I remember that moment vividly.

The moment of my own death.

I was walking back home from work, completely exhausted. It was late at night as well, so I really, really wanted to rest. I also remember being in quite a bad mood, although that was mainly because of my boss at work. Not because he was being an asshole or something. If anything, I was being the asshole in the interaction and got into a bit of an argument with my boss at work.

Anyway - during my way back home, I had to pass through a street that had a bank on it. The bank was the central for this area - even I used it.

Now, why is this important?

Well, because just as I was passing by it, the bank just so happened to be getting robbed right at that moment. I remember hearing an alarm go off with the sound of windows breaking. When I looked at the source, I saw around 5 men jumping out the window of the bank, carrying what looked to be bags of money.

I'll be honest - I had absolutely no business in what was happening before my eyes.

After all, dealing with criminals was the job of the police, not a worker at a huge company that focused on producing documents and handling peoples insurance. So, I wanted to ignore the commotion and just use another path to get home.

Unfortunately for me, things are never that simple.

The police arrived almost immediately and before I knew what was happening - a shootout between the criminals and the police had broken out. I was trying to walk past the whole thing on the other side of the street, however one of the criminals just so happened to suck at aiming and fired a bullet towards me.

And of course, the bullet hit me.

I remember falling to the ground, as blood began to flow out of the bullet wound. I couldn't exactly tell where it had hit at the time, but looking back on it - I believe it had managed to pierce my heart. Shocked that I didn't die instantly.

It was rather painful. After rolling onto my back, I just laid there on the street, as blood slowly flooded out, soaking the sidewalk I was on. I was breathing heavily, my vision not being able to focus on the fading world around me. In that moment, I remember recalling all I could about my life.

One could say my life was rather sad and I'd even say, very miserable. But that was mainly because of my own decisions and how I went about living my life. I was to blame for feeling lonely and miserable at times as I shut out everyone else and forced myself to work obscene hours, even when everyone around me told me that I should focus on myself more and go out with people more.

I'm honestly surprised I didn't die earlier, with the way I was living my life.

I was expecting to work myself to death, not die because of bad luck.

But oh well, what can you do?

No really, what could I do?

Sure, I could have just turned around and walked the other way, but I was very tired and wanted to get home as fast as possible.

While thinking, I sort of laughed to myself at the presence of a single thought. My family... My few friends that knew me... My co-workers and everyone I ever got acquainted with... I will never see them all again. All of them - I will never get to meet them again.

...I don't know why, but even with this fact being as depressing as it gets, I couldn't bring myself to cry or even shed a tear. I couldn't bring myself to be sad about it.

After rethinking how all my relatives and acquaintances would feel once they found out about my death, I thought of the next thing - another chance. I didn't deserve one - to be clear, but if I could have just one more go at life to see what could have happened if I made better decisions... It would be nice.

However, right after thinking about it, I exhaled and shook my head weakly, smiling lightly.

'Maybe not. I'll just settle with my death.' I thought before closing my eyes with a wide smile plastered over my face. As nice as the idea of a second shot at life sounded, I would prefer to just rest now for the rest of eternity. I wasn't all that special - if anything, I was the most ordinary and average person out there. I wasn't owed anything.

A second chance at life should be given to someone who deserves it - not me, someone who dug himself into a grave with his terrible decisions.

Then, for a few last moments, right before my life ended, I heard a voice speak. Now what it said - I've got no clue, as I had already tuned it out. It was very faint and it sounded a bit echoey - but I do remember seeing the silhouette of a person over my body, so I guess the voice was panicking over me dying.

Whatever it was that it said though, it probably wasn't all that important.

And so, I died. After 28 Years, I had met my end in quite a boring way. I was hoping for a cooler death to be honest - not one where I got caught in the crossfire between some criminals and the police force.

.....

...And then..

Something strange happened.

