A Stolen Life, A Destiny Regained

Paul woke up with a throbbing headache. The mattress he slept on was hard, and the air in his small Brooklyn apartment was thick with the smell of the city: a combination of pollution, street food, and poverty. At 22, Paul had never known stability or security. Orphaned since birth, he had navigated between foster homes and the streets, quickly learning that life was not kind to the weak.

He glanced at the cracked clock on the wall. 7:00 a.m. He had to get up for his job as a dishwasher in a seedy local restaurant, but he lacked the desire. The pay was paltry, the boss a tyrant, and the customers rarely friendly. However, Paul did not have the luxury of being choosy. Every dollar earned was another dollar for survival.

As he descended the dilapidated stairs of his apartment building, he passed his neighbor, Mr. Jenkins, a Vietnam War veteran, a frail old man with straggly white hair, who called out to him.

"Paul, you should be careful who you hang out with," he said seriously. "These guys you see will only bring you trouble."

Paul gave a bitter smile. "Thank you for the advice, Mr. Jenkins. But sometimes you don't get to choose your friends."

He steps out onto the street, where the sound of horns and the shouts of street vendors create a familiar cacophony. His steps inevitably led him to the restaurant, where he immediately plunged into the monotonous routine of dirty plates and incessant scolding.

At the end of his shift, exhausted and with scratched hands, he is greeted by a group of men in an adjacent alley. Among them, Dominic, a guy with whom Paul had recently become friends, but who had a sulphurous reputation. Dominic offered him dubious "deals", often legal on the razor's edge.

"Paul, you did a good job the other day," Dominic said with a wicked smile. "I have another mission for you. Well paid this time."

Paul hesitated. He knew it implied something fishy, ​​but the lure of profit was too strong. "What do you want me to do?"

Dominic placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, just a small delivery. We'll see you tonight, at the same place."

In the evening, Paul joins Dominic and his group. The atmosphere was tense, but Paul tried to hide his worry. They were supposed to deliver a package to a contact of Dominic's, but things quickly turned sour. The contact, suspicious, accused Dominic of treason, and a fight broke out. In the chaos, Paul received a violent blow to the head. The pain was searing and darkness enveloped him.

In the stifling darkness of the night, Paul's destiny loomed inexorably. The pale glow of the moon barely illuminated the darkness that enveloped the sleeping city. He felt his pulse beating in his temples, an irregular rhythm that seemed to herald the inevitable. Around him, the distant murmur of city life continued, ignoring the silent agony that gripped him.

Paul lay there, on the cold asphalt of a dark alley, his body bruised and his mind foggy with pain. Flashes of memories swirled in his mind, fleeting moments of his earthly life flashed before his eyes in a kaleidoscope of sensations and regrets.

He remembered the tumult of his youth, the carefree laughter and the unfinished dreams. But those memories seemed so distant now, overshadowed by the cold reality of his impending end. Destiny, this undisputed master, had reserved a final test for him, a confrontation with his own mortality.

Paul lived his whole life in New York City, he did his studies, his activities, his mischief there. Unfortunately for him, life has not been kind to him, he is an orphan from birth. In fact, his mother died just after giving birth to him. He therefore had to live a life without support, without example. It was really hard, he was always rejected by others, his existence was compared to that of a plague. As for his father, he never knew him and he never wanted to meet him because he did not consider the individual who had abandoned his pregnant mother, left to her own devices.

Rage built inside him as he thought about the recent turn of events that brought him to this situation. But he only had himself to blame.

And as the night slowly swallowed up his last thoughts, a glimmer of hope rose in the darkness. A glow that would transcend the boundaries of life and death, that would open the way to a new existence.

For in that moment of agony, on the threshold of eternal oblivion, as Paul lay there, on the threshold of eternal darkness, images of his past life swirled in his mind, like fragments of broken glass.

He sees the moments of happiness and pain, the faces of those he loved, the choices he had made, good or bad. Each memory was like a sharp blade, puncturing his soul already bruised by physical pain.

Suddenly, a strange sensation invaded him, as if his entire being was being sucked into an invisible vortex. A whirlwind of light and shadow enveloped his mind, transporting him to an unknown elsewhere. In this semi-conscious state, he felt an irresistible force pulling him away from his dying body, as if an invisible hand was drawing him toward a new and uncharted destiny.

