Chapter one: Death and Reincarnation

It was raining. Raining in mid June, at night.

It was not the rain or being at night that irritated her. It was the fact she was standing in the middle of the street trying to get a taxi. It was already filled with traffic and her luck was down to zero. Wet and dripping, she was actually trying to shelter with her bag slung over her shoulder trying to slip off everytime. Let alone the box that she held by both hands. She couldn't believe that her belongings could fit a box. Seven years down the drain.

How did she get expelled that easy...

She adjusted her glasses while she shook her head, trying to get rid of water from her hair. She had her hair held together by a band so she could keep it off her face. She started to view the street before her as she thought of what happened just a few hours ago.

She knew she was a pushover, always passed on promotion and her projects stolen. But she believed that this project was once in a century event. With it, let alone promotion, she would get various bonuses, even a prize. She toiled over it day and night trying to keep it afloat. Yesterday, she succeeded. However, her misfortune began then.

Even though the project was a success, her superior didn't like her idea and made her change some of the conditions on paper. It began as a compromise and ended with a tsunami of problems. The only way to stop it was to blame someone and claim ignorance of it. Just as she wanted to leave for the day, she was called back to explain. Soon after, she was sent to collect her things off her desk and leave.

As she stood in the middle of the street, all wet and searching for a taxi. She realized she regretted all she had done for her workplace. She thought that being a hard worker meant to receive all the attention, when it is really only a commodity placed for view. Connections and social attitude made a difference not the honest work. Next time she might remember to do that than worry about her contribution.

As she watched the road, she remembered she did not have enough for taxi fare. How stupid, she thought, maybe she should have taken shelter on the bus stop instead. She turned and tried to walk away, only to be held up by bad luck again. The box burst open on the street, letting its contents spill on the road. She put the box down and went to get her things off the ground. At that moment, a car just skid off the road into the pavement.The car was fast for her to dodge. She took the full brunt head on. Her last thoughts were, what string of misfortune l had today.

*****

Light. But it does not feel like the sun. A voice kept repeating itself.

"Wake up. I have no time for this."

I opened my eyes and looked around me. Bright light was around me. But there was no one there. I squinted and saw nothing again. But the voice kept repeating itself.

"Come on, I haven't got all day. Wake up."

I shouted at the voice. "I can't see you. Where are you?"

The voice seemed exasperated. "What are you doing? Look beyond the light. Follow my voice."

I tried to follow the instructions given to me only to find it harder. I was annoyed by it. Nothing seemed to go my way. The voice came back again. "Stop, I'll help you."

Suddenly everything became clear. Before me stood a man watching me with concerned eyes. "You gave me a scare back there. Are you alright?"

Except for his baby face features, he had a long, smooth white hair and beard. He wore white It reminded me of a movie I once saw. I suddenly became perplexed. I had no memory of who I was. My brain began to rack. I am a woman who had a car accident. I did not know where I was, but it seemed a bit familiar. I did not know if I was standing or sitting because... Wait, where is my body?

"Don't worry, I'll explain. You are now dead. You died in the car accident, and came to the Infinite Realm. This is a temporary state until you manifest your body."

I looked at him in confusion. "Are you God?"

He looked back in disbelief. "What? Do you think God has time for everybody on the universe so he could meet you? Are you really that dumb?"

I felt angry. "You don't have to tell me off like that. A simple no would suffice."

"I am not God. I am an angel, as a matter of fact. A soul reaper to be precise."

I was astounded. A reaper who looks like an old man. There must be a joke here.

"You are an angel? Where are your wings?"

He laughed. "I thought you humans knew. As per angelic law, we do not manifest before a human or a soul in our real form. We only take what form you give us. Thus we stay comfortable with you."

I tested his theory right then. He suddenly turned to a ten years old girl. I looked at my past life teenage form in awe. He did take a form I'm comfortable with. I suddenly had the urge to laugh.

"What's so funny? Oh, that not right. Change me back."