I opened my eyes. It was dark all around me. I was rather confused at first on what was going on, but I tried to convince myself that this wasn't real. It was strange though - I couldn't feel my legs and arms... and it felt like I had a.. long body?

Alright, what's going on? Am I dreaming? Did I somehow miraculously survive or something?

I tried to move, however the space around me seemed quite small and... a bit slimy. Combine this with the fact that it was pitch black and you get one confusing situation.

'Where the hell am I?'

I thought before attempting to move upwards, only to hit my head against something.

'Ouch! That hurt..'

I thought. I tried to reach out and touch whatever was around me, only to realise the reason for not feeling my arms and legs... It's because I didn't even have those. If I was dreaming and somehow did survive, then perhaps I got my arms amputated.

But then... that would mean my legs were also.... No, maybe not after all.

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I attempted to break through the thing around me. It felt hard... smooth - almost like the interior of an egg or something. However, at the same time, it didn't seem to be very durable, since after a couple of rather painful headbutts, the 'wall' I was hitting cracked.

I smirked to myself widely, before finally breaking a hole in the wall. Looking out through the hole, I saw what looked to me like a nest made out of dead grass.

'Now this is definitely the strangest thing..'

I thought before exiting through the hole, into the supposed nest. Once outside, I observed my surroundings.

I seemed to be inside of a nest, that was located somewhere in the middle of.. a forest? Jungle? It was kind of hard to tell which of the two it was. I then looked back at the object I had just exited, only to see that I was indeed inside an egg.

'Well that explains the slimy liquid inside..'

I thought before noticing what seemed to be my lower body.

Green, scaley, long, slender... wait.. Was I reincarnated? Seriously?... I asked to not be reborn, come on - do my dying wishes not matter!?

I exhaled a bit heavily before looking around for anything I could potentially use as a makeshift mirror. There wasn't really anything around that could serve such a purpose... or at least - I thought so, before something shiny in the nest caught my eye.

Slithering over, it felt strange to move. I had no legs, yet I could move forward. How? It felt so weird to move... After reaching the shiny object, I looked at what it was. A shard of.. glass? I think? Could have also been a shard or a piece of metal that somehow got into this nest.

Well whatever, it could serve as a quick makeshift mirror.

Using the tail I now had, I moved the shard up, before turning it to an angle in which I could clearly see myself. Now then - I was reincarnated as a... Snake..?

I was lost for words for a few moments, before exhaling and then chuckling.

'Yeah that was rather expected...'

I thought before examining my reflection a bit closer. I really was a snake. I had a long, slender body, scaly skin that was coloured in a green tone and a pair of rather large, golden eyes. Interesting... I'm not exactly like any kind of snake that I knew off... I mean, what snakes have golden eyes? I don't know of any - maybe there was one.

I got a miraculous second shot at life - but I'm not even a human. I mean, I guess I kind of expected to not have it exactly easy if I somehow got a second chance at life, but come on, this is somewhat of a mockery, no?

...Actually, maybe I shouldn't complain too much... Not everyone gets a chance like this.

I shook my head lightly - I was wasting time. Sitting here and questioning everything happening around me all day wasn't going to help me or my current situation. Although I was a bit disappointed that I got reincarnated, I will not lie. Like I said, I did not deserve such a chance. I made mistakes and I live up to them - but I guess this world has other plans.

Looking around, I observed my surroundings a bit more. Although, there wasn't much else to see that hasn't been mentioned before - I was inside a nest, which was seemingly in the dead middle of a forest or jungle.. or whatever was this area. Maybe the Amazon rainforest?

'I guess I'll try and explore around..'

I thought, before slithering up to a 'wall' of the nest, but stopping right in front of it. I had just realised something.

'...How the hell am I supposed to get up on the nest's edge?'

I thought, before sighing in annoyance. With this new body of mine, 'climbing' up places was out of the picture... I guess. Although - can't snakes climb? I know I've seen images of them going up a tree trunk or something, but does that count as climbing?... Maybe, maybe not...

