"Whatever they say, I will do it my way."
Matthew is an ordinary boy who craves happiness. His parents told him that happiness will come when he becomes a successful engineer or lawyer. Matthew then tried to find out what this engineer and lawyer really is. And after knowing what they are, Matthew is sure that sitting on his desk for a long time creating blueprints or fighting against other people in court is not the way he will find his happiness.
After exploring all kinds of things the world has to offer, Matthew decided that he wants to be a musician. His parents, who didn't support his decision, told him that he will be wasting his time and he will become nothing and no one in the future. But Matthew couldn't care less, he already made up his mind and was determined to be a musician. But he shouldn't have been careless.
Matthew went all out. Every day he played his guitar, practiced his singing, composing songs, doing gigs wherever there was a chance, and after years of hard work, he finally succeeded in making and publishing his first album. His album is a hit and he got lots of fans and he soon got his chance to perform his first concert.
All the preparations went well and soon the day of the concert came.
"It's raining outside, are you sure you don't want to delay the starting time?"
"Yes, this is my first concert and I won't let the people down."
"Alright then, 5 more minutes before you go up the stage."
Matthew then prepared himself, this is his starting point in his career on becoming a musician, so he doesn't want to mess things up. If this goes well, he could show his parents that being an engineer or a lawyer is not the only way he could be successful and happy. But that thought is for another day, it is almost time to perform and he needs to be in the right mindset.
Matthew then went out of the dressing trailer and waited backstage right before the event organizer called out his name to go out to the stage. When he went out to the stage, the crowd of about 300 people all looked at him and starting from one cheer from the crowd, turned the whole crowd cheering for him. Despite the rain, people are still willing to come and watch him play his music which makes him a bit emotional.
Matthew returned the cheer by waving his hand before going into a stool in the middle of the stage and his trustworthy guitar was already waiting beside the stool for him to pick up and play with.
Matthew grabbed his guitar and tested the sound, but he noticed that the speaker was not working properly, so he decided to quickly check on the cable jack of the speaker because he didn't want to keep his audience waiting. Matthew then put his guitar back first before using his hand to grab the cable jack. Being lost in the moment of the concert, Matthew forgot that the rain also makes his hands and the speaker wet. When his hand made contact with the cable jack that connected the speaker, the high current of electricity from the huge concert speaker flowed through Matthew, electrocuting him.
The event organizers and the fans thought that Matthew was doing a gimmick to make his concert not boring and laughed when seeing Matthew's body shaking severely. By the time that everybody realized that Matthew was not joking and his body was already shaking for a minute, it was too late and Matthew's life was already long gone.
Matthew's world turned black before he felt that he was floating. He doesn't feel anything else, before finally, he feels that his body is pulled towards a direction. When he felt that his body finally stopped moving, he then heard a voice.
"Open your eyes, child."
Matthew heard the old yet dignified voice talking to him and told him to open his eyes. Matthew, who is curious about who is talking to him, opened his eyes.
What he sees in front of him is an old man, with long white hair and beard, his body is not thin yet not fat, just the right size. Despite his old age, he seems to be able to stand just fine.
"Who are you?" Matthew asked.
"I have a lot of names, but you humans often refer to me as god."
"No way…"
Matthew then blinked again and looked at his surroundings. Because of the shock from earlier, he failed to realize that he and the old man are right now standing on top of clouds with a clear blue sky all around them. Matthew then looked at the old man once again, but his mind still couldn't process what is happening right now.
"Don't be afraid and you can relax first." The god said before he made two comfortable couches appear out of nowhere for both of them to sit and a table between the two of them, filled with tea, snacks, and syrups.
"Please have some."
Matthew then picks up the ordinary white cup of tea in front of him and sips it. When the warm tea flowed to his mouth, an indescribable taste could be felt on his tongue. The taste goes beyond bitter and sweet, but instead gives him a heartwarming and comforting feeling that helps calm him down.
"Are you feeling better?"
Matthew then nodded in response to God's question.
"Do you have any questions first before I talk about the reason why I brought you here?"
