I hear something…what is it?
Like a voice which whispers to my very soul…
She tells me that I should listen…and not forget…
This is important…
But why is it so hard to remember…?
[Regrettably, it seems this pleasant dream is over for you...Truthseeker.
Do you truly want to leave behind all you have known?
Beyond the Illusion there is everything you seek.
But nothing that you know.
Will you still go with me?]
#
Light flashing-
Blurry figures-
Infinite futures-
It all comes tumbling by.
The events of that fateful night are lost to me for some time. When next I open my eyes, I have not the same mental abilities as before. I am no longer so devious, so smart, nor so capable of scheming. My brain is oddly…slow. Instead of taking the hundred myriad shortcuts of an adult, I no longer judge things based on my past experiences. It seems everything is…new again.
I am new again.
The unexpected emotion welling up in my breast startles me. So does the loud wailing which comes after. It seems to come from everywhere and yet I cannot move to discern the source. A terrifying thought comes to me. Something’s wrong.
“Waaah!”
Is that…me?
Everything is so incredibly bright and sparkly. It seems that in my depression, the world I knew had become darker than it really was. This place though is different. Bright, full of colors, sights, and smells. All the things which hold me back drift away and I realize something. I…I’m a baby. How it happened, I have no clue. But I can see it in my short stubby hands, and the soft cheerful blankets somebody’s swaddling me in to protect against the cold.
Am I dreaming?
No matter how I cry or beat my fists, I don’t wake up. The longer I stay in this form, the more my new brain seems to erase the past. Already, I feel like I’ve forgotten much of my previous life. Maybe a newborn baby’s brain is incapable of handling so much information. I don’t know. It’s so hard to think. But I swear I used to be…more. It’s like some part of me is being locked away…for later.
Slowly, blurry shapes come into focus. A pretty woman in a sweat-soaked robe reaches out for my small body. She’s only slightly older than I was in my previous life. The nurse holding me places me gently into my mother’s arms. As someone who scorned his parents in his past life, right before they disappeared forever, I don’t hate this moment. As a matter of fact, warmth spreads through me. It tickles my heart and spreads deep. An instant feeling of connection…I can’t understand it. Maybe it’s just the nature of a newborn baby to love their parents…no matter how things may turn out later.
The absolute warmth of being embraced in the safest place in the world, a mother’s bosom, lasts only moments before a thunderous noise deafens my eardrums. What this noise is, my current knowledge can’t determine. But, instantly, the voice of my mother and the nurse become loud. Frantic. They look at each other, and tucked beneath my mother’s breasts, I can just barely make out their horrified expressions.
“Mistress Lian! You must go!” The nurse cries. Yet lying in bed, my mother simply rocks me gently while humming. Unfortunately, the first song I hear in this world is rudely interrupted by more loud explosions.
*Bang Bang Bang*
“S-Sorry…I just wanted a little bit longer.” The woman who birthed me is careful to keep her voice soft though the situation is urgent. “Let me speak to him…just this once…”
The nurse nervously stares at the wooden door in the corner. “Hurry!”
“Waaaa!” I cry.
My mother whispers into my ear, carefully picking her words, “Hi…I’m sorry we have to meet like this. I think you probably won’t remember this, but I just wanted to say it. I love you! If I had the power to raise you myself, I would. I’d do anything. Anything…anything at all…” Her loving brown eyes twinkle as she stares deep into my face. Dread rises in me. Though my thoughts feel disordered and young, I know something bad is happening.
“You cannot delay any longer, Mistress!” The nurse is tugging at my mother’s hands, trying to pry them off me. But she is tenaciously strong. Unwilling to let go of her flesh and blood, no matter the danger.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Listen to me.” My mother takes a deep breath. “You must obey Mephis! Be a good boy and listen to what he says…he’ll take care of you no matter what!” My mother takes a deep breath. “Also, your first name…since your father isn’t here, I had to choose it on my own. I hope you like it-!”
*BANG*
Something smashes against the door.
The nurse shrieks, “Mistress Lian!”
“Dammit, go!” My mother throws me into the nurse’s waiting hands. “Take him to Mephis before it’s too late!” My vision tumbles as the nurse takes me and climbs down something. A trapdoor? Crying uncontrollably, I want to return to my mother…but then…
Up above, the shuddering bedroom door blasts open. Hanging off the bed, my mother’s hair ripples as she stares down at us. Face full of lonely pain, she sees me watching and waves. Desperately, I try to wave back, but babies can’t move like that so soon after birth. My muscles refuse to obey, and yet my mother’s face flickers like she saw something strange. A glorious grin covers her face as tears spill from her eyes and she clenches her hand into a fish. Turning away, she faces the open door and chants. Blue letters form in the air in an unknown language. I squint, wondering what they are. But then she waves her hand and darkness covers us as the trapdoor slams shut. How did she do that?
