47 Second Life
He became aware. He couldn't sense anything from his senses, but he became aware of his mind, of his existence. This state lasted for only a short moment before disappearing.
Sometime later his consciousness surfaced again. He didn't know how long it has been since. Everything was indistinct and shaky. Everything faded like before.
His consciousness faded in and out. He was whole and himself, and then he turned into nothingness. And then, after what felt like an eternity, he came to again. But this was but for an instant, and he lost consciousness again.
His consciousness resurfaced again. Bits and pieces of impressions of the sense left their mark on him now. He could finally sense something, his five senses were working. He was crawling on the ground. He couldn't really "feel" his body fully, but it was him, and he was living and breathing.
His body was small, like that of a toddler's. No, it was small precisely because he was a toddler. This little toddler was very energetic and playful. He was very curious too. This little explorer went all over the place causing troubles for all the adults.
He would definitely be a healthy and energetic boy when he grew up.
At another moment the boy wasn't crawling anymore. He was standing, he could walk now, although just barely.
Just like that, vague pieces of experience and memory occurred. Impressions after impression accumulated and many years passed by.
The boy's soul was reincarnated from a previous life and he was reborn. At first, things were rocky. Reincarnation was something that went against the natural order. The boy had difficulty, but soon it was solved. Another new year arrived, and the boy was now twelve years old. It wasn't until now that he could fully take in everything and fully understand what had happened.
He had transcended mortality and reincarnated, that much the boy knew. It was his intention to do that caused it to occur. The experience after his death had been sporadic and fuzzy, only now was everything coming in together in clear view and full understanding dawned on him.
"Oh," the boy muttered absentmindedly.
It was only a single utterance, but it within it was what the boy thought of all that had occurred.
It was like sunrise dispelling the darkness of night. Everything became visible and clear to the boy. He had been going in and out of consciousness throughout his formative years. Whether it was natural or not he didn't know. But reincarnating was anything but natural, so he wasn't surprised if some odd things happened. He still couldn't be sure since he couldn't clearly remember his previous childhood either. It wasn't when he was sufficiently old enough that experience became continuous and uniform.
The world, this world, was different. Perhaps using the word "world" would to describe his impression of this world and everything within it would be inappropriate as he had not seen much of it himself.
Perhaps concerning himself with such knowledge isn't meaningful at all. What did it matter if it was the same or different? He was still a person, and there were people in this world. People live and die, what else did he need to know?
Ever since the day he was born, and within all of his experience, he had never left his home, ever. What the world looked like beyond was unknown to the boy. But of course, it wasn't important. Not at all. Not when you're the son of a wealthy noble with political clout.
The family home was so big that it was enough to accommodate the little boy's small world.
Was never leaving a place ever since he was born normal? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Life was very comfortable here though.
The boy had a father and a mother, and a grandpa and a grandma. He also had four other siblings. Aside from that, there were the maids and the servants. The whole family lived in this very big house. Even with all the servants and maids, there was still space to spare. Each member of the family had a large chunk of the house to themselves.
The boy was usually in his portion of the house. He had been quite 'silly' and 'slow', so he didn't get much attention from his family. The newest addition to the family was his younger brother and sister of one year who were very smart and good at everything. They were twins and they were loved very much by everyone in the family.
The boy, on the other hand... was neglected? Sort of? Was this something good, or was it bad? The boy could only smile wryly. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The boy had now fully regained the faculty of his mind. It was like he was finally woken from a dream. In a dream one could only be an observer and watch as things occur, one couldn't do anything. But now he was awake and he could do things rather than just be an observer.
And what would he do, now that he was able to do something? This was a very good question, a very important question. It was a question that would lead to everything else.
He remembered. Yes, he remembered what it is that he wanted to do. Everything became clear and he could feel something invigorating his young body.
Companionship... He didn't want to be alone anymore. He just wanted companionship.
But... how?
...
The next morning, at the dining hall during breakfast.
"Mother, I want to get married," the boy said.
The sound of movements immediately ceased. Everyone at the table stared at the young boy.
The third lord had always been silent and absentminded. What had happened? What was he saying all of a sudden?
"You what?" The boy's mother was surprised. Her son hadn't been interested in anything and was reticent ever since he was born. Her surprise turned to delight.
Contrary to the boy's thoughts. He was actually not estranged from his parents or siblings. It was the boy's own assumption and nothing more.
'My son finally spoke and told me what he wants. I have to give him a beautiful bride!' his mother thought
"Of course, sweetie. Mom will find you a sweet and beautiful bride!"
"..."
The boy didn't expect his mother to reply like that at all.
"Thank you, mom," the boy said and forced a smile. What had he gotten himself into now?
The boy had the feeling that a bride wouldn't just show up today or tomorrow. Since his mom gave him a promise, she'd definitely do something. So it was fine. He just needed to wait for the result.
...
The boy made his way to the family library and began to study on common knowledge of this world. Under the endless sky and above the vast earth one, and only one, empire ruled.
The boy stopped when that fact was made known to him. The subject was very boring. Why did he need to know this anyway?
The boy looked out the window. Sunlight was still strong. It isn't even close to dark yet. What would he do now?
He had been living a dream where everything sort of just happened on its own. Now that he had to take charge of himself, he didn't know what to do at all. Relying on habits that were nonexistent wouldn't do either.
The boy was bored. He didn't know what to do.
Since the boy couldn't figure out what to do with his time, he decided to go to sleep. He made his way to back to his quarters and tried to sleep.
Because it wasn't anywhere near bedtime, the boy could not sleep at all. This was problematic, very problematic.
Sleeping would be the best solution. He had to sleep, but he couldn't sleep. So how was he going to sleep if he couldn't sleep?
He had to get himself tired, very tired. Then maybe he would fall asleep easier. Yes, that's it, it must be it!
But he was a young boy, what could he do to get tired? Running, he would try running to get tired.
The boy found a spacious courtyard and began running.
It didn't take long for the boy to notice a problem. No matter how long he ran or how much he exerted himself, he wasn't tired at all. In fact, he kept feeling even more energetic.
He needed outside help. Who should he consult? His father was really aloof and stoic, and so was his eldest brother. His elder sister wasn't home. The two twins were... they were too bright, he didn't want to get blinded by their brightness.
Yes, he would go to mom!
The boy made his way to his mother.
"Mom, I can't sleep, what do I have to do to fall asleep?"
"Why would you want to sleep this early during the day?" his mother asked.
"I don't know what to do so I want to sleep. Maybe I'll know what to do tomorrow."
"Okay, mother will tell you a story. Maybe it will help you sleep." The boy's mom gently caressed the boy's head.