I began to concentrate again and his older form returned. He went and conjured a seat out of nowhere and sat. He turned to her and smiled. "According to our policies, all humans are transferred directly here from the Normal World, or Earth as you call it and sent to the portal of the Eternal Realm. However, some cases need specific procedures before deployment. As for your case, we required to take an unconventional method."

I was surprised at his explanation. "I don't understand. What world, realm, portal or method are you speaking of?"

"I'm speaking of your situation. When you died, your soul is received here and appraised. Once we confirmed your Eternal form, we send you to the Eternal Realm to live there. However, souls who died with grievance or grudges towards life must be disconnected from their past life memories. This is to keep them from going rampant, or as a ghost. You call it amnesia in your world."

I tried to connect his words together, and it hit me. My identity was gone. I don't remember who I was or where I lived before. They wiped me slate clean. I was furious.This is outrageous. What have them the right?

He bowed his head apologetically. "We apologize for any inconvenience that you received, but as per Soul Reaper Guidelines, it was a must. At previous times, we suffered trying to exorcise souls just to get with the death quota. No one was happy with the extra work. So, as a solution, we took extreme measures just to keep such things from happening. But let me explain..

"On Mortal Realm, three angels rotate through the cycle of life. They are Fortune, Wealth and Misfortune. As you realize, that is their jobs, spreading fortunes, wealth and misfortune all around. The last being the dominant, keeps giving misfortune to everyone. You may have heard of the three years of misfortune. That is what happened to you. You died in that period. Thus we had to cut away all your links to the Mortal Realm before sending you off."

I was confused on his explanation. It seemed a bit wrong. Why would wipeout my memory, if they needed to just cut my links to life? I was already dead.

"So, why am I here? Where is my body?"

The angel looked at me strangely. "Did you see your present form? Let me show you."

He brought out a mirror and showed me. "Am I a slime?"

He laughed at me. "No, you're not a slime. This gelatin form is a temporary encasing for your soul. As I said before, we always convert departed souls to their eternal bodies and send them off to the Eternal Realm. We use this gelatin to form it. It was a wise idea one of members invented."

He was stalling again. What was going on?

I looked around and saw nothing but the both of us. What is he waiting for?

"So, when do I join the Eternal Realm? Do I have to do something to transform, or you will help me?"

He smiled at me. "Actually, the Soul Reaper Guild have a proposal for you."

I became started. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let me lay it out to you. You died of misfortune. Most unfortunate souls tend to have resentment for the world they lived in. Their souls do not let go off their links to their previous lives. As a result, they add a toll on the world giving it more misfortune. This actually causes the Angel of Misfortune to do as he pleases. Thus, to limit the ongoing misfortune, we propose a simple solution. We will reincarnate you."

I was happy. "So, you will send me back to my world. I get to live again."

He looked me with regret."Sorry. We cannot do that. But, our proposal still stands. If you agree, we will do so."

I was disappointed. But even a new life was something I wanted. So, I nodded.

"I accept your proposal. Can you tell me where I will be going?"

He suddenly stood, his face beaming. "I have the perfect world for you. A magical world with dwarvess, elves and dragons. You will be born as a royalty, living in a castle. We will be giving you intellect and language abilities. We will also give you also magic as a gift. All you have to do is simple; enjoy your life."

It was a great deal. I was beaming with joy. A princess living in a castle, capable of magic, enjoying her life to the limit. I could never be this lucky. Fortune must have rained on me. "Okay, when do we start?"

"Well, this is the easy part. It will only be a snap of my fingers."

He stood and actually snapped his thumb and middle finger together. I felt as energy suddenly filled me and I started to float up. As I looked below, I found myself rise out of the slime I was in. It started getting smaller as I watched myself go to a portal above me. The angel put his arm up and waved to me. "Have a great life there. Be a great prince, my man."

I was shocked by his words. A prince? What did he mean?

I shouted at the top of my voice."But I am a woman."

He looked at me startled. "Shit. I made a mistake."

He was flapping his arms around, tried to do something, but I was already through the portal. The place I was in vanished and everything went dark. I was unlucky after all.

That was how I was reincarnated as a prince in a kingdom on a faraway world.