It was the first thing I heard after I opened my eyes. An old woman, who looked like she was in her fifties, was holding me as if I were a baby.

We were in a room that had a special ancient feel to it, with things like marble and custom-designed wooden furniture. When I looked around a bit, I saw paintings on the walls that looked like family portraits.

While I continued to look around the room in confusion, trying to figure out where I was, because this was definitely not a hospital room, the old woman handed me to a woman who was lying in bed and looked tired.

And an incredible fear gripped me. No, the woman holding me wasn’t a monster. In fact, she was incredibly beautiful, probably in her late twenties, with long, wavy gray hair and strange red eyes. The reason I was scared was that I couldn’t understand how they could hold and carry me so easily.

Had I lost some of my body parts? No, I didn’t think so... I mean, everyone around me seemed so happy. Personally, I couldn’t look at someone who had lost body parts so happily, even if they had survived. Besides, I could still feel my arms and... little hands?!

“Me’i amor, look ei+++ ++++++

Curies ++.”

The woman holding me chuckled and said something in a soft voice. Then I realized there was a man sitting on the side of the bed. I was definitely not in a hospital bed—this was a big canopy bed. The sheets were a mix of red and black, and the curtains were black.

I looked at the man, and he came closer to us with a smile on his face. Light brown hair, bright green eyes, and long, pointy ears. What?

I looked at the woman again. There was nothing unusual about her, except for her contact lenses, but the man’s ears were really long and pointy. They looked too real for cosplay.

“Yes.”

Did he just said 'Yes'?

I couldn’t understand what language they were speaking. She just said “Amor” and looked at him. It couldn’t have been French, and it definitely wasn’t Spanish. They used some English words, but it was clearly not English either.

I tried to move my arms and saw my tiny hands again. I felt weird. These were the hands of a baby, this body was not mine.

If... If I wasn’t going crazy... Was I reincarnated? But everything had happened so fast and…

I thought this reincarnation thing was either an Indian religious tradition or the idea of suicidal Japanese men who working like slaves, seeing this kind of thing as their last hope. How could this be possible? And why did I still have my past memories? My mind was full of questions, and I couldn’t keep my focus.

Stolen story; please report.

I didn’t know whether I should pray to a god with happiness or spew hatred. Was I supposed to see this as a second chance? After going through the worst years of my life, just when things were getting better, all the friends I trusted and loved had died. What should I feel?

I guess... I could thank god for not making me a cow or a snail. It would sucked to spend the rest of my life chasing a billionaire.

Again, I tried to make jokes to ease my mind.

What should I do now? I mean, I couldn’t move. Even if I could, what was I going to do?

I wondered if my friends had been reincarnated like me.

As I struggled with my own thoughts, the man reached for me. She passed me to him, and he took me in his arms. I looked at the man and then at the woman. Should I call them mother and father? They looked so happy. The woman was watching me silently, her head resting on the man’s shoulder.

Did I kill their...

No, I had to stop empathizing.

I was surprised when he gently stroked my head and caressed my long, pointy ears. I was an elf. No, I was probably a half-elf, this woman was a human... I think? I reached for his hand and held his index finger between my new little hands.

I turned my head slowly and looked at my body, then at the room. I wanted to look at the people who had been in the room, but they had already left. I didn’t have any specific purpose while I was doing these things—I was just trying to get used to my new body and looking around.

Then I heard the woman’s voice and tried to look at her.

“Curies, e calm

++++ name ++?”

Name? Oh... I would have a new name, right.

The man looked at me, tilted his head slightly, and I felt a strange sense of curiosity that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“Altevia Aulus Cornetia.”

Was that... my name? That was... long. I mean... it felt like it belonged to Ancient Rome. And also, could this be a dream? Or was I in a coma? I hoped not, everything felt so real. And I didn’t want to wake up back in that world after everything. I didn’t want to go back to my doomer days. I would try to think positively.

The man, or… I guess I should start calling them father and mother. Even if it felt weird, I’d probably get used to it. I probably, must get used to it.

My father kissed me on the forehead and handed me to my mother. Then I studied her face. She was incredibly beautiful. I’d say my father was quite lucky, but to be honest, he was pretty handsome too. They both had small noses, my mom had sharp, charming eyes, and my dad’s eyes looked a bit more tired.

My mother was wearing a long white dress, and my father was dressed in a white and gray robe.

“+++++ ++++ ++”

“++++ +++”

Their clothes were definitely not from modern times. I couldn’t see any TV or phone. What era was I in?

I hoped there was toilet paper.

After my mother brought me close to her lips and kissed my cheek, I realized I was hungry, no starving actually. I put my hands to her chest and she smiled "++++ ++ +++?" I couldn't speak properly and don’t understand what she said, so I opened my mouth and waited. She giggled and brought me to her breast. This feels weird, but I have to survive.

For now, I needed to understand my situation better and try to get used to this new life. There was no point in thinking about my old life, I had been bleeding a lot and couldn’t even stand up. I was definitely dead, just like my friends.

The thing that bothered me the most was that I had died before my mother.

…

After she breastfed me, I felt an incredible heaviness in my body and had trouble keeping my eyes open. Or, in short, I started to feel sleepy. They looked at each other, then placed me in the baby bed, and my first day in this world ended.