The Reincarnator's Journey

Check the Author's note.

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It has been raining since dawn, a steady downpour that showed no signs of stopping. The sky was a constant shade of grey and the sound of rain against windows filled the day. 

Strangely enough, for the past few nights, I'd been having the same dream—a vivid vision of being reincarnated into another world. I hadn't paid it much attention, though. It was just a dream, after all.

Today was important. It was my two-year anniversary with my girlfriend, and we'd planned to meet at our favorite coffee shop to celebrate. I was running a little late, the rain slowing me down, but my mind was focused on getting there. I didn't want to keep her waiting.

As I crossed the street, the usual noise of the city was drowned out by the constant patter of the rain. But then I heard it—a sharp screech of tires cutting through the downpour. 

My head snapped to the left, and there it was: a massive truck barreling toward me. Time seemed to slow down. I stood frozen in place, unable to react. The truck didn't stop. It slammed into me with full force.

The impact sent me flying through the air, crashing into the front of the coffee shop where my girlfriend was waiting. 

I remember hitting the ground hard, and through my fading vision, I saw her face—eyes wide in horror, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself floating in a vast, dark space. Distant lights shimmered all around me—stars, I assumed. But why was I here, in space? I wondered if people who die travel through the space, moving from Earth to some unknown place.

As I was lost in thought, I suddenly felt an overwhelming force pulling me. I turned to see what it was—a massive, supermassive black hole. It loomed ahead of me, impossibly large, stretching over 50 billion miles across. In the next instant, I was drawn into it, spiraling into the darkness.

I had no idea where I was going, but the experience was breathtaking. All around me, vivid colors flashed—shades of red, blue, pink, and purple—swirling together as I was pulled deeper into this unknown black hole.

It all happened in an instant, but to me, it felt as though I had spent over a million years in space, being dragged at an unimaginable speed—faster than the speed of light. How could time stretch like that?

When I finally stopped, I looked around and was astonished by the world surrounding me. The trees towered high above, far larger than any on Earth, with some reaching heights of 500 to 600 feet.

I felt so small in comparison. Just as I was beginning to take it all in, I was pulled again, though this time the force wasn't as overwhelming.

As I was being drawn forward, I noticed a ten-year-old boy sitting beneath one of the immense trees, which resembled a coconut tree, in a meditative pose. 

I wanted to greet him with a simple "Hello there," but I paused. He looked frail as if he hadn't eaten in days, and his condition seemed critical.

I soon collided with the boy, and as I scrambled to my feet, I looked around to see if he was okay. But when I turned to where he had been sitting, he was gone. I searched behind me, to the right, and to the left, but there was no sign of him.

A sense of unease washed over me, and I suddenly felt a strange hunger—an odd sensation for someone who should be dead. It dawned on me that I had become the boy on the verge of death.

[Earth]

The rain outside drummed against the windows, its steady rhythm filling the dimly lit room. A single photo sat on the coffee table, its edges worn from too much handling. The image showed a boy with dark hair and striking blue eyes, his smile awkward yet warm—captured in a moment that now felt impossibly distant.

She sat on the sofa, her black hair falling in messy waves around her face, staring at the photo as if willing it to come to life. Her fingers trembled as she reached for it, her chest tightening with every second that passed. Her eyes, red and swollen, traced the contours of his face for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"It's my fault," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain. "If I hadn't told him to meet me at the coffee shop… If I'd picked anywhere else…"

Her hand clutched the photo tightly, her tears falling freely now. Each drop seemed heavier than the last, carrying the weight of memories she wasn't ready to let go of. His laugh, his voice, the way he always made her feel seen—all of it was gone, leaving behind only silence.

Her head dropped into her hands as the sobs came, raw and unrestrained. Guilt sat heavy in her chest, an unrelenting presence that refused to let her breathe. The image of him smiling awkwardly in the photo felt like a cruel reminder of everything she'd lost.

Through her tears, a distant memory surfaced—a conversation they'd had in the carefree days of their youth. His voice, so full of life and mischief, echoed in her mind:

"If I ever die, it'll be getting hit by a truck. Then I'll reincarnate into a fantasy world, just like the stories."

A broken laugh escaped her lips, though it was more a sob than anything else. "You were always such an idiot," she murmured, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "But maybe… Maybe you're there now. Somewhere better."

The thought gave her a fragile kind of comfort, one she clung to desperately. She closed her eyes, clutching the photo to her chest like a lifeline. "I hope you're happy, wherever you are."

Her words faded into the sound of the rain. For a moment, the room was still, the only movement the flicker of a dim lamp in the corner. But then her phone buzzed, its vibrations sharp and insistent.

She glanced at the screen, her brows furrowing as she noticed a red flashing signal accompanied by an urgent message.