Once More

So I guess I am just going to die again.

The wind surging around me is making it difficult to think. Unsure if I can do anything I put my arms together as though I am about to be pushed down a water slide instead of plummeting to my second death in a free fall and close my eyes.

That is, until a thought comes to me. I am still dead. I cannot die again, right?

I open my eyes to see the tops of large pine trees barely above me. I must be very close to the ground, and terminal velocity if I am not already. I close my eyes again preparing myself for the inevitability of my second demise.

No thud. Well that makes sense I suppose.

I should have figured I was not going to die.

“Eris.”, I mutter as I open my eyes to the sight of the same trees towering over me. “Huh?”, I ask loudly. My voice, it is adorable! So was all of that just a theatrical way to reincarnate me?

“Lydia!?”, A woman’s voice yells. “Where are you!?”, The concerned voice inquires closer now. “There you are!”, The woman exclaims with a sigh of relief once she sees me sitting up in the grass looking at her. “Come now.”, She continues as she heads over to me with a gentle smile across her face, “It’s time to go back.”

-- -- --

So this girl’s name is Lydia, I have to get used to that. Wait… Did I take over a young girl’s body or was this girl made specifically for me and inserted into this world? If it is the second, why did they decide to make the person a girl instead of a boy? And why a child at all?

“You gotta go?”, I hear a little girl’s voice ask me, knocking me out of my thoughts.

“What?”, I ask in bewilderment. “No I don’t.”, I answer her question in annoyance.

“Are you sure? You had a face like you really had to?”, The girl continues to pester me.

“I am sure!”, I raise my voice at the girl. She appears as if she is about to cry. “I’m sorry.”, I say to calm her down as I put my arms around her in a hug. “There there.”, I add as I mechanically pat her back.

“You’re usually not this nice.”, The girl utters muffled in my chest. I let go of the girl, but at least she did not cry. “Do you wanna play?”, she asks me as I release her from the hug.

“No, but thanks.”, I answer without thinking.

“Okay…”, She responds a bit dejected. I feel a little bad but I really need to figure some things out. Yet before I can get lost in my thoughts again I see her begin to walk away with slumped shoulders.

“Actually,”, I declare, “I do want to play.” She turns back to me with a smile. She is just so adorable I cannot say no, but boy do I hate children.

-- -- --

We walk into what I can only assume is the dining room to see two boys and another girl sitting at the table.

Should I introduce myself? Do these kids already know ‘Lydia’?

“Okay, got one! She’ll be looking!”, The girl from before says to the group. I look at her confused. I am sorry, what does she want me to look for?

Without a word the four run out of the room. I look around for a moment before I finally realize we are playing hide-n-seek and I am the seeker. I sit down in a chair at the table and rest my head upon it. So I am sent to a new world. Apparently I have a lot of untapped potential. But Eris, I was sent here by a deity known for causing chaos.

“Lydia?”, The voice of a teenage girl brings me out of my thoughts with her inquiry. I raise my head and look at the teen. She is wearing a similar uniform to the woman that found me earlier so she must be a caretaker as well.

“We’re playing hide-n-seek. I’m the seeker.”, I answer. The teen lets out a sigh, of relief I hope.

“Well it’s good to see you’re making friends.”, She says before walking away. I would take offense from that but she is just a teen so I let it slide. I hop off the chair to search this place, and find those kids I suppose.

Okay, first area is just a hallway connecting the dining room to other rooms. Maybe it is the main hall? I open the nearest door to see a small closet, definitely a main hallway. I close the door and step to the next. I open it to see a multitude of small beds chockablock the small room. So a bedroom, how many kids live here? I step into the bedroom and begin my search for someone. I hope none of them would be so daft as to hide in the closest room. I look under the nearest bed.

“Hi there.”, One of the boys I saw in the dining room earlier says to me. I need to lower my expectations, they are just kids after all.

“Found you.”, I respond with fake enthusiasm before I stand up again. It feels good to not have back pain or my joints popping every time I move now that I notice it. I look around but I figure none of the other kids are in here since they probably wanna be in different rooms.

I step out of the room and over to the door across the hallway. Opening the door to this new room reveals another small closet. Why are there so many closets in this hallway? I slam the closet door in annoyance as I continue down the hallway.

-- -- --

I step into the small entry of the orphanage from the hallway. I take in my surroundings, I know it is not the largest space and I doubt anyone would try to hide here but it feels nice to be alone in a small space.

A knock at the large doors to the outside breaks my sweet solitude. But without a thought I open the doors regardless.