From the Egg to a New World

Everything around him went white and soundless. An infinite and serene white.

Where am I now? What’s going to happen to me?

His chest emanated a strange light and he once again felt his body being pulled into what seemed to be a tunnel that had appeared out of nowhere in front of him. If Hell is where he’s going, he’s resigned; he would never expect to reach Heaven, not after everything he’s done.

At the end of the tunnel, he was once again in a place of infinite white with even more tunnels, the number of which was impossible to calculate. Once again, his chest shone even brighter, and a new pull occurred at an absurd speed; he could barely move.

“Hey, wait a minute! GO SLOWLYYYY…”

The speed increased more and more to the point that he felt like his body was dissolving like sand and could disappear at any moment. He decided to close his eyes and let himself be carried away when he heard a strange voice:

“H-HEY! WHO ARE YOU? WHERE DID YOU COME FROM- OH, COME BACK HERE!!!”

Whoever it was, he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. It sounded like a woman's voice, but he didn't have time to see where it was coming from.

How long am I going to stay like this? I'm starting to get sick-

With a sudden stop, his soul finally imploded into dust and everything went dark. Without eyes, he couldn't see. Without ears, he couldn't hear. There was only his consciousness, or so he thought. And even that now felt like it was fading away. And he felt nothing else, losing track of time once again.

Did I fall asleep? What's this tight feeling?

In the middle of the darkness, he was somewhere tight and hot. He couldn't feel his breathing and that made him uncomfortable. Wherever he was, he wanted to get out, and get out now! He looked for a foothold in the stuffy darkness, but as he tried to grope for a way out, he realized that something was wrong.

I can’t feel my hands! Where are my fingers? And my feet, they feel weird!

Having checked all the oddities, he now tried to feel his face. But even this was no longer as he knew it. He became desperate when he felt his protruding, pointy mouth. He began to scream at the top of his lungs.

“HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP!”

He hadn’t noticed until then that his voice was also strange, it seemed younger and shrill, but that didn’t matter now. It was then that in the midst of his despair he heard a cracking sound around him and from outside there were also banging sounds.

“Is there anyone out there? HEY, I’M HERE!”

Finally a hole opened before his eyes. He was free. He dragged himself through the exit, forcing it to widen, but he couldn’t see anything, because getting from a dark place to the light required time to recover his vision.

The first thing he saw with great difficulty was what he was trapped in. It seemed to him to be a huge eggshell, slightly pink in color, or whatever color it was.

“What the hell is this? Did I hatch from an egg? What's going on here...?”

Looking at his own body only served to increase the panic he already felt. He had wings, bird feet and now he could see what was in front of his face. A beak!

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS???”

“...Fuck? What the fuck is this, my baby?”

His train of thought had been interrupted by someone. Now completely accustomed to the light, he turned in the direction of the voice and came across what looked like a huge bird's paw. He followed its shape to the other end and found a giant bird connected to it. It was a white chicken with giant yellow spots. And it was staring at him curiously.

“UAAAAHHH! WHAT THE HELL?” - In shock, he jumped back, falling onto the eggshell and finishing breaking it. The giant chicken showed no surprise at his fright, looking at him curiously.

”Are you okay, my baby? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Well at this point is a very relative word, but... I didn't hurt myself”. - When he realized what she had called him, he asked - Why are you calling me your baby?”

“Because you are my baby, why else would you be?” - The answer was so natural and direct that it made Ricardo - or whatever he was now - gape.

“Stay here, my baby. I'm going to call your father. DARLING! COME HERE! HE'S BORN, OUR BABY IS BORN!”

Ricardo looked around and only then realized that he was in some kind of chicken coop. There were several straw nests close to the walls, perches and a strong smell coming from the dirt floor with sawdust and full of dark piles that he preferred not to know what they were, although he was sure. It really was a chicken coop. And he, a chick.

“Where is he, Kohko? Ah, my precious son! He is beautiful, my dear! Our son!”

“Yes, dear! Our baby, and our salvation.” - She put her neck to his as if they were embracing and closed their eyes, sighing.

Now there was a huge rooster in front of him. Prominent comb, sharp spurs, yellow eyes staring at him with a mixture of seriousness and joy. He began to shout.

