Chapter 2

Being outstanding at work would always invite others' envy and jealousy, especially when people competed for a position that meant greater authority and wealth. And as much as i was remarkable and hardworking, was still not experienced enough to sense that something ominous was about to happen to me. At a competition against the the other director, for the position of Executive Director, I was framed and brought significant losses to the company.

As a consequence, I not only failed in the competition, but he had been terminated from the company as well.

My bad luck did not stop there. Shortly after, my girlfriend dumped me. Unable to resist the temptation of money, she started to neglect me and became acquainted with some wealthy people.

At length, when a rich man offered to move her to the US and promised to get her visa, she broke up with me and became that man's mistress.

Failing in both my career and love, I changed overnight. I completely lost my  passion for life overnight and sought comfort in alcohol every day. Sometimes, when I got sober, the pain would be so immense that i would crouch in the corner of my room and sob all night.

Something terrible would inevitably happen to me if this wretched state continued. One night, completely inebriated, I left a bar and crossed the road on shaky legs.

A car hit me. All i could remember before i lost consciousness was a shrill sound as the driver hit the brakes and the feeling of my body soaring through the air after the car crashed into me.

I had no idea how much time had elapsed before i woke up. In a daze, i heard someone calling me.

When i opened his eyes, I found himself lying in a bed in a shabby cottage.

All the things in front of me seemed like a dream to me. Studying the pretty woman from head to toe, I wondered," Did you just speak to me?" I had a vague feeling that the woman looked familiar, though I could not recall where I had met her.

She rejoiced when she saw that I had woken and was energetic enough to ask her questions. She nodded her head gaily and cried, "Who else would it be? You finally woke up, Tyler. I thought you were going to die..." Thinking of death, tears began to trickle down her face again.

Puzzled, I rubbed my aching head and asked awkwardly," Who are you? I don't seem to know you.

Ouch! My back!" I felt a stream of electrical pricks flowing through my body. My eyes fell on the arm that had tried to stretch and relax after three days of being motionless.

To my astonishment, I felt as though I was looking at a stranger's arm and hand. Startled, I lowered my eyes to study the rest of my body. My clothes was dressed in not the clothes i had worn the night of the car accident. And my legs seemed longer while my chest was more muscular.

I held out my hands to feel his face and found that it was more angular and shapelier.

It was clearly the body of a young man, aged fifteen or sixteen years old. But I was almost twenty seven years old. 'How the hell did I change into this? Was I reborn after the car accident?'

As I fought to figure things out, Bella continued," I... I am your friend, Bella. Don't you remember me, Tyler? They seem to have hit your head hard. You sound even sillier."

She lifted her arm and brushed her ruffled, askew hair with her fingers. She wondered why I, who was now awake, seemed to be speaking so oddly.

Looking at her reaction, she doesn't seem to recognize herself either.

"Elijah you bastard! How much harm did you cause to Tyler?" She lamented as she felt a twist of sorrow and fury in her heart at the thought.

Suddenly, an intolerable pain coursed through my head again. I could not help but hold his head tightly in my hands and scream. The pain was so severe that I felt as though my head would explode any minute.

While struggling with the pain, I had a distinct, clear view of what was happening in my mind.

I could see that eighteen shiny, glowing balls were battling against each other in my head.

Among them, ten were bigger, and the others were smaller. It was as if two opposing armies were struggling with each other. The fight between the big and small balls was so fierce that neither side seemed to give up until their opponents were swallowed.

At a subconscious level, I felt that the ten larger balls represented his life force.

I felt no particular attachment to the remaining eight smaller balls. They seemed to be despicable intruders, and I felt a certain eagerness to eliminate them.

A thought struck me.  Perhaps if the ten bigger balls won, then I would be safe, and my memories would survive and endure in his hands and scream. The pain was so severe that I felt as though my head would explode any minute.

While struggling with the pain, I had a distinct, clear view of what was happening in my mind.

I could see that eighteen shiny, glowing balls were battling against each other in my head.

Among them, ten were bigger, and the others were smaller. It was as if two opposing armies were struggling with each other. The fight between the big and small balls was so fierce that neither side seemed to give up until their opponents were swallowed.

At a subconscious level, I felt that the ten larger balls represented my life force.

I felt no particular attachment to the remaining eight smaller balls. They seemed to be despicable intruders, and I felt a certain eagerness to eliminate them.

Sparkling in strong light, they looked like warriors that had returned victorious from their battle.

Relief spread through my heart. It was as if I had just been rescued from a horrible disaster. I drew a deep, luxurious breath of the cool, fresh air of the forest.

Probably because of the battle that had just happened in my mind, in which the bigger balls devoured the smaller balls, I began to recall memories of incidents that I had not experienced before.

Through these memories, I learned what had happened to me.

The collision with the car detached my spirit from my body. The accident coincided with another incident where a man was beaten severely by others and rendered unconscious. Somehow, my spirit passed through the tunnel of time and space and drifted into this younger body. The ten bigger balls were my spirit that was trying to occupy that young man's body against his spirit.

After some moments of fierce fighting, the difference in the strength and the weakness of the balls became clearer.

Inferior in both, number and size, the eight smaller balls gradually ran out of power and retreated into a corner.

Huddled firmly with one another, the small balls trembled violently and whined in fear.

Showing no mercy, the ten bigger balls swooped in and swallowed them all in an instant!

The way they conquered the small balls made it seem like the bigger balls were fierce, ruthless predators that were enjoying their victory over their prey.

After devouring the eight smaller balls, the bodies of the ten bigger balls grew. They were about five times bigger than their original sizes now, and they looked even more dazzling and bright.

Sparkling in strong light, they looked like warriors that had returned victorious from their battle.

Relief spread through my heart. It was as if I had just been rescued from a horrible disaster. I drew a deep, luxurious breath of the cool, fresh air of the forest.

Probably because of the battle that had just happened in my mind, in which the bigger balls devoured the smaller balls, I began to recall memories of incidents that I had not experienced before.

Through these memories, I learned what had happened to me.

The collision with the car detached my spirit from my body. The accident coincided with another incident where a man was beaten severely by others and rendered unconscious. Somehow, my spirit passed through the tunnel of time and space and drifted into this younger body. The ten bigger balls were my spirit that was trying to occupy that young man's body against his spirit.