I could probably slither up on top of the nests 'wall'... but how? The ring around that acted as a wall, was more in a cylinder that was extended and then connected to form a ring. As I sighed again, I retracted into my body, before coiling my body up into a coil, mostly for comfort reasons.

I began to brainstorm ideas of things I could do.

How could I get on top of the nests 'walls'? Should I just slither right up to one and start slithering it up or something? Or maybe I could try using my body as a spring to propel myself up onto a wall and go from there?

....Maybe not - that doesn't sound realistic.

As I brainstormed ideas, I examined the materials from which the walls of the nest were built. It seemed to be mostly made from dead grass, sticks and some... mud? dirt? One of those. While it seemed like something you could probably brute force through, that would only be easy if you were a human.

But I'm a snake - I am nowhere near as physically strong as a human, especially since I'm supposed to be a 'newborn' snake.

I continued to brainstorm ideas for a small bit - although, eventually I sort of transitioned into thinking about what my life is going to be like now, after I've been reincarnated as a snake.

'Maybe I'll just live like a normal snake - Eat mice all day, sleep and slither all over the place until some random human comes by and steps on me and kills me again. Yeah - that plan doesn't sound so bad. Saves me a headache.'

I thought, before shaking my head.

'I shouldn't worry myself about things like that right now. I should focus on getting out of this damned nest.'

After this thought, I uncoiled myself, before slithering around the nest. Perhaps if I found a flatter side of the nest, I'd be able to climb on out of here. Or is it, slither on out of here?

After a bit of slithering in non-stop circles, I did find a slightly flatter side of the nests 'walls'. However, it wasn't as flat as I would have liked. It was like a very, very small slope.

'I'll take what I get.'

I thought before attempting to slither onto the small slope. It was more difficult than it honestly looked. Unlike a human body, with which you primarily used your legs and arms to climb places, with a body like a snake, I was forced to pretty much 'push' my whole upper half of the body to attempt slithering up it. It was so strange and yet, felt so natural to do at the same time.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, I finally managed to get onto the slope.

'I am going to need to get used to moving like this..'

I thought, before sighing and slithering all the way to the top of the nest 'wall'. After getting on top, I looked around. The area around was more clear now - it was obvious now that the area where the nest was located was in the middle of a dense forest. Maybe I was inside the Amazon Rainforest after all - if so, then cool! I always wished I could visit it.

'Well.. At least I know where I am, but..'

I looked back inside the nest. There wasn't much inside it - just my broken egg, other shell pieces scattered all around from what I guess were other snakes that hatched before me and the glass shard... That's it. To be honest, not much of a reason to even look back, let alone stay there.

I turned my head back to the dense forest, before exhaling.

'Well.. here I go I guess.'

I thought to myself, before slithering down the nest's outer 'wall' and reaching the grassy ground below. After my whole body reached the ground, I lifted my upper half up, looking around to try and decide where I should go.

There were... pretty much unlimited ways to go - it was a forest with no obvious paths, but then again, I doubt that a snake needs a path to navigate through a forest escape.

'I suppose this is a case of - do I want to go through the trees or stay on the ground.'

I thought before thinking about it for a moment.

I decided to go with the ground as I don't exactly feel like learning to fly as a snake just yet.. Doesn't sound fun. After the decision was made, I began to slither across the grassy ground, away from the nest I had awoken... or hatched inside of.

So to reiterate.. I lived a pretty mundane life for 28 years due to my own terrible decisions and mistakes, before dying one night after being caught in the crossfire of a shootout between the police and a couple of criminals and then I was reborn as a snake in what appears to be the amazon rainforest.

Now what will come next - I don't know. What will I do next? I also don't know. However I suppose there really is only one way to know any of this - it is to begin my life as a snake and start exploring. After all, what else can I realistically do?

I slowly slithered off into the forest, disappearing inside of the bushes with a small rustle.