Hoarse sounds of intolerable cries, soothing physical touches against a bald but smooth head, sights of vibrant gardens and crop-filled grasslands, and the smells of esoteric herbs being boiled inside a pot painted a picture of a lackadaisical day.
Vibrant colors and time itself seemed to fast forward, rewind, and warp over and over again as it revealed a prosperous kingdom built inside the confines of a wall no one would ever reach.
It seemed the world was revolving around this boy — a beautiful boy who unfortunately had the blackest eyes known to man. Even the memories of a magnificent and grand storm that heralded the arrival of the child indicated someone noteworthy, or perhaps the complete opposite.
Only when this child saw something he never thought was possible — in the deepest parts of his soul — did everything he once knew and had learned up until this point come rushing into his brain like the chaotic waves of an ocean. Ravines of missing pieces glued themselves together, rain clouds of doubt and red herrings finally grew large enough to disappear into puddles of rain, and the eyes of a boy had finally seen enough…
Over and over again, this boy who had just toppled to the ground from the idea of water appearing out of thin air was now seizing with all four limbs creating puzzles to solve sporadically.
The impact of the fall was not the catalyst, but the waves of realization and information that never gave an inkling of halting.
"NOO! My sweet Elijah! Why must you be a problem child?!!" While the words of a caring woman were not at all heard by the boy, the vibrations of her voice was the one thing that cleared the ink from the overly used canvas while replacing the out of place color with an organized and beautiful tapestry.
There it was…
The seizure had halted while the first words of this child had finally been spoken – albeit after two grueling long years of doctors flooding into their home every single week.
"H-hafe I… bin, remorn?" Elijah's words were nothing short of confusing and practically inaudible. But… There was a sound other than the unstoppable and stubborn cry that had usually laid waste to the hope and emotions of everyone who bore witness to this child.
And finally – after what Elijah's mother, father, and older brother thought was the resolution of this groundbreaking scene, was ended with the poor child losing consciousness.
However, inside the mind of the poor was an overflowing lake of water as he watched his past life go by like a movie, the moments before his death, and the first few seconds of his new life.
'I was expecting death… but was shoved into a new life of uncertainty. What I saw… couldn't have been real right?'
Lukas – who had left the world without many regrets as a leading figure in solving the worldwide health epidemic, had now become someone new by the name of Elijah. His memories of going with the motions was able to aid him in understanding his surroundings, but the mysterious look of water appearing within thin air was a question that had to be answered. Of course, this was alongside the simple word, "why", when it came to everything related to his reincarnation. A large part of him wanted to finally achieve an eternal sleep filled with dreams unfathomable to man. Although, maybe this in itself was a dream, and it just had to be lived…
…
"Hey! I think he is awake!" Julian, Elijah's older brother of two years exclaimed.
Elijah's small black eyes opened up as the vibrant colors of brown and bright orange lights gave him a sense of life. The words coming from his family and a gray-haired doctor was nothing short of indescribable. Obviously, the language was different from anything he had become fluent in before which made this so-called dream feel like it was maybe more than a dream.
Quickly, Elijah's act and behavior took a full spin in an amazing direction. Faking it till you make it was never an idea Elijah had adopted to the point he was now. However, over the course of six short months, the basics of "Kotun" had been learned and the world he inhabited had become slightly familiar.
With every step Elijah took outside a tall wooden door at the age of two and a half years, his mother took a long glance to try and understand the change while receiving a wide and adventurous smile.
This new world was eerily similar in the fundamentals. Pastures of cows, sheeps, and goats grazed the lush grasslands while intently designed crop fields were littered with a huge variety. Modest homes made from smooth stone and wood were littered uniformly for space maximization while layered houses that sat on top of each other stretched across the side of a tall mountain range a mile behind Elijah's home.
Many times over has Elijah seen the wild display of what people here call "magic". The manipulation and creation of elements. Unfortunately for Elijah, his vocabulary is not yet broad enough to finally ask the daunting question of the specifics about magic. Although, the forest behind Elijah's humble home has a lonely and mossy rock that allows his feet to perfectly lay at a ninety degree angle. Over the course of the past six months. Elijah has been venturing to this very spot day after day as he attempts to teach himself about the wonder of this world.
Magic.
A meditation strategy that pulls Elijah's focus into a specific part of his body was his every day routine while sitting atop this lonely rock. Over a long period of time, Elijah was able to grasp a lingering and familiar energy that was not physically there, but only spiritually.
A soul.
The lifeforce of what some people would call freewill, and what passes to heaven or hell after death.
Suddenly, an event that had never happened before while focusing on his soul caused his body to begin tingling before shifting to violent vibrations.
POP!
Elijah's limbs went flailing in a sporadic yet split-second seizure that sent a chill up his spine. The next thing he knew was a new sensation inside his soul, or rather surrounding his soul. By slowly feeling around his chest cavity, a black and slightly translucent energy was felt acting as a soul shield or soul core.
"Did I… Did I just unlock magic?!"
Hand motions that would theoretically shoot out a ball of fire or water were blatantly being thrown left and right. Finally, after taking some time to take a deep breath and return to his meditation – Elijah lost the feeling of the mossy rock chilling his bum as a rainstorm had recently passed.
Instead – when opening his eyes – Elijah saw the world slowly tilt upside down. The sparse amounts of brown and green leaves that lay comfortably on a brown branch began to be picked up by abnormal currents of wind that did not belong.
When all was finished and Elijah had completed a full rotation in mid-air, he passed out from not just exhaustion, but the excruciating headache filled with an indescribable voice in his familiar English language.
"Save me! You must save me!"