The last I remember of my life was the roof of the hospital I was kept in, I was bed bound for months before; I had a disease that caused rapid degeneration of body tissue, pretty horrible honestly since for the last few months I couldn't even lift a finger, if it wasn't for my mother being there to care for me I would have died alone after living like a log for months.
From what we knew it was an inherited disorder, my father had the same thing and crossed the river when I was younger so I don't have too much of a memory of him, but my mother looked after me well, she was definitely the best I could have asked for right until the end; my only regret was leaving her alone and going before her.
But I can't help it, since that's how it turned out and the past can't be changed unfortunately; Anyway, I'd ask my mother to bring me books constantly during my stay, even when I was at home before they were my main source of entertainment, not to say that I didn't do other things like play games or watch movies, I couldn't go outside much though because of my condition; I just enjoyed getting lost in the pages that seemed to never end, the worlds I fell in to enraptured me and made me feel like I wasn't invalid, I lived through the characters and worlds that the words formed in my mind.
I didn't have a main preference, but if I had to choose it would be adventure, or maybe it would be slice of life? I don't know, I always enjoyed reading about people exploring the worlds they lived in, enjoying the day-to-day life they lived and watching everything around them expand and become colourful in my mind.
But there was one thing that always bugged me, many protagonists lived like a firework, shooting forward without stop charged forward into danger without hesitation, constantly putting themselves and those close to them in danger until they went out with a bang, they would justify it with their pride and bravery yet all I saw was a waste of life.
I guess it's because of what they call 'Suspension of disbelief'? As someone who is already on a timer and very restricted, I don't see why they should put themselves or others at risk just to 'get ahead', I would take my time, make sure everyone I love is happy and try to experience everything at a good pace, the world isn't a one way road or a cage that is constantly getting smaller, by focusing like a horse with blinders you will miss the bigger picture.
Well, it doesn't matter anyway, my life is over.
I had always wondered if reincarnation existed, many different novels detailed the concept and there were plenty of different religious beliefs that had similar ideas, albeit they all worked differently from one another, it was like looking into a puddle of mud trying to discern one grain from another, either way I still held a hope to my chest that it did.
I hoped to have another family like the one I had now, but I wanted a healthy body so that I could live freely, nothing less nothing more.
As I felt my body go cold and my conscious fade, that was the wish that remained.
And it was granted.
---
I awoke to the sound of a pop, I felt like that was the instance 'awoke' like I'd been in a deep sleep for many years before, followed by a cacophony of sounds and struggle I saw the light of day as it pierced my undeveloped eyes, all I could see were vague shadows and images moving around me; I could feel two firm platforms lifting my tiny body, I couldn't help but cry out on reflex, my voice echoed in the room and I heard the voices around me for the first time.
"_____"
"____? _____?!"
"_____!" I couldn't understand a thing, both because my ears weren't adjusted to the voices or sounds and because the language was not one that I understood, though from the tone they sounded exhausted with a tinge of joy and excitement, there were three figures I could make out, one laying in what seems to be a bed, a large robust figure and a smaller hunched figure.
I felt myself be passed from one to another, now laying in the embrace of a soft cover and the warmth of another's chest, I can only assume she was my mother, I can't make out her features clearly, but she had a gentle aura.
"____?" The hunched figure mumbled something in a low voice to the man.
"______" He seemed to shrug his shoulders, and gestured towards me, no, my mother.
"___" I heard her voice for the first time, it was gentle like a light ripple on a calm pond.
"____ He ___ Shu He ____"
Although I didn't understand fully, it's almost like the world bound those words to my soul, I instinctively knew.
That's my name in this life – Shu He.
Shu is our family name, a simple and honest one representing good and purity among other things.
He, for harmony and peace.
It wasn't audacious or terrible, just a simple name given through a mother's love and hopes towards the child's peaceful life.
'I like it' was all I could think about, before I felt the need to pass away into the dreamlands, this is my first sleep in this world, what will I dream about? How far I will go? What world will i see? I can't wait.
---
*Chop*
A sound echoed in a small yard, a nice large pile of split wood had been building up as a man worked, slight hints of frost grasping the edges of the grass and surroundings could be seen.
Suddenly a small bang could be heard from behind as two wooden panels separated, revealing a windowsill.
"Dear, have you seen little He around?" A young woman with long brunette hair called out from a window with concern.
"Again?"
*Chop*
An axe cleanly split the log as the man said with exasperation.
He took a deep breath and sighed before placing the axe to one side, turning towards the window.
"He's only five and yet he's scampering around like a little weasel! When did you last see him?"
Scruffy black hair tied at the back; bronze skin tanned from the sun with a decent amount of stubble the man wasn't the best looking but he seemed very hearty.
"I was keeping an eye on him, but I turn around for one second to make the soup and he's gone… he's so quiet as well! I think he was reading that book you bought him…"
"That little devil is too smart for his own good, he can read better than his own parents already…" The man shook his head with both joy and sadness, how was a parent meant to feel when a child of five years could do something better than him?
"I'll go see if I can find him, probably picking things in the forest again" He sighed once more.
