In a village with houses crumbling to the ground, a girl stands looking up while the rain falls on her face.
Thousand-yard stare in her eyes, and tears mixed with the rain.
Everything around is silent and the smell of blood fills the air
She hears a voice, something is calling her, a voice echoing inside her head, telling her where to go.
....
On the outskirts of a city, a boy is walking through an alley.
A 5'1" boy, his body is skinny and slightly bony. Pale and sick-looking skin, eyes almost closed with dark circles under it.
Wearing rags and breathing weak, the boy uses walls to support his body while walking. He needs to get home as soon as possible.
While slowly walking, the boy remembers his father's words.
"The world is made of darkness, and weakling like you are swallowed"
The boy thinks this is nonsense, how can he believe a word? his father is drunk 24-h a day.
The boy finally arrives at his doorstep, a completely broken house, with windows covered with wooden planks and a roof that almost cant hold anymore.
The weak boy opens the door making a noise and enters the house.
"Piece of shit! you had to wake me up with this goddamn door!" A man's voice screams in rage
Heavy and loud footsteps come in the boy's direction.
A tall man appears, he looks wasted, with bags under his eyes and a badly shaved beard.
The boy knows what will happen but still feels fear every time. His expression is unfazed but a lonely tear falls from his left eye.
His father punched him in the stomach making him fall in pain and shortness of breath. His father proceeded to kick him over and over again.
"You are a disappointment! You are weak and small! why were you even born?!" Yells the father with a tone of rage and a hint of disgust
The boy can't speak, he is sick today, but his father never cared about him, and he won't start now.
In his father's eyes, the boy is a waste of space and is only alive to work for him, so much that he didnt even bother to give the boy a name.
And that is how I died.
....
I wake up to a ceiling I have never seen before, in a bed I never felt before, a woman and a man holding my now tiny body in the air smiling and laughing happily.
The man has an athletic body and average height, slightly tanned skin, short red hair, and brown eyes with an almond shape. Wearing a belted brown tunic.
The woman is a bit smaller than the man, with white skin and a slim body, wavy black mid-length hair, brown eyes round shape. Wearing a white long gown with a sleeveless gray tunic.
"Renard dear, we have to decide on a name already" Says the woman with a cheerful tone
The woman seems to be my mother, and the man my father.
Renard makes a thoughtful expression.
"What about Nyxia, we can call her Nyx! What do you think Gabriella?" Says the father with a cheerful tone
I cant look down to confirm but it seems that I was born a girl.
I dont know what is happening or even if this is real but I want to believe in it.
Gabriella put me on the bed again and looked at Renard with a disappointed look.
"This is the most horrible name I have ever heard dear" Says Gabriella with a joking expression letting out a laugh
I laugh a little and a baby laugh goes out.
My father and mother look at me with happy eyes.
"Her first laugh dear! see she likes the name haha!" Says Renard putting his head up proudly
Gabriella laughs a little and sighs.
"Ok ok, you win, saved by her laugh haha" Says Gabriella with a humorous tone
They approach me in the bed and bend down to hug me.
"Nyx, mama loves you" Says Gabriella with a joyful tone
"Nyx, papa loves you too" Says Renard with a joyful tone
Love is... warm, I never felt so warm, makes me feel... alive.
I dont care if it is real or not, even if it is for a few seconds more, allow me to be happy.
We all closed our eyes in the bed and fell asleep.
.....
A sun ray coming from the window wakes me up in the morning.
In panic, I look around and to my relief, it is still the same ceiling.
I never slept like this before, feels refreshing.
I dont know about houses but, this house seems a bit odd. My bed is wooden with a mattress on top. Around I see almost no furniture outside a little drawer and a small wardrobe both made of wood.
Putting my hands up so I can see them.
Im really a baby... I heard tales about reincarnation, but I thought it was only tales.
I dont know how many years I had before, no one ever counted... but everyone I talked with said I was a kid.
As I was lost in thoughts, papa entered the room.
