1 - Awaken!

“GYAAAHHHHH!! NO MORE NEEDLES-”

I used every ounce of strength to sit up from my bed, only to find myself outdoors in the middle of nowhere. The sudden contrast between cold, concrete walls and bountiful nature caused such whiplash I had to cover my eyes from the sunlight feeding directly into my eyes.

“What just happened? Why am I here…? Woah, I-I’m standing! I’m standing on my own two feet! And- am I speaking…? I can talk!”

I stared at my legs in disbelief. I’d almost forgotten what they looked like, always hidden under a thick blanket. Cautiously, I lifted a leg and set it down again, letting my limbs carry the weight of my body. Then another, and another-

“So light! I can even- how do I jump again…? Like this- Bleh!”

I fell face-flat onto the ground; the result of my clumsy attempt at an action I hadn’t done for over a decade.

“I’m fine!”

The simple action which would’ve most certainly broke all the bones in my body—tripping—didn’t break my bones and kill me.

“Can I walk…?”

It took a while at first, but after getting over the whole ipsilateral arm and leg movement thing-

“I’m walking! On my own two feet! I-I… BWAAAHH!!”

I’m crying for the first time in- I don’t even know!

“Doc, you liar! You said my eyes were too damaged to be able to cry…! Wait a minute, I can see-!”

It was a sight I’d only seen in picture books; nature untainted by human hands. But it wasn’t the blurry mess I’d gotten accustomed to over the years; I was seeing with perfect vision, as if I had on a pair of invisible glasses.

Revelation after revelation, it was as if the majority of my life had never happened, as if I’d traveled back in time. I walked, then broke into a run, tripped and took a tumble only to get up again. It was as if I were a child again, laughing with copious amounts of glee.

“It’s a… a miracle! I gotta call the doc. Doc? DOC?! Where’s the button-”

My legs slowed to a stop as I got over my miraculous recovery, and focused on my surroundings for the first time.

“… Where am I?”

Vast fields of green beginning to yellow, rolling along with the light breeze unobstructed by the once familiar skyscrapers from the view of my window. Towering icy-peaked mountains replaced them, dotted with trees so tall they could replace the buildings I’d become accustomed to seeing everyday.

“That government building should be over there,” I pointed into the distance. “And that crosswalk that’s always packed with passersby no matter the time of day,” I pointed to a nearby lake.

Clearly, I’d somehow been taken someplace far away. Did they move me while I was asleep? But the last thing I remembered… was getting my twentieth shot of the day.

Come to think of it, my body does feel kinda strange… different?

While I hadn’t been able to feel much for most of my life, I did notice I was now a little shorter. Smaller…?

“Weird… It’s like I’m not even in my own body anymore. Oh. OH…!”

A thought suddenly came to mind. I’ve read about situations like this before; several in fact. Though I found myself in a scenario without any logical explanation, the absurdity of it felt strangely familiar.

“Am I even still on Earth…?”

I squinted into the distance, spotting some kind of… landmass floating in mid-air.

“That’s not something you see every- I’m not on Earth anymore.”

That would explain the bizarre sight. I was somehow brought into… another world? And- wait a minute…

“Does this mean, I died?”

As that reality grew more plausible by the second, I felt an overwhelming urge to scream, something I’ve wanted to do for so long.

“SAY IT AIN’T SOOO!!”

*

“Hah- hah…!”

I’ve heard to take deep breaths to calm oneself, but it’s not working too well. To be honest, it was quite a relief knowing I’d finally passed; I’d been hanging on by a thread for most of my final years anyway, and to now be given a second chance at life was all I could ask for. Still-

“Isn’t this way too sudden?!”

I was simply being administered my routine medication and then BAM, next thing I knew I was already here. My eyes were closed at the time so it wasn’t as if everything happened within the jump cut of a film, but still…! And why wasn’t I reborn from scratch like a normal person?! Why-

“Greetings reincarnator, and congratulations.”

“Huhwhawho?!” I stammered in confusion.

A strangely robotic voice rang clearly in my ears, but there was no one in sight.

“It has been some time since your rebirth, but I trust you finally remember-”

“Who’s there? Are you speaking to me through my head? Are you God?”

“I’m certain you must find yourself confused-”

“Hey, could you slow down? Let me ask some questions? HEY!! Wait- hang on. Is this… an automated message?”

“I assure you everything has gone according to plan with utmost precision, as everything should be-”

“This is an automated message, isn’t it. You couldn’t have… given me an audience or something before throwing me here?”

“Reincarnator INSERT NAME HERE-”

“Is this PRE-RECORDED?!”

How’s this possible? Is reincarnation so commonplace it’s announced through a template?!

“-it must feel as if you’ve received a lifetime’s worth of memories at once. Be not afraid, for those are indeed your memories—memories of your past life-”

“Huh?”

“It must be quite a shock to learn you’re an otherworlder; all this time you’ve been living your life in this world-”

“No? No, living my life in this world- I didn’t do any of that? I was just here in one second, poof!”

“But now that your mind has developed enough to hold those memories, they have been returned to their rightful place. I trust you’ll be able to pursue your dreams and live the life you’ve always wanted. Is it to your liking? Your new life suited according to your ideals-”

“Y-you put me in the middle of nowhere with no signs of civilization in sight-”

“As a parting gift, I’ve unlocked your potential hidden away since your rebirth—your inner desires shall manifest as your special ability. Indeed, you now have the power to pursue that which you’ve yearned for the most in your past life, but have never been able to achieve-”

“You mean walking? Having a healthy body? That’s great and all but, isn’t this just… normal?”

It sounded as if I’d been given some sort of perk like in the stories I’ve read; an all-powerful ability bestowed upon an otherworldly traveler to restore peace to the kingdom, or something along those lines.

But all I’ve received is confusion.

“Now then, reincarnator- no… Otherworlder INSERT NAME HERE- RECALCULATING-”

“There it is.”

“Otherworlder Ricolette-”

“Ricolette? Is that my name?”

“I look forward to seeing what you achieve, whether it be a simple life to yourself, or an extraordinary life to the world.”

And then there was silence.

Despite my confusion, I understood enough to parse what happened to me. I died on Earth, and reincarnated in another world. I don’t know where I am, who I am or even what I am, but I do know one thing for sure.

I raised my hands high up to the sky-

“Ah, God! How’d you screw this up so badly?!”