"Make sure to bring him back soon! The soup is almost ready!" The lady yelled before closing the wooden windows, it was starting to get chilly at this time of year, so it was best to try keep the heat in.
"I swear… how many times do I have to tell him not to wander off alone…" The man went in to the shed nearby and picked up a few things, the most important item was the pair of bow and a leather quiver of arrows, the forest just outside the village was fairly large in size, and although the animals there weren't too ferocious, for a five year old it was quite dangerous, after all even a boar could be lethal at that age.
He made his way out of his yard to the road, his families house wasn't too large and was just big enough for the three of them, Mother, Father and Son, three rooms, the parents bedroom, the main room where cooking and resting takes place and the sons bedroom, that and an outhouse just outside.
In the village there were about a few tens of houses this size, though there were more smaller without a yard, mostly owned by the poorer or single villagers, Shu Li, the Father, was a hunter and made enough money to own such a house due to his skill with the bow and tracking abilities, on average each person in the village was slightly worse off than them, though overall it was only a small sized village and relied on travelling caravans passing by for a lot of non-standard equipment or food items, there was a large crop field that took up a lot of the villages space that was handled in co-operation run by the villages head which most villagers work on.
"Going out at this time Shu LI? You got a mistress or something to be visiting?"
A spindly man greeted Shu Li as he paced along the dirt road, he was clearly returning from field work as his clothes were covered with dirt and sweat.
Shu Li only grunted in annoyance, this man was just called Haoxi and was known to never shut up.
"Come on don't be so unfriendly! Me and the others are gonna have a get together later for some fun, we got a few barrels saved up and some good food, you probably don't wanna' join so how about I invite Shu An over, she'll probably enjoy us more than a bore like you! Ahaahaha!"
Of course, Shu Li wouldn't just ignore that, he stopped dead in his tracks and glared while reaching for the bow on his back.
"Feel free to try, if you don't want an arrow in your back right as you do"
"Keh, I was just joking, either way if you wanna' join just go ahead, you'll never make friends with such a stiff face" Haoxi's face twisted like he swallowed a fly before shrugging it off, he continued to make his way home afterwards.
Shu Li took his hands off the bow before continuing on as well, it wouldn't be long before the light began to fade so he need to look for Shu He, his son, fast.
---
Inside the forest, the sun was beginning to set as its light slowly dipped under the horizon, the shadows cast from the large trees engulfed the forest floor reducing vision, a slight chilly wind passed through the leafless branches.
"Brrr, it's already so cold, I need to some thicker clothes or I'll freeze to death in the future.."
A young boy was crouched near the base of a tree huddled up, He had a book open in front of him that seemed fairly worn, the leather cover had faded, and the pages had nicks and a few stains here and there.
He had short brown hair, bronze golden eyes and simple clothes consisting of a cotton shirt, trousers and little boots all made from leather apart from the shirt, their quality wasn't great but for a child of his age they would be considered good, he also donned a hooded cloak that he pulled close to his body in an attempt to warm himself.
'I wonder If I can get some gloves at least, picking all this stuff in this weather is going to give me frostbite…' He thought to himself as he compared the picture in the book to the plant that was growing near the tree roots in front of him.
"Found it!" He exclaimed happily as he pulled forward a leather satchel he had hanging on the side and pulled out a small pot with a glass lid he had kept for a while; It was expensive, but he needed it, so he convinced his dad to get one for him when the caravan came around a few months back.
"Now, careful Shu He… Can't harm too much of the roots…" He took out a small spade and began slowly taking bits of dirt from around the plant while he spoke to himself to steady his hands.
Eventually with a few minutes of careful digging he had cut out a circle of dirt with most of the roots intact, with a swift movement he transferred the plant and dirt to the pot he had prepared and placed the lid back on it, it wasn't just a plain lid it was thin glass and had small holes to allow the plant to breathe.
"Hehe, after all this time searching I got it, with this as long as I take care of it I can have a steady source…" He grinned as the carefully placed it back in his satchel, making sure it was kept upright.
"Huuuu-Haaaaaah…." He breathed in and out, the cold air entering his small lungs made him chilly as he shivered, he looked up at the sky and the setting sun eventually yawning.
'It's gotten really late; I was too focused on searching I forgot to keep track of time! Hopefully father doesn't come looking for me again… last time he made me kneel for an hour with a stone on my legs, that hurt like hell!'
*Rustle*
All of a sudden, a sound echoed from behind him and he almost jumped out of his skin, he quickly got up and turned towards the sound, the grass and bushes a few meters away quickly shook and rustled before heavy plodding could be heard, soon enough a pair of tusks peeked through the leaves followed by a scruffy face.
'Shit! It had to be a boar! Couldn't It have been a rabbit it something… What do I do… right if I remember with these animals, I shouldn't stare it down, that's an act of aggression!'
After getting a full view of the boar almost as large as him he quickly looked down and away from its eyes, only keeping it in view of his peripheral vision, steadily he took steps to back away without goading it to attack.
The boar took a look at Shu He and saw that he was backing off, it seemed to snort and plodded in a different direction much to his relief.