Matthew then stayed silent for a moment before asking.
"Are you really god?"
"If you refer to the person who creates the world and all of its creatures, yes I am god."
"How old are you?"
"..."
"..."
"If you ask that question because of my appearance, my appearance depends on the person who sees me. Apparently, you thought of God as someone who is old, wise, and dignified, so my look became like this."
After that Matthew stayed silent again.
"Is that all…?" The God asked.
"Yes"
"You don't want to ask why you died or the secret of the universe or something?"
"I remembered my last moment being electrocuted and knowing the secret of the universe won't give me anything other than dangerous information that I better not knowing in the first place."
The god then laughed and said,
"I know I picked the right person."
"Matthew, I brought you here because I have an offer for you."
"I have seen your struggles and hard work when you are alive and I felt pity that your story had to end right when it was just about to start, so I'm here to offer you a second chance to live again."
Matthew listened closely to what God has said and the sentence 'second chance to live' shocked him and stared at the god with serious eyes.
"I want it!"
"Hear me out first, you will not be reborn back to earth, but instead to another world filled with monsters and magic."
"I want it!"
"And I also can't guarantee what you will be reborn to since I already made an automatic system to take care of the reincarnation system there. You may be reborn as a prince or even a rat. But don't worry, you will still have your memory from this life intact and whatever you become then, I will give you a little help to make your life slightly easier there."
For the first time, Matthew didn't answer right away that he wanted to do it. While having a second chance to live is a miracle that not every person could have, he also considers the chance that he may be reborn as a cockroach. While Matthew is annoyed that he wasn't able to get the happiness that he wants in his lifetime and the idea that fate had to be cruel to him and ended his life just when he was about to start his journey makes him more furious than annoyed.
After considering the consequences, Matthew decided to take this once in a lifetime chance and just do it. And since the god promised him to give him help, he decided to trust him.
Seeing Matthew's determined face, God asked,
"You already made up your mind then?"
"Yes."
The god then offered Matthew a handshake and Matthew subconsciously shook God's hand.
"I hope you will find your happiness there. Good luck, Matthew."
Matthew's vision then returned to black before he felt that his body was once again moved somewhere. When he felt that his body stopped moving, he tried opening his eyes, but darkness was still the only thing that he could see. Matthew then tried to use his other senses. He senses that his body is now currently floating inside some kind of fluid, but he is still able to breathe just fine. He tries moving his arms and legs and finds that his movements are obstructed by some kind of hard wall.
'Where am I? Why is it so dark and why am I inside this… what is this?' is what is going on in Matthew's mind. Matthew tried to think about his current situation, and he remembered that he had just met God earlier and he accepted God's offer to be reborn.
'Wait...reborn…' Matthew then remembered God's warning that he may be reborn not as a human.
'Am I inside an egg?'
'If my guess is right, then I only need to break this wall...shell right?'
'What if I'm wrong? And what if I'm right, but the egg is still immature?'
'But all my body parts are already formed so it should be complete right?'
Matthew decided to wait for some time. And after making sure that his body didn't change anymore even after waiting for some time, he decided to finally try and break the shell. He punched the wall in front of him with his fist and kicked with his feet. The shell turned out to be not as hard as he thought and soon crumbled by his vicious attacks.
When the wall crumbled, light started to enter Matthew's vision and Matthew started to walk out of the egg. When he put his hands on the ground, Matthew finally realized that his hands are actually a pair of feet. Matthew looked around and noticed that the other eggs were already hatched before him. Not knowing what to do, Matthew decided to get out of the hole that he was born from.
Matthew walked with his four legs and soon succeeded in getting out of the hole. What he sees is a lush green forest and a large lake not too far from where he's at.
'A lake? I want to know what I look like!'
Matthew then walked over to the edge of the lake and looked at his reflection.
'WAIT...I'M A LIZARD!?'
When Matthew was shocked to see his new body, he suddenly noticed that his body color changed to yellow from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.
'NO, I'M A CHAMELEON!'