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I was 10 when it happened. My twin sister Kaia, my friend Jax, and I were walking to the library. All of us were incredibly bright, and it was our love of books that made it possible. Whether fiction or fact, we all absorbed it like we needed it to survive.
That day was like every other we had known. Our stomachs growled angrily at us as if it were our fault we were poor. We all looked forward to the snacks that the librarians would undoubtedly give to us. Carrying a stack of books in each of our arms, we were only a single block away from the library.
At that time, we never would have imagined what was going to happen.
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Fire. So much fire. The flames licked at his skin as if it were a delicious dessert. Burning up and crying out, Nel could hardly think straight. He coughed as he cried, desperately trying to control his breathing.
Nel could hardly believe his eyes when his sister came for him. She yelled at him to come to her, and Nel rushed to obey. Only, his body wouldn't follow his commands. Seeing his sister rush towards him, he tried to tell her to run. After all, she was much more important than he was. Unfortunately, he couldn't speak, let alone yell.
The girl rushed up to Nel and picked him up bridal style. Seeing the frightened look on her face, Nel could tell his situation was dire. But, what worried him wasn't this. No, what worried him was the wooden beam in his room that was on fire and falling. He shouted for his sister to get out of the way, and this time a small groan came out and he was able to point with his finger.
The girl saw the beam headed for them, but it was too late. The flaming beam fell upon them.
.....
Waking up with a gasp, Nelarma had difficulty controlling his breathing. Nel grabbed onto his bed post to steady himself as he sat up. He groped at the bedside table for his pills, taking two tablets to plop in his mouth.
After a while, he was once again calm. Nel reminded himself with relief that those days were over. The fire, the mistreatment he had always taken without complaint, all of it was over. Taking the only photo he owned, Nel took time to thank his sister for her sacrifice. It was soley thanks to her that he had survived.
She had saved his life several times even since her death. The road he had taken to reach this point was anything but easy, and if it weren't for his sister, he never would have survived. Her friends had taken good care of him, and her teachers even better. Through them, Nel had been able to achieve the freedom he had never had even at his childhood home. For where he lived now, gender inequality was not only non-existant, but illegal.
Now if only he could figure out this past life of his...
Nelarma had known for a while about his past life. The memories we're fractured and weak, but were definitely there. Using them, he had survived countless situations of potential fatality.
Getting up from his bed, Nel walked over to his desk. He smiled fondly at the notebook on his table. A safe record of all of his secrets and history. With the words written in the language of his past world, there was a safety guarantee on his every sentence. Unless someone happened to know the language in some weird way, his writing was safe from anybody and everybody.
Only later would he learn that it wasn't exactly safe from everyone~. In fact, several people would soon flip through his 'safe' diary and completely violate his privacy.