Chapter 1: Awakening
Ethan Wakefield slowly opened his eyes, feeling the thin mattress beneath him and the musty smell of the worn-out blanket. He lay in the corner of a small room with white walls, the only decoration being a barred window that allowed in dim light. Ethan sensed that his body was too small, too light—like he had regressed to childhood.
He stood up and walked to the mirror hanging on the wall. The reflection revealed an eleven-year-old boy with tousled hair and eyes filled with bewilderment. "Where am I?" was the first question that crossed Ethan's mind. Memories of his life as a programmer, endless hours in front of a computer, now seemed like a distant dream.
Surveying the room, he noticed he was in an orphanage. "How did I end up here? Is it magic or technology?" he wondered. His mind raced with thoughts of being an adult, yet inhabiting a child's body. There were no answers, only questions.
With each step down the corridor, Ethan's anxiety grew. He knew he needed to find a way back home, but first, he had to understand the rules of this new world. "I'll find answers," he resolved, feeling a surge of newfound energy. "And I'll do whatever it takes to return."
To be continued…
The Chronicles of Ethan: A New Dawn is a fantasy series by 21 12. Follow Ethan’s journey through a magical world where reality blurs with fantasy, and secrets challenge everything he thought he knew about life, love, and immortality.