A tall and slender figure was descending the stairs of his flat complex, the mission this poor soul had in mind was to reach the 24/7 vending machines right around the corner to get a quick snack before going back to his videogame marathon.
Little did he know, his life was about to change.
As soon as I reached the vending machine I grabbed my phone and unlocked the screen, scrolling to the apps in search of my virtual wallet.
Suddenly a strong stab made my left arm spasm, but the pain went away in the same way it came, I took a deep sigh and found my wallet app, I selected a sneaker and paid, starting to stroll back to the building entrance with my snack in hand.
My free hand went for the glass door's handle but another strong pain strikes my left arm, and soon reaches my chest, I couldn't breathe for how strong the pain was, describing it as a stab wasn't enough, and my knees soon became weak and I feel to the ground gasping for air.
I was dying, that was my first thought, I was out, alone, in the middle of the night and my mind was slowly going numb thanks to the pain I was experiencing.
Before I could think of anything else my consciousness came back to being surrounded by darkness and cold, nothing made sense, one second I was having a stroke in the middle of the streets and now I was in a dark and empty room by myself?
I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth, I tried to move my hands to touch my face, but nothing moved, it was as if I was paralyzed, and to avoid having a panic attack I theorized the fact of being in a hospital room at night under anesthesia, but was that really that credible?
I mean, it was still better than nothing, but as if the world for once in my life didn't want to delude me an answer to my doubts came, I felt something akin to the feeling of moving forward, I was more confused but at least I wasn't paralyzed, no?
Dim light started to surround me as I was slowly walking in the dark, and soon in the distance, I could see something that was akin to a tree and a light bulb at the same time. From behind the enormous tree, a voice spoke "You shall live a life to its fullest as the life you lived never got to you in the way it was supposed to."
Confused by the remarks made by the mysterious voice I tried to speak but I had no voice nor a mouth to follow my will. As soon as I realized that a sudden pull made me sink through the floor and once again darkness surrounded me.
After what felt like several hours I could feel something pulling on my head, a big hand that could almost envelop my whole scalp in one go, then some light got to my eyes as the hand guided me out of some slimy hole.
I could not believe my eyes, was that some sort of joke? Birth... something we all get to experience once in our life was happening to me again.
I found myself wrapped in a bunch of rough clothes as a woman dressed in old rags cut my umbilical cord and passed my body, still wrapped, in the hands of a young maiden with red hair and a pair of tired emerald-like eyes, her skin was warm and slightly covered in beads of sweat, and her lips, uncaring of me being dirty in her blood, kissed my forehead.
I was shocked and in disbelief, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I'd just been birthed again as it meant two things, the first one was the most painful and difficult, that the stoke I had before killed me and that I lost my brother and my life as Ian Smith, and that I've been reincarnated or reborn.
But again before I could overthink the situation, in between the arms of the red-haired woman, I fell asleep.
I woke up in a cradle with a brown-haired man beside me, as soon as I opened my eyes he shout some words in a language that I'd never heard before.
The woman with the red hair entered the room and picked me up, giving me the chance to observe the room, it was as if the room was either very old and uncured or the house of some poor farmer on the outskirts of some village.
Two candles lit the room as outside the window only darkness could have been seen, but before I could make any other detail out of the room, the woman began to breastfeed me.
As a man who's never been attracted to women, it was one of the worst and most humiliating things that have ever happened to me, but soon I could realize that the thing she was doing, didn't hide any malice and I started to drink on the sweet and warm milk relaxing and stopping my brain once more from doing all the thinking.
The next thing I could make out after an almost forced sleep was the ceiling seen from the cradle, this time beside a bed, I had no strength in my body yet to move even on my side so I gave in and fell asleep once more.
This type of repeating and boring routine went on and on and on again, each day that went by I had the chance to see more of the house we lived in, more of the outside, and to know more about the two figures that were my new parents.
First of all, we were poor, and saying this might sound harsh but we really were, our house was small and looked like some reinforced shack, second, this world probably isn't the same as my former self was, and I understood that from the night sky, which displayed two lilac moons, third but not less important, this world had magic in it.
I've seen my mum light candles with just the sound of her voice and heal my dad's wounded hands, I wasn't so sad about leaving behind my former life anymore, as Ian I had no friends and the only piece of family that I had was my big brother, who just to add more pain to my life, was probably better off without me.
Oh, and before I forget, I think I also discovered my name...
"Keyel..." said the light and soft voice of the red-haired woman before picking me up.