Chapter 1: Death & Life

...

I abruptly woke up to the feeling of being squeezed harshly.

'Where am I?' I thought in panic as I tried to swivel my head left and right to no avail.

Trying to open my eyes also proved to be impossible for some reason. By now, I was already thinking that I was kidnapped by some kind of cult or serial killer.

Somehow, despite being unable to breathe, I was still able to. Now, I was starting to feel really afraid.

All of this was just too... Unnatural.

But I forced myself to calm down. 'There is no use in panicking. I have think this through with logic, if I wanted to escape from this hell.'

A few minutes later, I had calmed down and started thinking seriously. 'First things first, how did I even get here?' 

Trying to find any memory of it proved to be futile as I only remembered waking up here and nothing of how I got here.

Still not be discouraged, I moved forward. 'Okay, so what is the last thing I remember?'

...

I was coming back home after tution. I was walking with my friends when suddenly we heard a commotion up ahead.

Apparently some psycho was holding a woman hostage using a big ass knife, some security guards were trying to persuade and distract the psycho man as they waited for the police to arrive.

We just moved past it though, as it was none of our business. But as they say- When nature wants something, it always gets it's due.

Just as we were coming up to our apartment building, we heard some people panic. Looking back, I saw the psycho man running right towards my friend.

In hindsight, maybe if I had thought more about it I wouldn't have chosen to do what I did.

But at that moment, my unconscious decisions sealed my fate.

With a quick burst of strength, I pushed my friend out of harms way. Only to-

*puchi!*

-take his place as the psycho stabs the knife right through my heart.

Of course, the mob of people quickly subdue the man, but they were too late and the damage was already done.

Strength left me as I fell down and lied on the ground, covered in my own blood.

My friends quickly surrounded me, with tears in their eyes. Not gonna lie, it warmed my punctured and cold heart seeing that they cared enough about me to actually cry.

Truly, I had some good friends.

Rather than saying something cheesy like 'name your son after me!' or something. I just smiles slightly (still bloody) and requested. "Delete my browser history for me would you James?" I half-said half-chuckled.

Before I could see their reactions, I felt my body go slack. Go cold.

My vision darkened.

And the last thing I saw were the tear-filled faces of my dear friends.

...

I was silent as I slowly processed those memories.

And finally, after god knows how long, I just sighed. 'So, I died huh.'

I honestly didn't know how to feel. Sad? Depressed? Angry? I did not know.

But if I had to give a word to it, it would be that I was feeling empty inside.

Sure, my parents may not be alive anymore but I did have a family.

'Oh!' I worriedly thought. 'How would they react when they get the news of my death!'

My aunt and uncle were simple people, and they were also the only family I had left in the world after the deaths of my parents.

They had taught me to be a good, moral and hard working person. Despite the countless challenges they had to face everyday, they had always been there every night to tuck me in, to help me with my homework, to comfort me when I had a breakup.

They had tried to make sure that I never felt the lack of parents as they were always there with me, every step of the way.

It brought tears to my eyes thinking of the pain I had inadvertently caused them by dying.

...

I grieved for a long time, maybe a few days.

By the time I finished, I had already adapted to the feeling of being squeezed to death.

Logically thinking, there was no use thinking about it anymore.

I was dead now, and was probably in the afterlife, I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to.

But... I had still not gotten over my death, and I probably wouldn't for a long time.

So to distract myself, I started thinking about this place.

As I wasn't able to see, I could only describe this place by how it felt.

The things that were squeezing me were made of a fleshy, rubbery material. It was also incredibly warm here.

... To be honest, that's all I was able to describe...

Leaving that aside, I had also noticed that I was slowly moving downwards.

Just as I thought so, my body suddenly jerked as I felt a cold breeze in my legs.

"!!!" I exclaimed in suprise as I felt... Something grabbing me by the leg and pulling me 'out'.

...

When I came to, I was in room? I didn't know for sure as my eyes were still adjusting to the sudden light.

And wasn't that a suprise, I was now able to open my eyes!

Of course, then I remembered the huge being that pulled me out of that hell. And my suprise was quickly replaced with fear.

I was still in it's arms as I tried to wrestle out of them, but the being proved to be formidable as it's hand barely budged despite my attempts.

Then I felt the feeling of being cleaned, and by now my eyes had adjusted a little so I could see someone cleaning me.

Before I could protest at such a humiliation, the being once again grabbed me and handed me off to another being.

I would've been a fool if I still didn't put together the clues regarding my current situation.

But... It was just too unbelievable, so I was still in denial (bear with me okay?).

I couldn't exactly see the person I was handed off to, but... for some reason it felt nice as the person hugged me close.

I could vaguely hear the people in the room talking but wasn't able to put most of their words together.

"Son... Family... Future." Said a non-recognisable voice.

"Walls... Maria... Church." Said another non-recognisable voice.

"Celebration... Handsome... Secure." Once again, said a non-recognisable voice.

Honestly, all of this sounded more like gibberish to me. But atleast I confirmed that these people speak English.

By now, I had almost accepted my situation and could clearly see everything near me, including the person holding me.

She was beautiful, at least she looked so to my eyes. She had a round face, fair skintone, blueish-grey eyes, and long red hair. Despite looking tired as heck, she just looked so happy holding me that it warmed my heart.

I froze when I saw her. Not because of her beauty or anything...

But because I had seen her before. In my past life...

She was my mother! There was no doubt about it!

But my mind froze even more so when I saw the person standing next to her.

She spoke something with a person next to her, he was a tall dark haired man with broad shoulders built like a lumberjack. He had a light tan, and small stubble growing on his chin. Looking at him, a normal person would be very intimidated.

But when he held me in his palms... His eyes showed so much love that I was almost overwhelmed.

He was without a doubt my father! Despite the many, many differences I could recognise that face anywhere!

Cause that was my face!

It brought tears in my eyes to look at them again.

I had lost them abruptly... It was so sudden that I was able to move on only after years of trying.

Oh how I had longed for this day! To see them happy and alive!

I didn't know how this was possible (maybe I regressed or something?). And at this moment I frankly didn't care.

I just wanted to enjoy this moment as my mind finally accepted the facts...

That I was reincarnated...

...

===============

And Done!

Have any thoughts about this new version? Some suggestions? Leave them in the comments and I'll be sure to read them!

The next chapter will come in a day or two.

So till then, see ya!