'Quickly, keep going' He thought as he sped up his retreat, although he still kept an eye on the boar he wanted to bolt out of there as soon as he could, he had no way of fending one off after all he was just five, even if he had a weapon he had little to no strength or agility to use one properly.
'What's it doing?' He was a bit curious, it seemed to have no interest in him which was good, but he had a bad feeling, that feeling intensified when he saw it walk up to the exact tree he just dug the plant up at and begin sniffing.
"Don't tell me…" His heart clenched, he thought of the plant in his satchel and moved his arm around it to pre-emptively secure it.
He picked up his pace and slowly turned the other way, surely enough the boar's snout continually twitch as it led itself slowly away from the tree, right towards Shu He, soon enough its head rose and its eyes locked on to his small body before it let out a screech and kicked its hooves.
"I knew iiiiit!" He broke out in to a run shouting out loud, he had quickly connected the dots, the plant was known as a 'Crystal Root-flower', named after the opaque teal petals and the fact that they often grow at the base of trees or larger plants, it was an uncommon flower but it was very useful, it's main use was for a blood coagulation paste perfect for treating wounds on the field, in the village there was no one that produced medicine and the villagers regularly bought stock from the caravans.
Of course boars didn't care about those aspects, the most important thing was that it smelled sweet and it was often animals would make nests or mark them as their territory because of that! Clearly, this flower was marked by this boar, and now it was pissed its possession was taken.
'What do I do? It's after the flower, right? Do I have to throw it away?!'
He felt aggrieved, after months of searching was, he going to have to get rid of it?!
"Help!- Someone- help me!!" He screamed between his breaths in hopes someone would hear him, he ran faster than his little legs had ever moved before as he could almost feel the boar's hooved stamping on his back, the thuds of the hooves on the dirt behind him made his heart beat faster and faster.
'I can't keep this up! Damnit I was too careless, father always warned me about boars but I just assumed I would get lucky and never encounter them, so much for being careful, idiot!'
*Screeeeee* A cry came out from behind him, it was basically right behind him; Cold sweat dripped down his back as his arms reached for his satchel, his shaking hands, although reluctant, attempted to undo the clasp but since he was running he kept fumbling and failing.
'Hurry, hurry! I can't lose my life over a plant! Stop being stupid Shu He!'
However right at that moment-
*Fwoosh* -He felt a gust of wind travel past his cheek, subtle but powerful, following that a large crash sounded out from behind him.
He tried to stop after but his momentum kept him going and made him fall face first in to the dirt.
"Ouch- owowow" He rubbed his chin that hit the floor and groaned, slowly pulling himself and his now dirtied clothes up and looked behind him.
The boar was there, almost crumpled to the floor still slightly twitching, between its eyes almost directly in the middle of its forehead and arrow was deeply embedded.
"A-arrow?" Relief washed over Shu He before he gulped as he realised where the arrow likely came from, he heard footsteps walking towards him as his head turned like a rusty gear.
"And? What do you have to say for yourself this time, Shu He?" It was his father Shu Li whose figure towered over him with a glare.
"Er, um, I- uh- ah!" Shu He struggled to get the words out of his mouth before his mind wandered elsewhere, he quickly checked on the satchel, opening it and pulling out the potted plant he had gotten earlier, he unwrapped the cloth he had covered it with earlier and checked it, the plant was mostly fine and the glass was untouched even after his fall, he sighed with relief.
"A plant again? What am I going to do with you?..." His father clutched his head as if he had another headache coming on.
"B-but father this one is really important!"
"More important than your life?" His father retorted.
"I-" Shu He swallowed his words.
"I'm sorry" He said, downcast.
His father sighed, he strung the bow in his hand on to his back and knelt down, patting Shu He on the head with his hand.
"Look, you keep doing this and you've gotten away with it before, but this time you really were at risk…" Shu Li softly exclaimed.
"I know… I just thought.." Shu He murmured.
"That you knew what you were doing, so you were safe?.."
"…" The child's silence confirmed what his father thought.
"Look, Little He, I know you're a lot brighter than the other children your age and as your father that makes me happy, but you've got to remember you're still just a child, you don't need to be putting yourself at risk, just take your time…" Shu Li carefully admonished his child, it was his true feelings, seeing his child already blazing his own path and learn things even he never knew filled him with delight, but underneath that was still his five year old child, he remembered at his age he was still running around with a snotty nose pulling pranks on his neighbours and having scuffles with the other kids, there was next to no comparison.
"Un… Sorry" Shu Li apologised again with a sniffle.
Shun Li got up and looked towards that horizon past the tall trees slightly squinting.
"Come on, get up we need to go back home, your mother's soup will get cold otherwise and then you won't be the only one in trouble" Shun Li said with a smile.
"Okay" Shun He stood up after placing the pot back in his satchel and dusting his clothes off, his chin was red from grazing the ground.
To not waste it, his father went and picked up the boar's carcass and slung it over his shoulder and soon they started heading back, the light was really dim at this point, barely light enough to see the way out of the forest.
"3 hours kneeling for you" His father said while they were walking back.
"E-eeeeeeeeeeeeh?!".