There was no pain, no light, no breath; it felt like drifting across space itself. I had no control and no idea where I was going; it felt terrifying in a way, yet I still felt alive, yet I also didn't at the same time. Is this what death feels like? Was this the end? I could feel my body drift off into the void further and further. I kept falling, I couldn't scream for help, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't even see where I was going, just falling down this endless void, hoping that someone or something would save me.
Alas, I hit the ground with a 'thud'. I didn't know where I was, but I knew I wasn't floating anymore. What is this place? Why does it feel so empty and quiet? Was this heaven, hell, or purgatory?
I heard faint noises in the distance; it felt like someone was talking, but I couldn't quite figure out what they were saying. It felt like they were far away, with the voice inching closer and closer with each passing second.
I could feel my arms and legs again, they felt weird yet tired at the same time. I couldn't quite grasp what this feeling was, but with the voices getting closer, my fight-or-flight instinct activated. I wanted to run, I wanted to hide, but with this body of mine, I simply couldn't seem to do anything but hope for the worst.
I felt something run across my back. It felt big and soft yet scary at the same time. Someone was touching me, holding me. I didn't know who it was or what they wanted; all I hoped was that they would not do anything to me in this helpless state of mine.
As their voices were now closer to my ear, I could hear everything they were saying, perhaps in a language even I could understand.
"Lo... ho.....y it... a ...y"
Well, that didn't sound right. Perhaps my eardrums were not functioning properly; I was hit by a moving truck after all, so my eardrums were now damaged too, and I still couldn't see where I was. The last thing I wanted was to end up blind and deaf at the same time, but I didn't give up and eagerly tried to make out the words I was hearing.
"Th....k ...d"
That sounds like the voice of a woman, a young one perhaps. I didn't know what a woman was doing next to my unconscious self. Perhaps I was in a hospital, and this was the nurse? I thought to myself, although it still didn't explain the feeling on my back as I started to feel more paranoid.
"Wh.... ..s ..e ...ot ....ying?"
I could make out this voice more clearly this time; it was a man's voice. I assumed this would be the doctor, and he was asking the nurse about something.
"W....at ...ive ...im ...o me"
Suddenly, I can feel my body being moved around from one place to another. It felt very surreal. What was this? Was I hallucinating? Or am I being moved from a stretcher onto a bed? If so, this was bad caretaking of a patient, and I wanted to leave a bad review, but only if I could get my eyes to open.
My annoyance grew more and more as I could feel someone shaking my head almost as if they were trying to wake me up, did they not realise that I was just hit by a moving truck? Do they expect me to wake up from a coma like I was Snow White or something!?
But it would seem that whatever maneuver they were doing was working indeed, my eyes were opening gradually, everything seemed very bright, almost as if someone was flashing a flashlight right into my eyes, as I couldn't make out what or who was in front of me.
As I got used to the lighting, I could finally see who was in front of me. It was a young woman as I would have guessed, but she had shimmering blue eyes and shiny blonde hair. I thought to myself, when did Japan start hiring foreign nurses?
"He is awake!"
She said in an enthusiastically loud voice, it's almost as if she was surprised that I was still alive, but I can't blame her, as even didn't expect to open my eyes again, so I suppose this was nothing short of a miracle.
'He is so cute!"
The man said as a visibally cringed at his comment he didn't look much older than me so it's weird that he would find me cute and another thing I noticed is that he is also a blonde haired blue eyed man same as the nurse was I in a foreign hospital or something I didn't know my parents could afford that much for my surgery.
"What should we name him, honey?'
I blinked upon hearing that comment. I already had a name, and honey? Were these two a couple or something? My mind was all over the place, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Let's go with Luke! Luke Reinhart!"
The man replied.
"That's perfect!"
The woman replied.
As I was trying to process what just happened, I tried to raise my voice in protest, but all I could manage was a little
"Gah!"
"Oh, look, he likes it!"
The woman said, as I realised the sound I had just made, I wasn't the smartest person, but even I can put one and two together.
"So Luke Reinhart it is! Thank you so much, honey, for giving birth to this beautiful"
"My pleasure, dear!"
The couple placed me down in my cradle as they kissed and cuddled each other, leaving me to process the gravity of my situation.
I decided to pull off one last maneuver to confirm my suspicion, as I tried to sit up straight, but I couldn't as my hands were too small and frail as I fell back onto the cradle, staring at my tiny palms, there was no doubt that my suspicion was indeed true.
I was reincarnated.