“MY SON IS BORN! EVERYONE COME AND SEE!”

Outside the chicken coop there was a great commotion of mixed voices in the distance. Other chickens, it seemed, and very excited.

“Kel, my dear. We need to give him a name.”

“Yes, a pretty name, as he deserves.”

“I like Chiko, what do you think?”

“He lacks grandeur. Kello, since he is my son, how about that?”

“Very ugly” - Even Ricardo was surprised by his “mother’s” blunt sincerity - “Hmm… Kikko?”

“But it’s almost the same as before” - Kel retorted, upset.

“My name is Ricardo!” - He tried to intervene. He didn’t like names at all.

The couple looked at each other. Ricardo felt like he shouldn't have interfered, but now it was too late and so he remained silent, waiting for an answer.

“Ricardo? What's that name? You were just born, my son. Where did you get that from?”

“He started talking right after he hatched, my dear. He's definitely special! I didn't think that name was ugly, but... I know! Rikko! What do you think, my dear?”

Kel, his “father”, was thoughtful for a moment while looking at him with his inquisitive gaze. Then he gave his opinion.

“Very well! Rikko, that's going to be your name! Welcome, Rikko!”

“Yeah, it'll do the trick.” - Rikko thought quietly.

“What did you say, my baby? Mommy didn't understand.”

“I-it's nothing, I like it! My name is Rikko!”

He thought it best not to bring up the subject any further, not that it mattered to him at that point, he was more interested in knowing where he was and what situation he had gotten himself into. The fact that chickens could talk didn't even surprise him anymore. The buzz outside the henhouse was louder and closer, and that was when Kel spoke again.

“As for the name, we've settled it. Now we need to show it to the others. Come, Rikko. They must be curious to see you. Move your legs and come ruffle your feathers!”

Rikko was now outside the henhouse. In the sky, a timid sun was rising behind the mountains and he could feel the freshness of the wind bringing the scent of the trees. - Much better than being confined in that cramped egg, - he thought.

In front of him, a large group of roosters and hens of various colors were looking at him curiously, forming a half-moon. They were talking to each other in a disorderly manner, making it difficult to understand what they were saying. Kel took the lead and said:

“Listen up everyone! This is Rikko! Our son!”

“Finally after so long, Kel! We were already worried!” - Said a black rooster in front.

“Yes, Goppa. I had lost hope, but I was blessed at least one last time.” - Kohko replied, proudly.

One last time? What did she mean by that? - Rikko was thoughtful about that statement, but having Goppa looking him in the eye pushed that thought away for now.

“He seems healthy. It's still too early to be sure. If he grows, you might not be taken. Rejoice and have hope!”

One of the orange chickens sang with joy and went to talk to Kohko. She seemed very happy.

“I knew you could do it, Kohko! There's more to you than anyone expected!” - She said, looking at the other chickens in a satisfied tone.

“That's an insult!” - A gray hen commented in a clearly displeased tone. - “I, Gelda, never doubted!”

“That's right! That's right! That's right!” - A group behind Gelda took her pains in chorus. Gelda felt powerful, starting to retaliate once more and even more fiercely.

“See? We don't need someone so suspicious! Better hold your tongue, Kakke, you might end up making your eggs more bitter than bile!”

“ENOUGH! ENOUGH OF THIS!” - Goppa shouted, silencing Gelda and the others. - “Today is a day of joy, and we should congratulate you both on your offspring! I'm sorry about that, Kel. I imagine you have a lot to teach your son, so you better do it now. Forget about these spites.”

“I'll do it, thank you.” - Kel nodded. - “Come, Rikko, I'll show you the place.”

Kel led him through a hidden hole in the fence and began to show him around. It seemed to be a small farm focused on raising chickens, with few animals that denoted any use other than subsistence.

There were two horses in a small stable, two cows and a bull in a fence, and four goats with a heifer. There was a rustic house in the center of the farm, so he assumed it was the home of the owners of the place, who until then had not appeared yet, perhaps sleeping.

There was a large dog sleeping peacefully with its tongue hanging out in a small house right next to the house. In the back of it, there was a vegetable garden, a cornfield, a well and a stream that ran through the farm. Apart from the dirt road that led somewhere, that was all there was to see and nothing more.