Chance

"What am I looking at…?"

"His ribcage punctured his heart, and the steel pipes from the truck impaled his leg… It's too severe, he'll be dead by the time he makes it to the ER."

"Are they talking about m-"

*cough* cough* gasp

"F*** I choked on the blood I threw out."

With death around the corner, perhaps coughing more blood and choking on it again would be the only thing he could do at the moment.

As he lay on the hard, cold asphalt seemingly unperturbed by the bustling noise and shouts of the people tending to him, he glanced at his side, noticing a cat sitting on a fence.

The cat was minding its own business and thought to itself.

"Must be nice to have nine lives... but I'd assume they die a lot for them to need more than one at all."

He chuckled to himself, thinking of useless things at his deathbed.

Moments afterward, he felt it draw near - his death.

Unbeknownst to him, the cat stopped licking its paws and stared at the body before it, giving the soon-to-be-dead human a long, hard stare as death approached.

Suddenly, everything turned black, all noises stopped, everything was gone.

The next thing he was consciously aware of was that he was falling, a sensation that seemed to last for hours, perhaps even days.

"I guess I'm dead. It wouldn't make sense for me to suddenly fall into an endless void, right?"

He wanted to tear up; his heart ached so much. Not because he didn't get to live anymore, but because he left so much behind. He had a decent family; his parents loved him deeply and showered him with so much support.

He wanted to repay them. Although he wasn't very expressive of his emotions, he always held them close to his heart, swearing that he would give them a life deserving of the love they had showered him with.

Guilt crushed him as he imagined his parents' reactions. They loved him, and the news of his death would surely shatter them to pieces.

Suddenly, a voice came from his mind.

"Tell me, why do you think cats die a lot?"

He was startled; there was no one but him falling.

"Ah, we can't talk like this, now can we?"

Before he could realize anything, he found himself in a place where everything was white, along with a fragrant aroma that wafted through his nose. He was holding a cup of tea, a really fine one at that.

"Feel free to sit," gestured the old man in front of him as he took a sip from his own.

"So, your answer?"

He looked around before sitting down, curious about the place, his situation, the old man, the old man's question - everything!

He did not expect that the afterlife would involve sitting with an old man!

"I'll have you know that I'm still in my prime."

"Shit, I didn't know he could hear my thoughts."

Startled yet again, he decided to ignore the old man's remarks and answer his question.

"I just thought that they do. There must be a reason why they have nine lives, and dying is probably why."

"So you're saying-"

He suddenly cut the old man's words with furious temper, as if the only thing missing was to punch him.

"WHICH IS UNFAIR, YOU ARE UNFAIR, EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS. I DIED WITHOUT ACCOMPLISHING ANYTHING! WHAT'S MORE? YOU GAVE CATS NINE LIVES WHEN THEY COULD SURVIVE A FALL TEN TIMES MORE THAN HUMANS!"

He roared as things suddenly dawned on him that he was no more. Whatever he left on Earth would be just as it was, no matter how pathetic and pitiful.

"Calm down, young man. I understand that you're not satisfied with how your life ended, but unfairness was the price for the chance of life."

He then continued the young man take in what he said.

"You may not be fortunate, but you are still lucky. There are those who die before they even-"

"Cut the wisdom talk, I get it. I also apologize for getting mad."

The young man then cut the old man short again, in a more understanding tone as he realized what the old man was getting to.

"I'm glad that you understand. Now let's begin."

"With what?"

Asked the young man, unsure of what the old man was referring to.

"I will reincarnate you, young man."

"…really?"

"Not in your world, however. I'm certain that you're familiar with worlds that have magic, seeing as you've read novels alike day in and out."

"I see… I'll have to admit, I'm still happy despite not being in the same world again."

"Haha, young man, you may not say it aloud, but I can see through you. You've always wanted this. The fantasies of being a part of such worlds turn the world you're in stale."

"That, however, doesn't mean that I willed for your death just so you could get reincarnated."

The old man mused as he shot a knowing look at the young man, who stayed silent, confirming everything on both their ends: that the young man was indeed in favor of what was happening.

"I know you're already itching to go after knowing that, so I'll keep the rest short."

The young man nodded and let the old man continue.

"I want you to know that this is another chance."

"What do you mean?"

"A cat shared its life with you. It descended from the offspring of the mother you once took care of."

The young man was dumbfounded and was interrupted by the old man as he continued.

"You can call it karma, luck, fortune - you name it. All I need you to know is that it would be the same, no matter what kind of world it is."

"…?"

The young man was silent until he recalled their conversation earlier.

"Ah, right. I see. The world I'll be in may be fundamentally different, but unfairness and all kinds of hardships will still exist there."

The old man smiled softly, and the young man returned his smile with appreciation.

"So, how would you make this happen?"

"It would be simple for me, but that's the end of our talk."

The young man tilted his head in confusion.

"You see, our talk should have actually been over some time ago, as I've got other things to tend to. It seems that we got too occupied with each other."

"One more thing, the world you'll be in will be incredibly dangerous, especially for someone like you, without too much exposure to war."

The old man then smirked as he continued.

"You better pray that you get another cat there, kid. Hahaha!"

The old man smiled and the next thing that followed was-

"Good luck, Kato."