Cold… A deep, bone-chilling cold.
Evrenos opened his eyes with a burning breath in his throat. His face was wet, and his body was stuck to a thin layer of mud. As his breathing quickened, he lifted his hands and looked at them. Small, delicate, weak fingers… These were not his hands.
"What is this nonsense…?" he whispered with a trembling voice.
He tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn't hold; he fell back into the mud. The air was freezing, the wind felt like it was cutting into his skin. He looked around. Trees stretched as far as the eye could see, and a gloomy gray sky loomed overhead. A sudden chill gripped him.
The last thing he remembered was that terrible accident in the city: the sound of brakes, screams, and then the darkness... But now, he was here, lying in an unknown forest, trapped in a strange body.
At that moment, a sharp pain shot through his head. He closed his eyes tightly and screamed. Images flooded his mind: a child… running, laughing, playing by a stream. His foot slipped and… the dark depths of the water... Evrenos's breath caught.
"This child… isn't me," he murmured.
But it didn't take long for him to realize the truth. That child, Kaan, had drowned in the stream, and now Evrenos was trapped in his body.
Distant screams echoed suddenly, startling him.
"Kaan! Where are you, my son?"
A man appeared between the trees, his eyes wide with fear. He ran toward Evrenos—who he thought was Kaan—and dropped to his knees, gathering him into his arms.
"My son! Thank God, we found you!"
The joy and worry on the man's face hit Evrenos like a punch to the heart. This man was Kaan's father. Following him, a woman in a torn dress appeared, rushing forward and embracing Evrenos while sobbing.
"My Kaan… my son, you scared us!"
These hugs, this love… Evrenos's throat tightened. He didn't know what to say. But a faint whisper escaped his lips: "I'm fine…"
The woman wiped her tears, her voice trembling. "Don't you ever disappear like that again!"
Beside them stood a small boy, his frightened eyes watching carefully. Kaan's little brother…
"Big brother, I was so scared," said the boy. "Are you okay?"
Evrenos's mind was in turmoil. But for now, he could do nothing but remain silent. He nodded slightly. "I'm fine…"