It’s dark. This is all too familiar to me. Two years before all of this, I had a wife and she was pregnant with our first child. Reina Kamiya is my classmate during middle school. She was a daughter from a renowned family from where I used to live at the time. I still remember the first time we talked. It was just after I bought lunch for three of my classmates, thinking that doing so would help me be friends with them but unfortunately, they were just taking advantage of me.

Reina, though stoic in nature perhaps due to her upbringing, confronted me about the matter and ever since then, we’d always be together. Not long after, by our final year of middle school, scared that we would drift apart, I confessed my feelings for her.

We became a couple despite her family protesting our relationship. At some point, they stopped harassing us and finally let us be. They probably thought that we'd break up soon enough but to their surprise, we never did and come our final year in university, I proposed to her.

That was the last straw for the Kamiya family though. On the day of the wedding, her parents gave her an ultimatum, if she proceeded with the wedding, she will be disowned. On that day, we became husband and wife.

Everyday after that was filled with bliss. We'd go on dates and go on outings with my side of the family... but every once in a while, Reina would slip up. I would notice a feeling of uncertainty looming over her. This went on for a while until one day, it just stopped and why wouldn't it when we'd just received the best news. Reina was pregnant! We were going to be parents! We were going to be a proper family!

Unfortunately, the good times were cut short. It was a stillbirth. We were devastated, especially Reina. We have been wanting this for a very long time and just like that, we were robbed of our happiness.

The days following that tragedy felt extremely heavy. We were both depressed, more so Reina, who is barely functioning. I had to be there for her! I asked my siblings for help and they did but sadly, she barely responded to them so despite the chance that they'd separate us again, I went to look for help from her family.

The reception from all that happened was not well received. They blamed me for everything that had happened. It wasn't anything new at this point. Ever since I started going out with Reina all those years ago, they started treating me like I was a nuisance. A pest that needed to be eradicated. I expected this to happen but then the topic shifted to Reina and about how she was a disappointment. How they were embarassed to have a daughter like her.

It pissed me off. So much so that in my fit of rage, I ended up lunging at them. In the end, no help was given nor received. I had thought that the comfort of her parents could spark something inside her but they've already given up on her. It's up to me to save her.

We tried a lot of things, ranging from therapy to simple walks in nature. It took a bit of time but her condition got better until one day, after getting home from work, I was greeted by her dead body hanging next to our bed. She had killed herself.

I immediately cut off the rope to release her and tried to resuscitate her but she was already gone. I called for an ambulance and just held her tight as I wept and wept. "Why?! Why did she take her own life?! I thought things were getting better!" I screamed to nobody. I was all alone now. I didn't even get to say goodbye.

"Maybe.. she left a letter" I thought. I surveyed the room and there I find her diary that she kept since forever though this one was fairly new, only being bought before our wedding. A gift that I would regularly give her and she would enjoy.

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I opened the book at a random page and started reading. It was the time when we went out to see a movie after we got married. I tried to force a smile but I just couldn’t. I started flipping through the pages faster until I got to a recent entry. It was when we celebrated our honeymoon. The entry starts off jolly, reminiscing about our time together, from when we were young all the way to adulthood. Then it got gloomy. She started talking about the wedding and her parents confronting us. About how she felt conflicted since despite how they’ve acted all over the years, they’re still her family and she still wants them in her life. I skimmed over more entries until I saw the entry about the pregnancy announcement. She expressed how ecstatic she was and how it signified a new start for her; how it will fill the void of leaving her family.

The entries in the diary after that were few and far between. I managed to get to the last entry and it was written only a couple of days ago. It was her suicide note. She expressed her hopelessness and how she's lost her will to live. She also expressed and her love for me and how she wished things turned out differently.

How I didn't see the signs of this happening, I cannot say. I thought things were getting better and that she was starting to move on. Hell! She was requesting food just yesterday! But I guess I was blinded with what I wanted to happen and not see the reality before me.

After all that, I went into depression and was saved but I guess it was all for nothing. I'm dead now. I think. I mean, it's really dark and I'm pretty sure the hospital, no matter how late it is, would at least have the lights turned on. I tried to look around but I couldn't move. Surprisingly, I feel extremely light while also feeling nothing.

It felt like hours have passed when a small but bright light started shining in front of me. The bright light then started to get closer and closer to me until it engulfed me in it's warm embrace. I then heard voices speaking though it was an unfamiliar language. Could this be my life flashing before my eyes?

All of a sudden, the lightness of my body turned heavy and somewhat stiff. The voices, while still unfamiliar, is now speaking near me. The tone of their voices suggests distress until a commanding voice spoke and everything went quiet. I opened my eyes and I see an unfamilliar man. He easily lifted me with one arm only, to my surprise. What the hell is going on, I thought. The man then ever so gently laid me in the arms of a woman. She was deathly pale and exhausted as she breathed heavily but under the burdened face is a gentle smile as if everything was over and she had succeeded. The man stood by our side, carrying something in his arms. As he leaned slightly forward, I saw that it was a baby. Suddenly, everything started to come together. This isn’t a memory of the past but this is, in fact, the present. I was no longer a man in his late 20s but an infant as well. I have been reincarnated.

The man and woman talked between themselves. I couldn’t understand their language though. As I surveyed the room we were in, I noticed plenty of people standing around. A handful were women who are wearing some kind of uniform and the rest seem to be wearing extravagant clothing. My attention was brought back the the couple. The man started speaking towards everybody in the room as if to announce something.

I listened closely to no avail but he did say something that piqued my interest. “Luciana” he said, as he tried to lift the baby higher as if to say that that is the baby’s name. The people in fancy clothing cheered which led to the baby crying. “Ah!”, I exclaimed. The sight before me made me remember when Rin was still a baby and my brother asked me to look after her. Rin… I hope she’s okay. “That’s right!”, I thought. I have to find them. I had protected her from harm but my promise is still unfulfilled. I want to be there for them.

For now, I have to figure things out about this new life of mine. This language they speak amongst other things, is the main obstacle. Once I’ve learned it, maybe I can start asking questions about where I am. As I ponder about a plan, my attention is diverted by the man as he took me from the embrace of the woman. He once again started speaking to everybody in the room. As usual, I didn’t understand anything but one thing. “Lucien” he said. I guess that is the name I’m going with for a while.

As my name was announced to the people, they all went down on one knee as if to greet royalty. “Luciana Scheherazade! Lucien Scheherazade!”

I do not know what challenges this new life has in store for me; nevertheless, I am grateful for another chance at life.