What I feel now is emptiness. All I see is darkness, there are no sounds, everything is very quiet. I try to calculate when I will reach the afterlife. Will I go to hell or heaven?
I remember that during my life, I rarely did good deeds, but I saved a little girl shortly before I died. How is she doing now?
After all, saving children means saving the future of the world. I hope that, in doing so, my life will have had meaning and I will have no regrets.
***
1 minute… 5 minute… 10 minutes…
An hour has passed, I think.
Beep... Beep…
For some reason, I felt as if I could hear a sound similar to a machine in a hospital. Was I safe after saving that girl?
Then I slowly opened my eyes. I saw a middle-aged man beside me with a happy expression, but his eyes were swollen as if he had just been crying.
"Son, you're finally awake. Your dad was so worried about you."
My hand felt warm as the middle-aged man — the one who called himself my father — held it with his rough, calloused palm.
I couldn't understand what was going on.
"Excuse me, sir... who are you?"
Reflexively, I said something that made the man instantly freeze, his expression turning from joy to confusion and worry.
Without saying a word, the middle-aged man immediately walked toward the door.
"Doctor! Someone, call the doctor!"
I fell silent, watching the broad back of the middle-aged man fade into the distance.
I tried to process my thoughts, wondering what was really going on.
I must have been reincarnated and taken over this body — the son of that middle-aged man. For now, I suppose I'll have to accept the fact that the man I just met is my father.
If the doctor asked whether I remembered anything later, I just had to say no.
***
A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard approaching. A man wearing a white coat entered and immediately checked on me.
All I could think about now was how handsome this doctor was.
For some reason, I remembered a novel I had read about an ancient surgeon who was reincarnated into the modern world and became the greatest surgeon of all time. And coincidentally, the doctor in the novel was described as being very handsome.
Before I could think any further, my father approached him immediately with a hopeful look on his face.
"Doctor, please check on my son," he said quickly.
The handsome doctor calmed my father down, then began the examination by asking me questions for observation.
"How are you feeling? Do you feel dizzy?" he asked gently, looking at me attentively.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," I replied, looking straight at him.
"Good. A little dizzy is normal, considering you just woke up after being unconscious for five months," he explained.
Five months...?
Did this kid have an accident or something?
"Now, can I ask you a few questions?"
I looked at him for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Do you still remember your name?"
As planned, I had to pretend to have lost my memory. After all, I couldn't remember anything about the body I was now occupying. It was the same as amnesia. After thinking for a moment, I shook my head slowly.
After checking my condition, the doctor turned to my father.
"Don't worry, Father Arael. It's normal after being unconscious for so long. Your son's memory will slowly return," he said reassuringly.
"Thank God..."
My father sat on the chair next to the bed where I was lying and covered his face with his palm for a moment, as if releasing the burden that had been weighing on him.
"Since your son is stable now, make sure he gets enough food and nutrition, don't let him skip meals. Do regular check-ups, and I estimate that in less than three months, he will make a full recovery," the doctor continued calmly.
"Thank you for your hard work, Doctor," my father said with relief.
"Your son can be taken home tomorrow morning. For tonight, he'll stay here so we can conduct the final examination," the doctor added.
***
After giving his instructions, the doctor left the hospital room.
All I could think about now was how he had addressed my father.
"Father Arael…"
Could that mean this is my name now?
"Are you hungry, son?" he asked, breaking my reverie.
"I'm a little hungry," I replied honestly.
To be honest, I didn't know why I felt so hungry. This body hadn't eaten properly for months, and the hunger felt sharper than I expected—even though I had told my father I was only a little hungry. I found myself remembering the food I had brought home in my old body—but I had no idea where I had thrown the plastic bag containing it that day.