. He is truly back in his teenage years, with no clear way forward.
As he reluctantly settles into his new (old) life, Ishan finds himself navigating a world that once felt familiar but now seems completely alien. Every conversation, every choice, every small moment carries weight because he knows how the future unfolds—or at least, how it should unfold. With the wisdom of an adult but the body of a teenager, he walks the fine line between reliving the past and changing it, constantly torn between nostalgia and the temptation to correct his past mistakes. But one question haunts him relentlessly:
What happened to Anika?
He searches for any sign of her in this past version of his life, but she is nowhere to be found. Did she ever exist? Was their love real, or just a cruel trick played by time?
As Ishan embarks on an emotional and psychological journey to uncover the truth, he is forced to confront regrets he buried long ago—friendships that faded, dreams he abandoned, and paths he never took. He begins to question everything: If given a chance to change the past, should he? If he makes different choices now, will they erase the love he once had? Torn between fighting to return to his old life and embracing this unexpected second chance, Ishan must make an impossible decision.
Will he ever find his way back to the woman he loves? Can he reclaim the life he once knew, or is he meant to carve out a different destiny? And if he does return—will everything still be the same?
A deeply emotional and thought-provoking journey, Rewind explores the delicate balance between fate and free will, the weight of our choices, and the undeniable power of love that transcends time. As Ishan races against destiny, he must decide whether to fight for the future he lost—or embrace the one that might be waiting for him all along. Will he succeed in rewriting his fate? Or will he realize that some things in life are meant to remain unchanged?
A gripping tale of love, destiny, and second chances, this novel takes readers on an unforgettable journey where the past holds the key to the future.
Why this story?
What if you woke up one morning and discovered that you had been given something everyone wishes for but no one can truly possess—a chance to go back?
Rewind begins with that impossible question.
Life often moves so quickly that we don’t realise what we are losing along the way. We chase careers, achievements, money and expectations, believing that happiness is waiting somewhere in the future. And somewhere between becoming successful and becoming responsible, we sometimes forget the person we once were.
I wanted to explore one simple but powerful thought: if you could go back and change one thing about your life, would you?
But going back isn’t as simple as correcting a mistake. Every decision shapes another decision. Every relationship carries memories. Every choice has consequences. And sometimes, the things we desperately want to change are the very experiences that made us who we are.
Rewind is a story about second chances—but more importantly, it is a story about understanding the value of the life we already have.
Author’s note
There are moments in life when we look back and wonder:
- What if I had chosen differently?
- What if I had taken that opportunity?
- What if I had stayed?
- What if I had walked away?
- What if I could start all over again?
These questions are universal. I have often wondered whether we truly regret our choices—or whether we regret the person we became because of those choices. Rewind was born from that thought.
At its heart, this is not simply a story about travelling through time. It is about travelling through memories, relationships, dreams and regrets. It asks us to pause and look at the lives we have built—and the people we may have left behind while building them.
I wanted Ishan’s journey to feel personal because, in some way, I believe we all carry a version of him within us: the younger self who dreamed without limits, the adult who learned to compromise, and the person who occasionally wonders what life might have looked like if a few decisions had been different.
Perhaps we cannot literally rewind our lives. But perhaps we don’t need to. Sometimes, looking back is enough to help us move forward differently.
Key themes
⏳ Second Chances
Life rarely gives us the opportunity to start over. Rewind explores the emotional possibility of getting another chance—and the responsibility that comes with it.
🕰️ The Weight of Choices
Every choice creates a path. Some choices seem insignificant when we make them but can completely transform our lives years later.
❤️ Love & Relationships
Success means little if we lose the people who make life meaningful. The story explores love, relationships, family and the connections we sometimes take for granted.
💭 Regret & What-Ifs
We all have moments we wish we could change. Rewind explores what happens when we are actually given the opportunity to confront those regrets.
🌱 Growing Up & Finding Yourself
The person we dream of becoming isn’t always the person we eventually become. The story examines identity, ambition and the journey of rediscovering who we once were.
🏠 The Meaning of Home
Home isn’t merely a place from our childhood. It is a collection of memories, people, emotions and moments that continue to shape us long after we leave.
🎯 Ambition vs. Happiness
How much are we willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of success? And when we finally achieve what we wanted, do we realise what it cost us?
🔄 The Past & The Present
The past cannot be changed—but our understanding of it can change everything. Rewind brings the past and present together to explore how one influences the other.
🌅 Living in the Present
Perhaps the greatest lesson of the journey is that we don’t need a time machine to change our lives. Sometimes, all we need is the courage to make a different choice today.
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What readers are saying
“Rewind isn’t just a time travel story. It’s an emotional journey that stays long after you close the book.”
“A beautifully written story about choices, regrets, love and the power of a second chance.”
“I laughed. I cried. I thought about my own life. Rewind is unforgettable.”
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