1.2 A Welcome Surprise

Just as the thought entered my mind, the walls suddenly squeezed around me, trying to push me out of my warm prison.

Was this seriously happening?!

Another push forced my body through a tight squeeze. If this was what childbirth was like, I was sure damn glad that I was a man. Granted, I didn't even know if I was still a man here, but just imagining having to squeeze something as large as a watermelon out of my body already made me wanna cringe in pain.

And cringe, I did.

"Wah! Wah!"

To my surprise, however, cringing somehow translated to crying my heart out as the cold open-air hit my newly-exposed face. The weight of my new life suddenly felt like a heavy burden; like a strange sense of guilt that I knew wouldn't simply go away with time. It kind of stung, actually. Perhaps this was why babies cried after being born?

Ah well. I'm sure it'll fade in time. If this was what awaited me, then so be it.

"It's a boy," an old, grandma-like voice echoed out of my sight. I did read somewhere that eyesight was something that babies didn't have for the first few months of life. "With fiery red hair like her mother."

"My baby..." I heard another woman speak, albeit sounding younger and more tired this time. I felt a strange connection to the comforting voice. Was she my mother in this life? "Come to Mama~"

I continued to uncontrollably cry as I felt my body being lifted before I was given to my mother's warm embrace. Her arms were like a soothing balm, a cradle that helped me reign in my young body's baser instincts.

Wow... Where were all these words back when I was still in college?

"He's a thing of beauty, Maira," a gruff voice reached my ears before I felt a rough hand caress my face. "Looks just like his mother."

"Haha.. But he's got your eyes dear," my mother returned to who seemed to be my father. "Onyx, the color of iron."

It was getting harder to stay awake now, my eyelids getting heavier by the second as I stopped crying in favor of snuggling under my mother's embrace. I let my curiously sharp hearing take note of my parents' conversation, hoping to get some more information about this new world I now find myself being born to.

"A blacksmith then," my father inferred as I felt a gaze land on my young body. "I hoped for anything other than that."

"I'm sure we'll think of something, Pascual. They won't take our little Rouge away from us."

Rouge, huh. Red then. Not the best name, but I'll own it with pride. Besides, while they weren't truly my parents, I can still tell that they cared much about my well-being. It was a small comfort going in on a world that's completely new to me. The least I could do was to be a good son to them, if only to make sure that they won't regret ever having me in the first place.

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187 F.Y.(Freudian Year)

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It's been five years. Five years since I've been reborn into this backwater world. And while I didn't fault my parents for it, I was far from comfortable with living in a world without basic plumbing and electricity.

Really, I have half a mind to re-invent those things the moment I had my own resources.

"C'mon, Rouge," Father beckoned towards the nearby stream, a ceramic jug under his arm as I blankly approached the heavily bearded man. "This is where we get our water."

I nodded in understanding as I watched my father scoop out another batch of water for our usage. With our house being situated a good hour from the nearest market, we lacked the convenience of having a well to draw water from. As such, we had to get it from a small stream a few minutes north of our house.

"Can't we have a well of our own, Father?" I questioned, knowing full well just how good of a craftsman my father was. "You can build one, right?"

"Indeed," my dad answered while having another jug filled with water loaded onto our wooden cart. "But we can't. We need permission to build one from the local mayor."

Huh? Why would the mayor of the land even need to give permission to people like us that lived far away from the central town?

"Why can't we just build it?" I asked, my childish voice a tad too squeaky for my liking. "It's not like they'll see it."

Father knelt down my level, his onyx eyes flashing a glint of resignation as he put a hand on top of my head. It was a soothing feeling; his calloused hands rubbing my hair in endearment. "Just because they can't see doesn't mean it's allowed. There are rules, Rouge, and we're supposed to follow them."

"Okay." I acknowledged, a pout forming on my face.

"Hahaha! It's not that bad, kid" my father chuckled, flexing his muscular arm in front of me. "A little exercise won't hurt, right?"

I can only watch as my father then returned to the backbreaking work of filling up our water jugs for the day. This wasn't fair. Why do we need permission for such a basic commodity?

I stewed in my own thoughts; my mind barely registering the passage of time before my father called for me once more.

"Time to go home, Rouge!" Father yelled out from behind me. "Your mother's waiting for us!"

"I'm coming!"

Shrugging, I put the thoughts of illogical and inefficient management behind me as I found myself skipping my way back towards the horse-driven cart. It didn't hurt to act like a child every now and then. My own OCD for efficiency will have their time to shine one day; probably when I'm old enough to do stuff on my own.

"There you are," my father greeted me as I gingerly climbed right next to him. I felt a hand pull me up; Father helping me get on the cart. "Careful there. Don't wanna get hurt now."

"Thank you, Dad~" I smiled, flashing my pearly whites towards the man.

I didn't see it, but I heard a sniffle coming from Father before he turned towards me. "No problem, kid."

With a slight tug, we were on our way back home. I sat in silence for the whole trip, simply taking in the environment of untouched forests and rocky mountains. This was my life now. I no longer had the liberty of having modern conveniences aiding me for simple tasks like getting water or bathing. No more technology for entertainment or even basic comforts. It was man against the world, and I had to adapt no matter how boring or inconvenient it was.

It was just expected of me. I couldn't let my new parents down just like that.

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