An irritating beeping pierced the peaceful calm of the morning, its high-pitched screech rebounding from the walls and waking shun from his sleep.
As he groggily opened his eyes, he saw his alarm clock, its green digits blinking 7:00 AM. With a groan, he reached for for the snooze button, his hand moving almost mechanically after years of practice.
The room was still dark, save for the flickering brightness of his laptop screen, which softly reminded him of the impending essay he hadn't finished the night before.
Shaun sighed, knowing he couldn't ignore his responsibilities any longer.
Shaun was your normal college student. He attended classes, studied for exams, and did everything that a young adult was expected to do. But he was bored. Not the kind of boredom that inspires you to start a new hobby or take a road trip.
Shaun felt as if he were living in a hamster wheel, whirling round and round with no end in sight. Days blended into one another, and he couldn't recall the last time he felt excited or fully interested in anything. Even his classes, which had previously interested him, had become a burden.
He felt cut off from his peers, who were content to glide through college, partying and dating without a care in the world.
They were attracted by the present moment, enchanted by the attraction of the ever-changing social landscape. Trending subjects and viral fads captivated their attention, leaving little room for contemplation or genuine personal development.
In contrast, Shaun felt restless. He yearned for something more—a purpose, a passion, anything to make him feel alive.
Shaun got out of bed with a deep exhale, extending his exhausted limbs to shake off the last remnants of sleep. He stumbled towards the toilet, the light from his laptop screen illuminating his path and serving as a constant reminder of the labour that lay ahead.
In the dimly lit bathroom, Shaun splashed cold water on his face, blinking against the sudden shock of the chill as he tried to rouse his senses.
As he dried himself off with a towel, he stared at his reflection in the mirror as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
A small voice in his head spoke to him, almost whispering, "This can't be all there is. There has to be more than just this...this sameness."
He thought about his, his friends from high school who seemed to have found their paths, his own lack of direction. "How did I end up here?" He wondered feeling the weight of his decisions pressing down on him.
He knew he couldn't go on like this much longer, but he wasn't sure how to change it.
Later that morning, Shaun trudged to class, his mind still swirling with thoughts of escape. He passed his fellow students, smiling and nodding in greeting, but feeling more disconnected from them than ever before. As he entered the lecture hall, he dropped into his usual seat, pulled out his notebook, and started doodling absent-mindedly in the margins.
The professor, a kindly old man with a shock of white hair, began the lecture, but Shun couldn't focus. His mind wandered to other worlds, other possibilities.
Shaun's thoughts were drowned out by the professor's monotonous words. He was only half-listening, his mind buried in a sea of possibilities, when he heard his name clearly stated, jolting him back to reality.
"Shaun, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this," the professor added with a slight smile on his lips. "Do you think reincarnation is possible?" Can a person's spirit truly live on in a new body after death?
Shaun, his face stuck in a mask of polite surprise, sought to process the professor's unexpected question. He looked around to see whether anybody else had noticed the weird turn the lecture had taken, but the most of the students were either taking notes or had already tuned out.
Shaun, startled, "I...well, I guess it's theoretically possible," he mumbled, hoping to give himself some time to consider. "There is a large body of literature on the subject, and many civilizations have reincarnation traditions.
The professor nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "Indeed," he mused, pacing slowly across the front of the room.
Fascinating concept, isn't it? Each culture has its own beliefs, yet there's a common thread through them all.
The professor's words hung in the air, heavy with a weight that Shaun couldn't quite grasp. "It is quite intriguing," he replied, trying to mask the uncertainty in his voice. "I suppose the idea of life after death, of rebirth into another form, can be comforting in some ways."
The professor stopped pacing, his eyes meeting Shaun's with a piercing intensity. "Yes, comforting, perhaps," he said slowly. "But also quite...disturbing. Don't you think?"
A chill ran down Shaun's spine as the professor continued to stare at him.
Shaun shifted uneasily in his seat, feeling like a spotlight had suddenly been turned on him. "I'm not sure I understand," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
The professor's smile widened, almost sinisterly. "Ah, of course, you wouldn't understand," he said, as if to himself. "Not yet."
The rest of the class was oblivious to the tension in the room, chattering to themselves about the lecture. The professor, however, seemed utterly focused on Shaun, as if the student held a secret that even he was not yet aware of.
The professor's eyes lingered on Shaun for a moment longer before he turned back to face the class.
"Well, that's all we have time for today," he said, his voice returning to its usual, measured tone. "But I suggest you all ponder this question of reincarnation. It may be more relevant to your lives than you realize."
With that, the professor gathered his things and departed the lecture hall, leaving the Shaun to process what had just transpired. Shaun felt as if a veil had been lifted, revealing a mysterious world of possibilities he had never considered before.
Shaun remained sitting as the lecture classroom emptied, his mind racing with questions. He couldn't shake the sensation that something momentous had just occurred. Was the professor attempting to tell him something? Or was he just going off on a tangent?
He tucked his notes into his backpack and left the lecture classroom, his gaze unfocused as he walked across campus. The world around him appeared to be buzzing with new vitality, as if he were experiencing things for the first time. Everything felt different, including the pupils, the plants, and the air itself.
Shaun headed towards the college exit, a sense of unease growing within him. The events of the lecture hall appeared to repeat in his memory like a broken record, teasing him with their relevance. As he got closer to the gate, he felt uneasy, but he couldn't figure out why.
Suddenly, a loud horn and screeching tyres ripped through the air, breaking his thoughts. He turned, his eyes widening in terror as he spotted a car speeding towards him, the driver's face strangely familiar.
Shaun's mind froze, and his body couldn't react as the automobile approached him. His mouth opened in a mute cry, a desperate prayer for salvation, but nothing came out.
He caught a glimpse of the driver in the final seconds before collision, his face curved into a psychotic grin, his eyes shining with madness. It was the professor.
Shun's world was consumed in a wild flurry of metal, glass, and bone-shattering impact, until everything became a silent, eternal blackness.