The sounds of the city slowly faded away, replaced by an oppressive silence. The slivers of light from the street fade away, giving way to a deep, calming darkness. Ryan floated in this ocean of darkness, lost between sleep and wakefulness, between life and death.

When he opened his eyes, he saw only blurred faces and heard muffled voices. Pain radiated from every part of his body. He tried to get up, but his strength was failing him. The blows continued to rain down, relentless, until everything went black.

Death was a deliverance.

****

Paul didn't know how long he had been in darkness. He woke up suddenly, with a feeling of softness and warmth around him. He was no longer in New York. He was no longer in this sordid alley. Looking around, he realized that he was lying in an uncomfortable wooden bed, in an unfamiliar room, decorated in a rustic but warm way.

"Where am I ? A few minutes ago I was beaten to death by these people and now I am on a bed."

The room he is in right now looks like a bedroom, it is only a few square meters. He wanted to get up but an unbearable pain in his body prevented him from doing so. It was at this moment that he began to examine his current body. His body is that of a five or six year old.

"How is it possible ? Did I reincarnate like in the novels I read during my free time?"

Indeed, in his former life, when Paul had free time, he read. These were moments that he particularly appreciated because these moments gave free rein to his imagination. His favorite novels were those of fantasy and martial arts. By imagining the prospect of being reincarnated in one of these worlds, making him happy.

Then, he heard someone approaching the room, the person who entered the room was a woman in her thirties. She was carrying a tray in which there was a container filled with water with a towel. When she saw that Paul was sitting up and awake, she dropped her tray and ran to hug him.

"Tian'er, I'm so glad you're better. How do you feel ? Have your headaches disappeared ? And your fever ?" she said guiltily.

"Honey, he's awake !" A woman's soft voice echoed in the room.

Then a loud noise marked the arrival of a robust man, his face marked by work and the sun.

"How are you feeling, my Tian'er?" she asked, sitting down next to him, one hand tenderly stroking his hair.

Yun Tian? Paul, or rather Yun Tian now, felt a wave of unfamiliar memories rushing into his mind. He was a five-year-old child, the son of farmers in an isolated village. His parents, Yun Bao his father and Li Cao his mother, loved him deeply, and this new life seemed so different from the one he had left behind.

"I...I'm fine." Yun Tian replied, his thin voice still strangely ringing in his ears.

"We've been so worried," the man, her father, said, placing a comforting hand on Yun Tian's shoulder. "You passed out yesterday after playing outside. We thought it was just tiredness."

"Yes, that's probably it, I must have gotten sunburned. I'm sorry for worrying you." Yun Tian declared with a sad tone.

"So much the better if everything goes well! I'm going back to work, the others are waiting for me. Just take care of yourself Tian'er and don't force it too much." Yun Bao said as he left with a smile. He was worried a lot throughout the time his son was unconscious, now he could fully concentrate on his work.

"Your father is right. You need to rest. Try to get some sleep, when you've had some sleep come join me outside." His mother, after giving him water, left the room to let her son rest.

Despite himself, the fatigue accumulated in his new body pushed him to sleep for a few hours. When he woke up, Yun Tian came out of the house. His eyes, which had not seen daylight for some time, were gradually getting used to the bright sunlight. The moment his vision became clear, he was amazed at the landscape before him.

Yun Tian Village was nestled in a peaceful valley, surrounded by majestic mountains whose peaks were often crowned with clouds. These mountains, although imposing, exuded an aura of tranquility and mystery, their dense vegetation forming a sea of ​​green. The century-old trees with gnarled trunks testified to the antiquity of the place.

In the center of the valley, the village spread out modestly, made up of small houses made of wood and stone. Thatched roofs and well-kept gardens added a touch of simplicity and rustic charm. The inhabitants lived from agriculture and livestock, their daily life punctuated by the seasons and the cycles of nature.

A crystal clear stream meandered through the village, its clear waters reflecting the blue sky and bringing a welcome coolness. Children often played near its banks, their laughter mingling with the murmur of the water. Further away, fields of wheat and rice gently swayed in the breeze, forming a patchwork of gold and green that stretched to the foot of the mountains.

Beyond the cultivated fields, the thick forest took over, its trees forming a natural barrier that isolated the village from the rest of the world. This forest was both a source of resources and a place of mystery, home to rare creatures and plants that only the bravest dared to seek out.

"What kind of fucking world did I end up in ?" His thoughts were conflicted trying to integrate this beautiful landscape in front of him similar to a work of art.