'Where am I? I was in that void, and then… hands?'
Romano thought before jolting his head, attempting to recover from the millennial isolation. After a couple of jolts, he was back to normal.
He found himself in an cold unfamiliar chamber. A chamber twenty meters wide, three meters in height, with a mist-colored chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The sequence of events frightened Romano. One instant, he was suffocating in that dark space and the next, he appeared in this strange place.
"He is out!" exclaimed a woman to her companions. The woman owned the fair hands that lifted him from the abyss.
Romano felt the urge to panic and lash out. He contained it because he needed to evaluate his crisis logically.
That aside, his savior who carried him around did not assist his endeavor, but she succeeded in frightening him.
She moved him up down and juggled his brain about. Only stopping after twenty seconds.
Romano was ecstatic at the act and remembered to observe his surroundings. He looked to the red- tinted windows and metal doors, planning and escape route if the chance arrived .
However, It was difficult to see through the crowd around him, but he retained enough visual information to understand where he was.
'Is this a ward?' Romano assumed. The light-gray concrete floors covered with a crimson cross-shaped carpet reinforced his assumption. But the flailing blue blinds adorned with icicle designs, and the white concrete walls with glowing lines confused him.
Romano eyes left those and shifted to a worn-down brown cabinet that housed various herbs and concoctions. Possibly to treat wounded patients or experiment with subjects.
'Wait, it might not be a hospital, but the lair of a… mad scientist!' Romano panicked but instantly suppressed the thought. Any assumption could cause a mistake.
'No, the real question is… who are they?' thought Romano. He examined the nurse clasping him and the individuals (fellow nurses) encircling him.
Romano noticed each wore matching cloud-white clothes and hospital masks as they looked at him in adoration. Romano became frightened at the act, but bewildered.
However, Romano's bewilderment would wait for another time. He decided to pay close attention to their words to see if he could get something.
…
"He's so cute!"
"Amaru, let me hold him,"
"No, you held the last one."
The nurses argued among themselves, deciding the carrying privileges of Romano. What did he do? Well he simply relished in it.
He could enjoy his last moments, couldn't he?
"Let me see him!" a calming voice echoed behind Romano, which warmed his heart. The medical workers gradually made a way to show who commanded them.
"Yes, madam," replied Amaru with a bow.
The brown-haired lady hauled Romano to a fair lady with scarlet hair and azure eyes. The woman lay on a white hospital bed.
She wore a gray hospital gown. The gorgeous lady carefully retrieved Romano from the caretaker.
The new carrier smiled at Romano.
"Wow, he is so beautiful!" The lady said as she looked down at Romano and admired his chubby face. Her eyes glinted from the light while her hair flowed with the wind.
"Welcome to the world, my son! How does it feel?" the lady said with a soothing tone as tears fell from her eyes.
Romano agreed... until her words settled in, and his face distorted in unbridled shock.
'Ma'am, sorry, what?'Romano thought in fright. The humid air of the ward did not halt the sweat that escalated. Romano tried asking what she meant; however, babies can't talk. Romano was no unique case.
"Honey," the woman who claimed to be his mother called out to a man. The man in question just sprinted into the chamber, looking distressed as sweat stained his armor. This was Romano's father.
Abruptly, the man hurried into the crowd of physicians. They instantly made way for the father.
Romano's dad had a neatly trimmed beard and long raven coloured hair that stretched to his back and was held in a ponytail.
The man surveyed the room with his hazel eyes filled with caution. The man hid his cautious temperament. Yet, the soul of a warrior leaked out from his stance.
The father walked to his son with unsteady steps. As he saw Romano, a tear fell down his eyes.
Romano still tried to comprehend what they meant by 'child,' so he wasn't able to pay attention to his father's emotions.
'What are those people saying…? How can I be their child…? I am a grown man… Wait… could I have?" Romano thought as he looked at his reflection in the man's eyes.
'Been reborn!'
Romano's eyes widened as he looked at the child in his father's eyes. A child with azure eyes, a puffy face, and fair skin.
Romano tried to deny the assumption, but he flunked. There was only one explanation.
He reincarnated.
He believed in reincarnation, yes. After all, who didn't want another try? He knew he did.
'This… explains… everything!' Romano's heart raced, but he took in deep breaths. He wasn't about to die two times in a row.
'So, I'll have new parents,' thought Romano as he remembered his previous family. His broken one.
'I am confused. How am I supposed to feel about this!?'
Romano ignored the pain in his heart as he remembered the divorce; it nudged weak spots he didn't want to face. Instead, Romano tried figuring out the place they bore him.
'Is that a sword by his side?' Romano thought as he looked at his father's sides and noticed a sheathed blade with a navy-blue handle. 'Is this the past?'
Romano speculated, paying more attention to his thoughts than the immediate surroundings.
Unexpectedly, his father slowly walked towards Romano and pinched his soft cheeks.
However, he pinched too hard, and Romano's baby instincts induced him to cry.
"WAHHHHHHH!" Romano's vocal cords released a loud sound.
"Revan Theon Percival," Romano's mother shouted as she hauled Romano out of Revan's vile fingers. "You are hurting the poor boy, you brute!" she yelled.
"Sorry, I got carried away, haha," Revan scratched the back of his head. "I wanted a closer look at my little champion."
"Hmph," said Penelope. "I forgive you, but be careful next time for god's sake! His skin is still tender!"
Penelope hugged Romano. The act made him uncomfortable and alarmed. He didn't know this woman, so he found it hard to return her feelings.
'If only I could speak,' Romano grunted while attempting to push the hand off him. 'So I can tell her to give me a much-needed space. I am being harsh, but I only met this lady!'
His parents, unaware of his inner monologues, discussed his fate.
"Why did you come so late?" Penelope questioned as she looked Revan in the eyes. The man she loved didn't come here fast enough for their child. if Revan's explanation didn't soothe Penelope.
She would give him a piece of her mind,
"There was a situation at work," Revan answered in irritation and balled fists.
Revan recited a chant to calm himself and continued. "A bunch of Blark thieves! Snuck into Felipe's fortification!"
Penelope scrutinized Revan's face; she was angry that Revan chose work over their child. Nevertheless, she couldn't fault him, so she let it be. Penelope wanted to talk about something more vital.
"So, what should we name our little boy?" asked Penelope with a voice that sounded like it came from an angel. "And try to think real hard this time, not like what you requested for Auntie Sophie!"
Sweat rolled down Revan's brow. He tried thinking of an answer. As a lackluster one might anger Penelope and put her in distress.
He could not do that to his wife who just gave birth.
"How about?" Revan said, taking a couple of seconds to minutes as he walked around the bed.
His mind raced through different names, not sure which one to pick. After a while, he noticed how everyone was paying attention to Romano.
'…crowd, society? No. What about people? Something about people… Hmm. Yes. That name could work." Revan thought
Revan halted his stroll and glanced back at Penelope. "Alistair."
Penelope raised a brow at the answer."Alistair... It has a pleasant tone to it, and a beautiful name for our handsome little boy."
Penelope replied as she brought Alistair's face to hers. "A name fit for a future star and our little defender."
Alistair, however, did not feel their adorable sentiments.
'…No…! I want to be named Romano! I don't want a new damn…' Alistair thought, but the light in his eyes dulled. The series of thoughts and emotions in this short period exhausted his juvenile mind. 'Name…'