With a cheerful smile, he comes to me and holds me in his arms.
"Nyx! Do you want to walk in the village with your papa today?" Says Renard with a happy tone
I let out a laugh while he held me in the air.
"Let's go! Papa and Nyx adventures" Says Renard with a humorous tone putting me on his shoulder and holding my hands.
We walk around the house first, it is a 2-bedroom house with a kitchen and an opening to the yard.
We pass into the kitchen to say hello to Mama, she is making breakfast.
"Dear, what about breakfast?" Says Gabriella with a joyful tone and a hint of worry
Renard approaches her and kisses her.
"You worry too much mama, we will just play a little outside, right Nyx? We will be back in no time!" Says Renard with a joyful tone
I let out a laugh while Papa shakes me a little.
Mama gave permission and Papa ran a little with me in the village.
The houses are mostly the same, it is a little village, in the center there are a few street stores selling food and a few other things.
A middle-aged woman approaches us.
"Ohh! Renard! She is so cute, what is her name?" Says the lady with a cheerful tone
"This is Nyxia, but we are calling her Nyx, say hi to Auntie Griselda" Says Renard with a joyful tone shaking my hand toward Auntie
I laugh a little and Auntie seems very happy.
"How cute! She is beautiful like her mother and healthy like her father I can already see it haha!" Says Auntie cheerfully laughing a little
Papa laughs a little too.
"It was good talking with you Griselda, we will be going home, Gabriella will kill me if I didnt get there when breakfast is ready haha" Says Renard with a humorous tone
Auntie laughs a little and says her goodbyes.
We make our way back but on the way, I could see above a fence while on Papa's shoulders. There was a tiny boy almost a baby like me, he had black cat eyes on his head and black short hair, a black tail too. I got curious about it but I cant speak to ask.
Soon we arrived home, and Mama fed me breakfast.
"Wow! Calm down Nyx haha" Mama says with a cheerful tone
Ah yes... I forgot, I dont need to eat so fast. It will take some time until I get used to my life.
Dad eats and gets up, he kisses me and Mama and leaves for work.
After eating Mama took me to the porch of our yard, and we sat while she held me in her arms.
"Take a look at this Nyx" Says Mama with a joyful tone
Mama put her hand forward and put her finger up. She concentrates for an instant and a tiny fire spark comes out of her finger.
Wow! What was this?
I made a surprise face and laughed a little trying to catch her finger.
"You liked magic Nyx? When you get older Mama will teach you" Mama says with a joyful tone
She showed me a few more times, it is amazing every time. Fire coming out of a person's fingers, I never heard anything about this.
.....
I wake up in the morning.
I get out of bed and put on some clothes. Im wearing a baggy black tunic with long sleeves, and a belt on my waist to tie the tunic.
Mama says that these are clothes for boys but I said that I felt more comfortable wearing this and she accepted, after I kissed her a little hehe.
Everyone says I look like Mama, my skin is white and my eyes are brown, our body type seems very much the same too.
I am now 8 years old, and I seem to heritage Mama's hair, I have wavy black hair but I cut mine short because I prefer this way, Papa likes it but Mama thinks I look too much like a boy but says that it looks cute.
I cant help it! Long hair makes my back feel Itchy!
I run out of my room and make my way to the kitchen, Mama is making breakfast and Papa is talking with her in the kitchen.
I run to Papa, hug him, and kiss him on the cheek.
"Good Morning Papa!" I say cheerfully
"Someone seems energetic today, good morning Nyx!" Says Papa with a joyful tone
He kisses my cheeks and I run toward Mama. Taking care to not make something fall I hug her while she makes food.
"Good Morning Mama! Today is the day!" I say cheerfully and excited
Mama laughed a little.
"So thats why you are so energetic today, Magic lessons with Mama start today! but remember to eat well first" Mama says joyfully patting my head
We all sit to eat, and I cant stop thinking about learning magic, Mama made me meditate ever since I was little to this very day.
