The world swirled in images, colors, and shapes that made no sense to me, an onslaught of visual information that flooded my nerves.
The brightness of the strange new existence blinded me momentarily; the noises were cacophonous, harsh and utterly alien.
I felt suffocating cotton-wrapped around my infant body as I grappled with these estranged sensations.
I had pried open my shutters to a world that was as incomprehensible as it was fascinating.
Dad, as I'd learn to identify him later on, held me in his roughened hands, each callus and groove speaking the tale of untold struggles.
Mum, with her visage of warmth and love, stared at me with trembling delight.
I could detect the exhaustion that wrung her dry, the sweat that dotted her forehead, silently announcing the ordeal she had undergone for my arrival into this existence.
I wish I could have conveyed my gratitude, but I was born, not with understanding, but with a plenitude of curiosity that nipped at my nascent consciousness.
I saw the world through perplexing clarity, the paradoxical nature of my vision stemming from my birth's distinct monstrosity.
I possessed a keen sense of understanding suffused with utter ignorance about the world--the superimposition seeming as natural as breathing.
My newborn mind, overwhelmed yet undeterred, embarked upon an exploration, an internal dialogue that marked the commencement of life as Hei Huang's son.
'Where am I?'
I questioned, my mind floundering in nebulous thoughts, reaching out to the echoes of inchoate comprehension.
The ceiling, a weave of wood and plaster, loomed over me, its homely aesthetic dimly illuminated by the silver twilight drape of the setting sun.
Lulled by my mum's heartbeat, a rhythmic aria that threaded my existence to hers, I carefully analyzed my environment.
'This world—it's an enigma,' my infantile thoughts declared, the strange shapes and shadows cultivating intrigue deeper within me.
Every passing moment was an uncharted map of sensory data, of unfamiliarities that both bewitched and bewildered me.
An air of serenity swathed the room—a stark disparity to the turmoil within me. Anxiety curled within, a slumbering serpentine ready to spring forth and wreath itself around my mind's crevices at any moment.
Yet, this discordant duo of peace and unrest intrigued me, urged me to delve deeper into the abyss of comprehension.
If I would dominate or crumble, only time would tell, but I made a promise - To never let go of this insatiable curiosity, to nurture it, to let it guide me into the arcane depths of the known, and unknown.
I found it odd that I was born with a mind as dark as the silhouetted night sky, but then again, stars too existed amidst such darkness.
Evil thoughts, like unlit corridors in my psyche, whispered to me, beckoning, enticing. They bulged out from my infant heart, the threads of malevolence already starting to entwine themselves around my subconscious.
Why was I born this way? Could it be a divine manifestation? An alignment of cryptic cosmic energies destined to shape hostility within an innocent mind? Or was it my father's cryptic legacy, passed down to me, sealed with years of mining shadows?
My father, Hei Huang – his every feature hardened by years of grueling labor under the merciless earth.
His eyes, a vibrant hue of lilac, mirroring mine, whispered tales of an existence strung between realms of dread and ethereal beauty.
The persona he revealed to the world was colored by the hardships of mining, gaunt face, and violet eyes reflecting a colorful paradox of normalcy wrapped around enigma.
I also found it rather strange that I had been hearing many different things for a long period of time.
Even before I was born and could remember them even though I, well guess you could say I gained consciousness.
I wondered, would I grow to mirror his strength, his ardidity, his cryptic nature? Or were these traits, embedded within me, already starting to sprout, nurturing the darkness within?
A wave of affection washed over me, spiraling from the heart of my mother. Her tenderness, a testament of love, was a soothing counterpoint to the distinctive chill brewed by my father's paradoxical presence.
Their unity, their love, despite the antagonistic elements binding their existence, was a puzzle begging to be solved.
In my birth, I saw a perfect portrayal of 'A New Dawn'. My thoughts – a blend of curiosity, bewilderment, fascination, dread, and an innate thirst for knowledge were the first warm rays piercing the caliginous fabric of the predicament I found myself entangled within.
With eyes wide open, senses heightened, mind sparking with convoluted thoughts, I took my first breath. The world inhaled around me as if synchronizing with my existence. Amid the strain of new emotions, I found contentment, a sense of belonging, even in my confusion.
I belonged here, amidst the paradox of love and darkness, my heritage, and the mysterious shadow of my birthright.
And so began my journey, as the newest progeny of the Hei's, bearing the weight of a legacy, the disturbance of unanswered questions, and the thrill of a world unraveling before my eyes.
A son, carved out of darkness with a heart filled with rampant curiosity. My saga, inked in the palette of my father's paradoxical life, unfolded before the quaint wooden house that was now my sanctuary—my world.
For better or worse, I was home.