-Sol Varos-
I open my eyes. Trying to make sense of the black and white I'm seeing, i observe two figures looking at me.
One, a man with clean shaved face, brown eyes, long blue hair and a long scar near his lips and the other, a woman, bright green eyes, blonde hair and a worried expression.
I try to lift my hand and touch them. Even though they are close, my reach falls short. I try to lift myself just to fail. After a long time trying, I realise that my body is too weak and fragile to stand. Keeping this in mind, I try to communicate, the sound that comes out is not "where am I?" Or "who are you?" but a series of whines and moans, "waah, waghh, mmphh", the sound of a baby.
The Woman hearing it, says something to the man, the sound too muffled or maybe it's my body's weak hearing. Her facial expressions soften when I stop speaking and start to look around.
The Man, as soon as I speak, takes me in my arms and says words and makes expressions which clearly are to comfort me. As I stop speaking, his expression softens too and both of them give me a cheery smile.
One year passes
During the whole year, I come to understand that I have been reincarnated, how or why? I don't know. The memory is too hazy and blurry to recall. The Varos family, my family, consists of me, my mother and my father. My mother, Elara-as he calls her, is a housewife, something which was easy to figure out. and my father, Gabriel, is a mystery figure. I don't know what he does or how he earns the money, except that he leaves the house for weeks just to come back tired, full of wounds and dirt. The house we live in is made of wood and stone, it is two storied with the only lighting source in the form of oil lamps and candles.
Due to my infant body, it was hard for me to explore areas other than my parent's room, made of wood and stone too, with a simple window and a large bed where they and I slept at night and where I spent most of my time during the day and the kitchen, simple and elegant with normal household utensils mostly made of wood or crude iron, where my mother carried me sometimes when she had to cook something.
All in all, I had reincarnated in the body of a newborn baby while retaining all my previous memories, except how I got here, and the intelligence of a 20 year old shut-in-nerd. This place felt more mediaeval than the one I came from, the lights, the tools, the house interior, all looked like it was made in ancient times. The air was fresh and sunlight was more brighter than the world I was from, maybe, I think that it's due to the open space I live in and the cheerful atmosphere from my parents.
Still, it's hard to accept that this is not a dream but a reality now, I will have to start a new life in a new world with new people and a new future. it was exhilarating, terrifying and exhausting at the same time.
Exhilarating because I would get a new life, a new chance and a new place to live in.
Terrifying because it means a new fate, new future and a restricted body for a while.
Exhausting because what am I supposed to do now? Waste my time again like the previous life or do something in which I have no interest?
Live happily with people I don't know?
Live without modern facilities and trapped in the body of an infant for I don't know how many years?.
I sigh involuntarily. Doesn't matter, it is what it is now. And with this thought, I feel my legs getting wetter and pressure building between my thighs. I whine and cry loudly, a habit i had been following whenever this body was on the verge of peeing.
My mother appears in the doorway and with a gentle sweep, takes me in her arms and carries me to the bedroom, where, she cleans me, changes my pants and puts me in my cradle.
I let the process happen, it had happened too many times for me to get embarrassed or flustered.
After giving me a soft peck, she leaves for her daily chores and I'm left staring at the wooden ceiling, counting cracks and dark spots on the mahogany wood.
Time passes and my stomach starts grumbling, I cry again and my mother appears in the doorway again, her cuffs folded and hands wet, which she was actively drying with a towel.
She speaks in a cheerful tone as she picks me up,"oh, someone's hungry eh?, missed mother varos?". She lets me feed from her and yet again, happened too many times to get flustered.
After some 10-15 minutes later, the door bell rings and her cheerful face turns into a playful smirk,"looks like your Father is home, let's go welcome him", she carries me to the door and opens it with the other hand.
My father, standing in the doorway observes us and a large smile forms across his dirt patched face,"Darling", he kisses mom and takes me in his arm,"and you, little devil", then he looks at us both,"how are you both, missed me?" He asks with a stupid grin which makes mother chuckle.
"Oh shut up gabriel and give him back, atleast take a bath first" she complains but there's no bitterness in it.
"Hey, I'm just happy to see my family", he enters and puts me on the sofa,"okay, here's your son, I'm heading for the bath" and then he's off..
I observe this confrontation with a neutral expression, it's their daily-I mean weekly routine, so it's nothing new for me. As father leaves me on the sofa, I watch him go into the bathroom.
My mother pecks me on the cheek again, carries me to the cradle, heads for the wardrobe, takes out his clothes and leaves the room.
I start staring at the ceiling again....
The dinner table is full of life with a conversation between my mother and father. It is a weird story about some Haven valley where my father fought a mystical boar. Funny right? How can mystical things exist in our world. But I keep my focus on the conversation while my father keeps boasting about it
".. and then, I grabbed it by the tusk and threw
It off balance, it tried to stand but my sword was faster. It's skin resisted but gave up finally. and there, it was over", he concludes with a dramatic smirk.
"Oh my, so heroic, don't tell me it was you who took it out single handedly?", my mother replies in a mocking tone.
My father, offended by the reply just turns his head in a pouty expression,"blah blah".
My mother chuckles,"Hey, Gab, I was just kidding, no need to take offense hon. But you should be careful around those hills. It is full of mystical creatures", as the says it my expression changes to annoyance, you too mother? Adding fuel to his fantasies?
"It's time you retire gabriel, you have a child now. I don't want to spend my night worried that something might happen to you", mother says in a worried tone shifting the mood of the conversation to a serious one.
"Elara, my dear, it's the only source of income for us. I can't just retire and leave us to starve.... You do know that right?" He replies while taking a sip of water.
"I understand gab, but still" she carefully collects the next words,"adventuring is one of the riskiest occupations in the mainland", she sighs and continues,"not that I can stop you from throwing yourself in danger"
"Hey", he raises his hands in surrender, the spoon in his hand," it's not like I love to do that, well I guess I do a little but —"
And the conversation goes on and on.
My eyes feel heavy and sleep drifts me away.