2 Birth (1/2)

I awoke to a harsh cold feeling, like being pulled out of bed and thrown into snow. Where was I? I tried to take a breath, but my lungs felt blocked. I wheezed, and something spluttered from my mouth.

Panic set in and I desperately tried pull in air. I tried to scream but all that came out was a high-pitched gargle. Finally, I managed to take a breath, and something dribbled down my chin. I tried to wipe it away, but my arms were like jelly.

I felt an uncontrollable urge to cry and scream out and I started wailing. What was this? I needed to calm down. I had come from my old world… I was in a new world of cultivation.

I opened my eyes to see where I was, but the light was blinding. It was all I could do to keep one eye open. The world was streaked with tears, dappled and clouded like a frosted window.

What about my other senses? I tried to listen for something, but my own screaming was deafening. Forget smelling, my nose was more blocked than it had ever been. All I could feel was wet and cold.

I flailed around, trying grab something, and found an object. It felt like a wrinkled arm, and I immediately latched onto it. It was warm and reassured me.

I felt a tug, and something soft wiping across my skin. Then warmth swallowed me, and I started feeling more at ease. My crying diminished, and I had some time to take in what was happening.

I was a baby and I had just been born. It was the only explanation that made sense. A bit more of a rude awakening than I had expected. I thought I would be sent to this world in a body like my own.

I tried to adjust my eyes to see in front of me. Everything seemed blurry ahead, save for the face of a beautiful woman. Her eyes were streaked with tears and ringed with dark bags, but they were the kindest eyes I had ever seen.

I smiled instinctively on seeing her, and a beaming smile of her own appeared. She brought me down to nestle on her chest.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught another face of a man whose stern features were drawn out into a picture of relief. Was he my father? He started speaking, and his tone was rough and rumbling.

”… Oscar…” I couldn't make out what he was saying, but I recognised my name in there.

”That's weird,” I thought, ”why does this baby have my name. Wait... This baby is me.” It was a hard concept to wrap my head around.

”I've gotta focus,” I thought, ”I'll study everything around me, then I'll get a head start.”

As I thought this, I was ripped away from the warmth, and despite my best efforts to control myself, I started wailing again. It seemed that I retained the instincts of an infant, even though I had the mind of an adult.

I was carried a short distance to a cot, and people began feeling my body. A medical check, I guessed. In the meantime, I tried to make sense of my surroundings, but I could barely see past the faces around me.

I managed to catch flashes of colour: pale beige, the odd bit of green, but not much else. The people checking my body stopped, and I could vaguely see a figure coming across. Something cold touched my chest.