The air hummed with an almost palpable peace ā birdsong a vibrant counterpoint to the crisp, clean morning. A rare moment of tranquility in my otherwise mundane existence as a salaryman.
"A truly peaceful day," I mused, a fleeting smile gracing my lips.
That tranquility shattered with a jarring shriek, "HEY, KID, STOP!" My gaze snapped towards the commotion.
A child, oblivious to the danger, darted into the path of an oncoming vehicle. Terror, cold and sharp, pierced through me.
"Watch out!" I roared, instinct overriding reason. I launched myself towards the child, a desperate shield against the oncoming steel.
The impact was a symphony of pain ā a cacophony of bone-jarring crashes and searing agony.
Darkness descended, a suffocating void punctuated by my own ragged gasps.
.
.
.
"Am Iā¦ dead?"The question hung heavy in the suffocating silence. A chilling dread washed over me.
.
.
.
Had I saved the child?
Disorientation reigned supreme.
.
.
.
Where was l? Was This... Afterlife?
Guilt, a venomous serpent, coiled around my heart. A reformed criminal, I was perpetually haunted by the ghosts of my past. Was this my karmic retribution?
.
.
.
Then, a sliver of light, a beacon piercing the suffocating darkness.
"Our babyā¦ he's opening his eyes!" A woman's voice, laced with awe and wonder.
"Raiden is opening his eyes!" A man's voice, deep and resonating with joy.
Raiden? My name was Shinji. Confusion, a dizzying whirlpool, consumed me. Was I in a hospital?
I strained to speak, my voice a mere whisper.
As I gazed down at my hands, a jolt of disbelief, raw and potent, surged through me. I wasā¦ a child? Reincarnation.
I instinctively touched my ears, a gasp escaping my lips. They weren't human ears. They wereā¦ wolf-like. A wolf-kin.
"Raiden Gleanford, welcome to the world," myā¦ mother? declared, her voice brimming with an affection I had never known.
Raiden. An unfamiliar name, yet it feltā¦ right. My gaze drifted towards her, and I couldn't help but noticeā¦ well, she had quite theā¦ impressive figure. A blush crept up my neck. I mentally scolded myself. This was my mother, for goodness sake.
She gently stroked my face, a tender smile gracing her lips. "Look at him, darling. Isn't he the most beautiful child?"
"Indeed," my father agreed, his voice filled with pride.
'Cute,' they'd called me. A word rarely associated with me in my past life. A strange warmth, unfamiliar and disarming, spread through me.
I instinctively touched my tail, a reflexive movement. It was wagging. A silent, instinctive expression of joy.
In my previous life, love, genuine affection, had been a foreign concept, replaced by neglect and abuse. Thisā¦ this was new, unfamiliar, and profoundly moving.
My mother leaned down, her lips brushing against my forehead, a gesture imbued with an overwhelming tenderness.
Wolf-kin. It explained the uncanny features.
'Look at him, darling! His tail is wagging!' my mother exclaimed, her voice filled with delight.
"He's excited, isn't he?"my father chuckled.
Excited? Indeed.
This new life, this unexpected second chance, filled me with a cautious optimism.
I wished this moment, this blissful serenity, could last forever.
But I knew, with a certainty that defied logic, that life, even in this fantastical realm, would inevitably present its own set of challenges.
----xxxxx----
Next chapter-- [Darkness Occur]
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