Wait, go back! I try to say, but the nurse doesn’t stop. Shifting me into a basket onto her back, she clambers down a ladder deeper into the depths of the trap door.
*Boom Boom*
At the bottom of the ladder, terrible explosions ring out from up above. Panting, the nurse mutters to herself, as she tries to get us away. Water splashes as we enter some dark place. Some form of light flickers to life in her hands, but tucked on her back, I can’t see what. Her head’s blocking my view. She dashes down eerie stone walls, some sort of tunnel. Each step jars my tiny body. Slowly, the explosions fade away. Every now and then, the nurse stops for just a second, listening. In the darkness, her echoing footsteps make it seem like someone is following us. Small shudders spread through the nurse’s body and she reaches back and grabs my basket. Pulling me over her head, she brings me to her chest and begins to rock me gently
“Shh…shh..it’s okay,” she says. “Huh? You’re not crying?” Cocking her head, she returns me to her back and keeps running. “Well, if the young master can bear this, I can too!”
*Splash*
*Splash*
*Splish*
“Huh?” Suddenly, the nurse stops, but something continues to splash behind us. “Not good!” She begins sprinting. The hard steps shake my head and she yells, “Please bear it, Young Master! I’m sorry!” As she runs, the flickering light in her hands dances, casting ghastly shadows on the walls which seem to stretch out and chase us during our escape. No matter how fast the nurse runs, the splashes behind us seem to grow closer. Soon, they’ll catch up. My heart beats frantically as the breathing of the nurse becomes ragged. She’s slowing down…
*Taka*
Something wet lands on my face as we stumble. The nurse shifts to keep my basket from landing in the water. Crying out as her hands hit the ground and the light goes out, she gets back up and hobbles forward. Everything’s dark, but she feels the wall to keep her bearings-
*Splash*
*Splash*
*Splash*
*Splash*
The sounds of our pursuer get closer and closer. Any moment now, they’ll catch up. But then, light appears on the ceiling, and new splashing footsteps appear in front of us.
“Mephis!” The nurse calls out.
“Get down!” Somebody growls, full of urgency-
*Phwish*
The world tips as the nurse throw us down into the water again. Something shoots by and my cheek stings. I hold my cries even though its hurts.
*Whoosh*
My inexperienced eyes widen as someone jumps over us. I see a man…his feet dancing in the air as he raises a sword in his right hand and a lantern in his left. There’s a clash, and then a scream. Something heavy falls with a great splash. Then the man returns. Blood drips off his sword like black ink as his lantern sways. He helps the nurse up while staring down at me on her back. Once she’s standing, the nurse takes me off her back and hands me over-
“Mephis…thank the gods. You came. You really…” Breaking into tears, she sobs, “Take him! I lost my light. Do you have an extra?”
“Here.” The man named Mephis cradles my basket in one arm while handing his lantern to her. “I’ll head out from here. As for you…I assume Lian left you a way out?”
“Yes, but they already reached her! I…I don’t know if she had time to open a Gate!” My nurse takes the lantern. As the light passes over me, she gasps. “Oh my! He’s bleeding! What happened? Did that arrow…”
Over my head, the one called Mephis checks the cut on my cheek. He has a rough face, with very strong features, no scars of any form. Short tawny hair dangling under a pointed wizard’s hat, he examines me closely. “It’s just a flesh wound. Won’t even scar.” He declares. And then, “Alright, we’re running out of time. I’ll take him now…errr…it is a boy, right?”
“Mhm!” The nurse sighs, “I should go too…it’s just…I’m a little afraid of the dark.”
“They’ll pursue us first, so you’ll have time to escape.” Suddenly new splashes come from the darkness and Mephis yells, “You’ve served your master well! Don’t think…just run!” As the nurse starts running off, he suddenly grabs her. “Wait, one more thing! What’s his name!”
She responds, shying into the darkness, “Mistress Lian didn’t have time to say it!”
“Okay, go, GO!”
Just like that, I’m passed off to another person. As the light of the lantern disappears with the nurse, Mephis looks at me. His eyes gleam in the darkness, containing a light of their own. The irises are red…no crimson, like two giant moons. Fear fills me, something which I knew little of in the past. My infant thoughts are instinctually wary. Is this…a demon? Then his bloody eyes blink and he turns to the side. Yanking open some sort of door, he chuckles as bright white light pours inside and I wail.
“Waahh!”
“Hehe…so you can cry after all.” He says as he slings me onto his back. Covering my face with the blanket, Mephis begins to run. “You…ugh, I don’t know what to call you, but hold on tight!”