Ch 1: A Second Chance - Pt 1: Rebirth

"Aoi. That's his name."

"What a wonderful name. Aoi. It has a nice ring to it."

The next thing I knew, I heard the voices of a woman and a man close by. I did not recognize the sound of either of them. I tried to see who was there, but my eyelids felt so heavy. I could only manage a slow blink, merely catching glimpses of their faces. Even just from those snapshots, it was evident that they were smiling so brightly at each other. Whatever was happening, it must have been a joyful, precious moment.

As I struggled to keep my eyes open, the woman looked back down at me. "Oh! He's opening his eyes! Whose eyes do you think he will have?"

"For his sake, I hope he has blue like you."

"Oh, but Darling, I love the red of your eyes. In any case, whatever color they may be, I'll love them all the same. Don't you worry, my sweet little Aoi."

I finally succeeded in keeping my eyes open, and the fuzzy portraits of their faces cleared up. They were so gorgeous I about fell in love at first sight with both the woman and the man. The woman's skin was the fairest I had ever laid eyes on, and I could tell her heavenly golden hair was as soft as a cloud and as smooth as silk just by looking at it. The man was clean shaven with a chiseled jawline, and his pitch-black hair was close and messy. To top it off, both of them had eyes that sparkled like gemstones. The woman's were like those of sapphires. The man's, like those of rubies.

Full of excitement, the woman looked up at her husband. "They are red!"

The man squinted from where he stood. "Wait, Honey. One of them is blue."

"Oh, wow. I guess when they say you inherit half of the traits from each of your parents, Aoi really wanted to look like both of us! Haha!"

I attempted to look around, but just like my eyelids, my head felt oddly heavy. From what I could tell by facing up toward the ceiling, I appeared to be in some sort of wooden home. Or maybe a cabin. Where am I? Who are you, Miss? Who is this Aoi you keep referring to? Are you talking to me?​

The woman’s eyes lit up in amazement. "Wow! He's already trying to find his voice, too!"

"Our son is certainly going to grow up to become someone special." The man standing beside the bed was nodding proudly.

The two of them were leaning over me in admiration with twinkling eyes. It kind of felt like I was a puppy who just performed my first trick. Why are you looking at me like that? And did you just call me your son?

"Ga. Agoo. Gaga. Goo."

Huh? Why can't I speak? That couldn't have been my voice, right?

The handsome man squatted down with his large hand on the beautiful woman's shoulder. He leaned closer, examining me intently. "What do you suppose Aoi is trying to say?"

Out of concern, the woman's smile turned into a frown. "Hmm. I'm not sure, but it sounds important. He is trying so hard."

The man observed the two of us on the bed. "I think he might be reaching for your hair. It never fails to calm me down."

"Oh? Is that so, Aoi? I know it looks fun to play with, but promise me you won't pull too hard."

No, that's not what I was trying to- You know what? Why not? If you are offering, and if it's really as wonderful as the strange man says, I'd honestly love to feel it.​

"Gaga goo! Ga goo goo! Ga!"

"I think you might be right, Darling!" The woman shifted her hold on me and brought my face closer to her shoulder.

I reached out and took a small handful of the luscious locks. Before I was able to enjoy the soft sensation of her angelic hair, I froze. Joining the confusion about the identities of these two strangers who suddenly appeared before me was the shock at the sight of the tiny little hands intertwined in the golden strands. With a slight wince, the woman peeled the tightening fingers away from her hair.

Reality set in. Those hands that fit in the woman's palm were my own. I was just a baby. And these were my parents. I was reborn. And this beautiful woman was only trying to read the needs of her unusual newborn child. Instead of crying like a typical baby, I was communicating as calmly as I could.

"You've gone quiet. Are you sleepy?" My mother delicately lowered my hands with a gentle smile and warm eyes. "Darling, could you please help me adjust so we can lie down?"

She shifted my small body from a cradled position to tummy down. The man who I was finally able to acknowledge as my father removed one of the pillows from behind his wife's back, and my mother brought me up to her shoulder. My head rested against the top of her breast like a plush pillow. The warmth of her embrace paired with the steady beat of her heart was surprisingly soothing. So soothing I drifted off to sleep. Just like the baby I was.

* * * * *

When I awoke, I was lying in a small crib. The surface was warm and soft, just like my new mother, but the smell was not nearly as sweet. To be honest, it was a little rank. It must have been the animal fur covering the wooden base and lining the crib walls.

Hoping to get a better look around, I struggled to roll over. Before I could say when, I was already running out of energy. I started making noises that I could only describe as the infant equivalent of a grunt. It was not a particularly cute sound.

Just when I thought I was about to make it onto my belly, two tender hands grabbed my sides, and the sweet scent returned. "What's the matter, Aoi? Is your bed uncomfortable?" My mother held me at her shoulder and bounced up and down while rubbing my back. Maybe being a baby again isn't so bad.

Soon, I got into the rhythm of a new routine. I would fall asleep in my mother's arms. She would lay me down to sleep. When I woke up, I practiced rolling so that I could try to crawl, and when I ran out of strength, I worked on speaking. After a bit, the noise summoned one of my parents to feed me and put me back to sleep. Rinse and repeat.

I was definitely seeing results, but there were some unforeseen consequences. Picture a baby with traps like a regular at the gym. Yeah, that was me. After about a month, I mastered rolling onto my stomach. Using my forehead to try to lift myself up five times per day for two months had produced the same results as someone doing the same shrugging exercise for the same period of time.

On the bright side, I could kind of crawl. Since only my neck and arms were being strengthened, my still pudgy legs lagged behind. My crawl was more like a zombie who lost a leg and had to drag itself around. At only three months old and able to move on my own, I started to wonder if it was just a mental barrier for the babies in my home world.

I did not dismiss the possibility that babies here were simply built different. It could have been that, or maybe I was just a freak. The next time my parents put me in bed with them, I proudly decided to show them my progress. Unfortunately, this did not bear the results I had hoped.

My father stared at me blankly for a moment before pointing in my direction. "Hey, Honey... Should we be concerned? Our son is starting to seem more like some sort of monster every day."

Yup. I'm just a freak...

"Darling, you shouldn't say things like that about your own son." My mother lifted me up and made a pouty face. "Don't you listen to him, Aoi. You are such a cutie with those wittle baby muscles."

With that attempt to impress resulting in failure, I put my speech to the test. With "gaga" and "googoo" as starters, I focused on turning them into "Mama" and "Papa" for my first real words.

"Mama. Poopoo." ...Oops...

My mother's efforts to contain herself barely lasted a second before she busted out laughing. "Did you hear that Hakuma?! He called you Poopoo!"

My father was not nearly as amused. "All right, Miyo. It isn't that funny, is it?"

"Yes! Yes, it absolutely is! Hahaha!"

I might have failed to say what I wanted to say, but I marked it down as a win. My new mother's cute laugh was good enough for me. Plus, I learned their names. Although, "Hakuma" sounded like a much higher hurdle than "Papa" at that moment.