BEING BORN ONCE AGAIN
HE couldn't remember how long he had walk on this bridge. It felt like forever and yet it also felt like only a second. He completely lost his sense of time. It's like, in this place, time didn't exist.
He wasn't sure if this was natural or if this was the result of him not drinking Meng Po's soup. He really hoped it was the former.
He continued to walk and walk and walk without an end in sight. But he persevered. He had a feeling that he probably wouldn't be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation if he didn't reach the end of this bridge.
So, he walked. And walked. And walked. Good thing he didn't feel tired. Well, he was already dead. So, it would actually be weird if he did. Instead of feeling tired, it was more like feeling bored. Because there was nothing around. Just the bridge, the black water below, and him. There were ball of lights floating around, like some kind of wisp. They served as the source of light in this dark surrounding. If he's not already dead, he'd probably be creeped out.
And then, finally, he saw the end of the bridge at a distance. Excited, he quickly ran forward.
The moment his feet stepped at the end, he felt a strong suction from somewhere. As if some kind of black hole appeared. His soul had no resistance to it at all. And he entered this 'vacuum'. Unsure of where it would take him.
----------
He felt like he was surrounded by a warm liquid. He wanted to open his eyes but couldn't. Then he realized that his whole body was submerged in this warm liquid. He felt panicked. He died from choking. So, he now had a fear of being unable to breath. But then, he realized that he wasn't really drowning. That this liquid around him felt comfortable.
"Baby, we finally arrived at our new home," he suddenly heard a sweet voice of a woman said. "The land your father bought is beautiful. I couldn't wait for you to see it."
The voice of the woman seemed to come from above. But it was most certainly talking to him. He was confused at first. Especially since he couldn't understand what she was saying. She was talking in a language that sounded like English but really not. But soon, he slowly realized what was happening.
He was currently inside the woman's stomach. Which meant the woman was pregnant and he was the fetus inside her. And this warm liquid around him was nothing but amniotic liquid. So, did that mean that this fetus was now his reincarnation?
He suddenly felt excited. Even though he was only a fetus, he could already hear what others were saying. Was this also the result of not drinking Meng Po's soup? Wouldn't this just make him a genius? It was really right for him to not drink that soup. Maybe his luck would change because of this.
It just that, it seemed like he was going to be reborn in a foreign country. How could Yama banish him from China? Was this also because of not drinking the soup? Even though he didn't catch his soul back, as punishment for what he did, he threw him off his homeland?
After hearing the woman's voice, he heard a man's voice next. It was a bit gruff and loud, as if it came from a very big man.
"What is it, did our baby move?"
"What are you saying, he was only probably three months old at most. Wait until he became six months old before asking me that again," the woman's voice said in a teasing manner.
"Was that the case? But why are you referring to him as a 'he'? Maybe it's a girl."
"I just have a feeling it's a boy."
Although he couldn't understand their conversation, he could tell that they were quite young. There was even a loving tone in their voices as they talked to one another. They're probably newlyweds. So, these two would be his new parents.
He only spent 12 years with his mother in his last life. He didn't even want to mention that scum of a father that he had. So, he was really looking forward to meeting these new parents of his. He hoped that they could love him.
Then he felt something bumping into him. It was not exactly like this thing that bumped into him was inside the same amniotic sac he was in. It was more like they were separated by a thin membrane. He wondered what it was.
"We should probably go to the hospital as soon as we finished unpacking," his father said in a worried tone. "You haven't gone to a hospital yet for a check-up. I'm worried."
"What are you worried about? I'm going to be fine, Gage."
"But Emmy, you know how dangerous it is to give birth this way. Ever since the invention of gene matching, almost no woman in the Empire was willing to give birth naturally. It's not just the pain, it's the possibility of dying. I don't know what I would do if—"
"Sshh… I told you, nothing will happen. The child and I will be safe."
The fetus secretly listening to the conversating of the two still couldn't understand what they were talking about. But his father seemed to be worried about something. He wondered what could that be?
----------
Months continued to pass by. And the thing that kept on bumping him, continued to do so. He was worried at first that it was one of his mother's organ. That could be dangerous for the both of them if it was. But later on, he finally realized what it was. There was another baby inside his mother's stomach. Which meant that he had a twin!
That thought made him extremely happy and excited. He didn't have a sibling in his past life. He always wanted one though. Someone who he could share his joys and fears. But sadly, that didn't happen. Which was probably a blessing in disguised. He didn't want his siblings to experience the things that he had experienced.
But now, he was not just given a sibling, he was given a twin! Which meant that their connection would be even much stronger. After all, they shared the same womb. They were already this close even before they were born.
He hoped it was a girl. But no matter the gender, he would make sure to spoil them to bits.
Since then, whenever his twin bumped into him, he would gently bump him back. Silently telling them that he was here with them.
----------
Soon, it was his mother's due date. He knew because he could feel the contraction inside the womb. Aside from that, he could also feel the panicking outside. Then his mother was probably sent to a hospital because he could hear more voices aside from his father's.
It's probably already 10 hours since the contraction started. But he and his twin were still inside their mother's womb. Their father's worried voice had been talking them, probably asking them to not torture their mother any longer. If it was his choice, he really wanted to quickly go out. He didn't want to cause their mother more pain. He was already feeling very distressed as it was.
But soon, the contraction stopped and the birthing process finally started.
He heard his mother screaming, it was full of pain. She was obviously suffering a great deal from this. That's why when he felt that he was being pushed out, he didn't resist and just went along with the force pushing him. Because of this he came out very easily.
He could feel the light shining down on him. But he still couldn't open his eyes. Then he felt himself being turned outside down. After that, he felt a sting on his butt cheeks as if someone slapped them. Even though he didn't want to, he let out a very loud cry.
Soon after that, maybe just three minutes interval, another loud cry was heard.
He smiled inside when he heard it. [So, you're also outside now, huh?]
This was now the start of his new life. He wondered what kind of life would be waiting for him. He truly hoped it would be a good one.