It was the summer vacation. I was dragged to this Planetarium called Astralium by my four friends. The planetarium gave an ancient feeling From what I heard from Emma was that it was made around 30 years ago. I was a bit short on sleep as I had stayed awake to read the light novel called 'Echoes of the Past'. However, I lament that I couldn't finish it and had to leave it on a cliffhanger after the protagonist was thrown off the cliff by the main villain.
We arrived at the Entrance of the Planetarium.
As we stepped through the ornate entrance of Astralium, a sense of wonder washed over us. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and polished wood, and the soft glow of antique lanterns illuminated the grand hall.
"Isn't this place amazing?" exclaimed Sarah, her eyes wide with excitement.
'Huh, it's more well-maintained than I expected.' I heard her thought. Unbeknownst to my friends, I was a mind reader.
I had never told anyone, even my parents or my elder brother and my little sister about this ability.
I was afraid if they found out that I knew their most private and embarrassing thoughts that they would first beat me up and then beat me up once again. A wall may arise between us siblings due to this ability if they find out about it.
Jacob nodded to Sarah's exclamation. We arrived in front of a large room. In the center of it, there was a towering celestial globe. Unable to tear my gaze away from the towering celestial globe at the center of the room. It depicted various constellations, their shimmering lights dancing across its surface.
The bustling crowd inside the Planetarium overwhelmed my senses, a cacophony of thoughts and emotions swirling around me like a tempest. To gain clarity I focused my mind, With concentrated effort, I managed to shrink the radius of my mind-reading skill to a mere two meters. Although I can't deactivate my ability, I can indeed reduce or increase its radius with a bit of effort.
Though still present, the thoughts and emotions of those nearby became more distant, like whispers in the wind rather than a deafening roar.
"Come on, let's explore!" urged Emma, tugging on my sleeve.
With a laugh, I followed my friends deeper into the planetarium, marveling at the intricate displays and models of celestial bodies that lined the walls. Each exhibit seemed to hold a story of its own, whispering secrets of the cosmos and the people that had gazed upon them centuries ago. There were also various charts displaying information about great astronomists, space missions, and milestones humans have reached in astronomy.
We soon reached the theatre hall where the main show was gonna commence. There was a huge dome above us. The seats in the hall were placed circularly. Our seats are near the corner. I grabbed my seat and lazily sat on it hoping to nap for a bit as there were still about 10 minutes till the show will start. But of course, my wish wasn't granted as my friends started talking about all the stuff and stories that took place in high school.
But most importantly they were talking about my embarrassing story that took place when I was given the chance to give a speech in front of the students.
I tried my best to steer the conversation away while they all chuckled taking pleasure at my internal suffering . But I wasn't one to go down that easily. I was a mind reader and first of all their childhood friend. I also started spilling their past.
After a few minutes of seeing 4 red faces that looked like tomatoes. I thought I could finally catch some sleep. The conversation somehow drifted to their grades this year.
Jacob was especially feeling down well considering he had barely passed. Jacob sighed "I wish I had a photographic memory like you Jude. No matter how much I study I just forget everything before the tests. I sometimes envy you "
Others also chimed in and fantasized about how much easier their lives would be if they had photographic memory.
In truth, I didn't have a photographic memory. It's just that I use my mind-reading skills to read my own mind and recall whatever I have studied.
As such I could ace most tests with just a bare minimum amount of studying.
I was gonna give some words of encouragement to Jacob but the narrator's voice resounded throughout the Planetarium. the lights dimmed and the dome on top lit up with various stars. The dome had transformed into a gateway to the universe.
I felt a sense of excitement coursing through me as the show began even though I wasn't interested in coming here before.
It started by showing us the view of our solar system and compared it to the size of our galaxy Milky Way.
As the journey progresses, we venture beyond our solar system, into the vast expanse of interstellar space. Galaxies swirl and stars twinkle, painting a canvas of cosmic wonders.
The music fills the air and complements the visual spectacle perfectly. Its melodies echoed through the planetarium and stirred something deep within my soul.
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It then showed us a planet with rings even larger than those of Saturn. As I marveled at the beauty of those rings, I felt a tremor. Just as I was wondering if this was also part of the show, the ground, the chairs, and even the dome above us started shaking. I sensed all the worried thoughts and emotions of my friends.
It was an earthquake.
Ryan stood up and exclaimed, "Come on, let's find somewhere to hide under ~" But before Ryan could complete his sentence we were swept towards the walls by a much more powerful shockwave.
Before we could react, the walls started collapsing and the dome started falling towards us. Was it because the planetarium was so old that its walls had become weak or the fact that this building wasn't made to resist an earthquake?
Before I could find answers, the world went dark only for me to wake up in a nightmare.