Today I finally will learn the basics of magic! I dont really have things to do on my day-to-day, I just help Mama around the house sometimes and have lessons on how to read, but that ended too because I know how to read by now. This is a very tiny village and the only kids around are me and another boy but Mama dont let me go out alone.
Sometimes Auntie Griselda passes by to play with me too. Auntie Griselda is our neighbor and she has lived alone since her husband passed away.
Now it is time, I make my way with Mama to the yard and she stops in front of me.
"Now Nyx, let's see if you remember everything" Says Mama with a serious tone
I take a deep breath and begin to talk.
"There are two types of magic, common spells that everyone can use if you have an aptitude for magic and training, and heritage magic is when your mana affinity awakens to an element there are cases of people that even if training magic never awakens an element, the element could be everything that is molded by nature" I say with a serious tone
Mama tells me to continue, and I take another deep breath.
"You need to start by pouring mana little by little into your body until it creates vases to mana flow inside your body, each vase increases the amount of mana your body can hold and you need to learn to control your mana well to cast" I say with a serious face
Mama shakes her head in approval and she proceeds.
"Good! My baby is both intelligent and talented, you already unlocked your hands! Mama is so proud of you" Says Mana with a joyful tone
I blush a little.
"But, dont let that go to your head, talent is a gift that can betray you, hard work will never do the same" Says Mana with a serious tone
I shake my head in approval.
Mama put one finger up.
"Right, now is the time to teach you about actual casting. There are two concepts about basic casting that you need to know and keep in mind, first is visualization, you need a clean image of what the spells look like and their usages" Says Mama with a serious tone
She takes a deep breath and puts two fingers up.
"Second, concentration, you need to concentrate more to cast common spells, they are not fit for battles, there are exceptions, like some defensive spells, but that dont come in case right now" Says Mama
She asked if I understood everything, and I said yes.
"Now, common magic is easy to use you just need to have some aptitude for magic, as everyone can use the same then it is easy to visualize and grasp it. Let's start with Fire Spark, commonly used to make campfires" Says Mama
She points her finger up and proceeds.
"You need to visualize each part of the fire, its movement, and purpose, concentrate on it for a while and" Says Mama with a serious tone
A spark of fire comes out from her finger.
"Wow! Mama it is so beautiful" I say with a joyful tone
Mama pats my head and smiles.
"You are talented Nyx, so im sure you will awaken your affinity one day, and when that day comes you will need to create your own ways to visualize it, and use it, most people tend to put names on their spells to help visualize it or even hand signs" Says Mama with a serious tone
I put my finger up and with a determined face, I close my eyes.
Time to visualize, mana... flowing through my hand, a spark of fire, composition movement...
After a few seconds, a little spark got out of my finger, it was very little compared to Mama.
"I got Mama!, you saw it?" I say with a cheerful tone, happily jumping
Mama seems shocked and speechless.
"My baby! You are a genius! I had never seen something like this before, it was weak and you still need to train more on your control, but you could cast first try!" Mama says very happy
I blush a little and I jump a little around happily.
Mama is still freaking out a little, and Papa arrived from work while we were practicing.
He came to see us in the yard and Mama and I ran to hug him.
"Dear! Our baby is a genius! She can already cast her first spell by the age of 8" Says Mama joyfully
Papa put on a very happy expression and took me in his arms putting me up in the sky.
I laugh a little while blushing.
"I knew it! Our baby has always been intelligent, but even if she is the strongest in the world Papa will always hold her in the sky" Papa says joyfully while spinning me in the air
Papa puts me on his chest and Mama comes for a hug.
"Nyx has her mother's beauty and intelligence, and from me, she got a strong and healthy body haha!" Says Papa with a joyful tone and a hint of flirtation
Mama blushes a little.
"Papa is such a player!" Says Mama with a humorous tone
After that, we came to the kitchen to eat dinner and sleep.
Lying down on my bed, I remember my old life for a moment, it doesnt make me feel sad anymore. That's not me anymore, this is me.