IT WAS THE THIRD day of September when Junas first sat in a steam locomotive. It was as ancient and elegant as he had expected it to be. The train had a mysterious charm to it, one noticed only by history enthusiasts. The first time he had seen it, he had gotten goosebumps all over his skin.
It was as if he was witnessing a page from a history book come to life, a surreal moment for him. Having been a curious soul since the start of his second life, Junas couldn't control himself and strode towards the train with giant strides.
Though he did get looks from people, the ones filled with pity. After all, Meranga was a somewhat busy station, unlike Daarunda, his home village.
And when people saw a 'little man' carrying a suitcase all alone, they'd justly show pity.
Well, he was not a fan of that, he thought, and ignoring the gazes directed his way, he went ahead towards the ticket inspectors.
Completing the process with the ticket inspector at the door, he entered the train. Not wasting much time, he found his seat and arranged his luggage- the suitcase being his only luggage.
Looking out of the window, he saw the busy station of Meranga, the closest one to Daarunda. This sight again led his thoughts to compare the similarities between the two worlds. He often thought, 'Could it be like the lack of determinism in the Quantum Theory? The Catastrophe theory?'
The catastrophe theory shows how an electron could be present at two places at a single point in time. This theory also suggests the existence of parallel realities.
'Could I be alive on Earth while also being alive on Araxis? It could also be that I'm in a coma. And that this is all a different reality altogether. If this is a parallel world, then it could explain the similarities...' jolting him up from his daydreams was the sudden movement of the steam train.
~Whistle~~Whistle~
These thoughts were the ones to just come and go, not worth mulling over.
After all, he could not find any plausible answer to the question, even if he pondered it for a year.
The train had started to move while throwing steam in the air. The train station became smaller and smaller in Junas' eyes. Buildings, and the city of Meranga, all faded from his vision. What replaced it was the never-ending expanse of nature's beauty. Fields, rivers and forests passed by as time ticked.
While enjoying the scenery, Junas fell asleep and went to the Promised Neverland of his dreams.
This time he fought with grotesque-looking, giant, and weird human-like monsters; he formed connections with some of them, sometimes through union, sometimes through partings.
And in the end, reached the promised Neverland of his dreams, in his dreams...?
...
...
...
Seven years had gone by, and Junas was now 19 years old. Thinking back to when he came to the capital, the city of Achile, he felt a bit nostalgic and embarrassed.
He wanted to forget his days of being called the 'Mr. Country Bumpkin'.
After coming here and passing the entrance exam, he had gotten admitted into an excellent school.
A school where there was no grade system, meaning you could learn according to your capacity. It was a big reason why Junas could catch up to his peers. It was not impossible, with his mental age being older than his actual age.
His father had probably considered it beforehand and sent him to this institute especially.
This method of mastery-based learning was not a typical method of teaching, both in his previous world and here, on Araxis. But an excellent one nonetheless.
That was not all, as the school was under the administration of Achile College, a college famed for producing great researchers, historians, and scientists of their times.
It was a path that guaranteed smooth sailing success. That was what exactly happened.
Junas, who showed exemplary performance and great interest in studying forgotten subjects like history and geology, had graduated as the second in his class at the tender age of 19.
Seeing his prospects, the Museum Of National Heritages hired him as the curator. A piece of news worthy of being printed on the front page of many prestigious newspapers.
Newspapers in these times were the only way of getting information and entertainment. Many people had read these papers with Junas face slapped straight on the front pages; thanks to that, he had quite a bit of fame.
"YOUNG MAN OF HUMBLE ORIGINS HIRED AS THE NATIONAL MUSEUM'S CURATOR."
"BREAKING NEWS: MAN OF 19 HIRED AS THE CURATOR AT...."
"GENIUS GRABS THE CURATOR'S CHAIR...."
"PRIDE OF DAARUNDA..."
And many such titles went around for a time, praising his journey of coming from humble origins and sitting at the top of his field.
He was also called the 'Genius Professor' by his peers, his peers being middle-aged men and women, people way older than him.
It was awkward, but everyone, including himself, treated it as a joke and laughed it off.
**
While living a slow but busy life, he had forgotten about his burning passion for solving the mysteries of his rebirth, gradually adapting to the times fully.
But that was when that incident occurred...