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Every inch of my body was in searing pain. My legs were splattered by the remains of the wall that had fallen on it. Because of this otherworldly pain, I lost focus of my mind-reading power due to which my mind throbbed and was pierced by the intense emotions of agony from all survivors in a 20-metre radius. Their thoughts wailed about their life being shattered.
First time in my 17 years of living, I wished for my mind-reading ability to disappear but the nevertheless thoughts of others kept bombarding my mind
Some lucky people weren't seriously harmed but their companions had perished or were stuck under rubble.
Companions
That word jolted my mind. I tried to lift my head amidst the pain and opened my heavy eyes. But my head dropped at the sight. In front of me were the remains of what once were my friends. Their bodies were completely crushed by the debris. I tried to sense their minds but it was to no avail.
They were dead
Emma, Ryan, Sarah, Jacob.
I muttered their names under my breath. The only reason I could tell that they were my friends was due to their blood-soaked clothing.
"Heuagh-" I pained scream left my mouth, I wanted to express my pain and agony to this world. I who was unfaithful to all religions started praying earnestly to God for the first time in my mind. I hoped that time would rewind and even tried deluding myself that this was just a nightmare. But alas my wishes remained unanswered and this searing pain brought me back to reality.
I wanted this unceasing pain to stop. I just wanted everything to disappear.
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I didn't know how long had passed but the survivors hadn't found me or perhaps were helping other people stuck under debris not that I had the strength to scream for help
Perhaps it was due to the huge blood loss but my mind-reading ability stopped working. Other people's thoughts and emotions started fading away.
-silence
The searing pain in my body also starts to disappear.
Ah am I starting to die
I remember reading in 'Echoes of the Past' when the Protagonist was training with his master. His training was so intense that each day the protagonist was on the verge of death, feeling intense from every fiber of his muscle. But at the end of the day, his master always reminded him that this pain was proof that he was alive
My thoughts started to become sluggish
I thought of my family members who I would leave behind
An image of a little girl appears in my mind. My dear little sister whom I always doted on being just 3 years younger than me. My death will hurt you but please hang on, rely on your eldest brother when you can't.
Then an image of a young man appears.'Elder brother I am sorry that I will not be able to attend your wedding next year, I know that I am leaving my burdens to you but I know that you are a capable man, please take care of our dear sister and parents.'
Then the image of a slightly elderly couple appears in my mind. Papa, Mama, only now I realize that there were many things that I wanted to say to all of you but looks like I won't get the chance to say it.
I always tried to do my best to make you both proud but looks like I will become a bad son who dies before their parents.
Just as the last bit of my consciousness starts to fade, I ask one last question
I wonder, if I had told you all about my powers, would you all still be able to laugh and smile with me regardless knowing that I know all your thoughts?
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It was a pitch-black darkness but I felt someone touch
am I alive?
I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar woman smiling at me while holding me and beside her was a man who was making goofy faces.
I look at my hands and legs. They were so tiny like that of a newborn.
Wait a minute they were of a newborn. At that moment, my mind-reading ability that was dormant became active again and thoughts and emotions poured into my little head once again. Although I couldn't understand the language of these thoughts, one clear thing was that these emotions were those of a parent towards their child. And those emotions were directed towards me.
I had reincarnated and I was alive.
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Writers thoughts:
Writing is such a pain, I understood that today
I am just a reader who has read many novels. Quite often I feel disappointment when reading some novels. Thoughts such as the author could have done a much better job or the fact that this character acted stupidly when he could have just used a bit of brain and solved the problem much more easily, etc, etc.
I always wanted to read a story about a mind reader as a protagonist but I couldn't exactly find something that fit my taste. So I had the bright idea to write something by myself.
If I, who had such high standards were to write a novel, I surely would be able to meet them.
But to think of a storyline, write it, and use proper grammar, was so exhausting. It took around 6 hours to write this because there were parts I rewrote a couple of times
This was my first time trying to write something like a novel and I think this chapter could be improved a lot, especially the dialogue.
I originally wanted Jude and his friends to have some conversation throughout but I found out today that I have a skill issue for writing natural conversations between people, I could write ok monologues and stuff but the original dialogue between the friends was so robotic that I removed it completely.
I know that with my current skills, I can't write this novel to fill my heart. So in the future, I hope when my skills are much better, I will take on the challenge to see this story till its end.
In most novels, a protagonist after reincarnating / transmigrating shows no attachment to his/her life on Earth which has always bothered me that's why I tried to write such a tragic end to Jude's life to see his attachment to his family and friends.
But at least after writing this, I have a newfound respect for all authors whether they are novelists or Journalists, at least I will think twice before saying a novel is trash.
I will come back to this one day, I promise.