‘Alone, always alone, that was the world I lived in. At school, at work, I’ve had friends and colleagues but no one who I would call a true friend. They had families, siblings, parents, and me? I had no one. That is why I always strived to be excellent, to prove to myself that I was not useless and to, one day, be able to stand tall and give my future family a safe home.’

As Henry was lying in his crib pretending to still be asleep his mind was in a turmoil. Last night he fell asleep and was put inside a comfortable bed. When he woke up he was, for the first time in a long time, well rested. His senses were still dull, eyes were still not quite good and his ears were still like a broken radio. From time to time he could pick up clean sounds, but even they were too far in between. For a moment his mind was terrified that this was an after effect of his injury.

‘Who would have thought that a single swing of a piece of iron could cause all that. Too late for complaints, we must play with the hand we were given. I must be thankful for the fact that my brain is still intact.’

As he was trying to calm himself down he could feel a current running throughout his body. His first instinct was that it was adrenaline, but that idea soon left him, the current running through him was not a fight or flight sensation, but rather a brook that was calmly going along its path. He felt it, it was meandering through his body, it was a part of him, moving from his head to every part of his body.

Henry concentrated on this brook. He felt it oddly familiar. As a part of him that was new, and yet, at the same time, a piece that was missing his whole life.

‘Is it some kind of medicine to ease my pain? It sure is soothing my heart. Someone is coming over, I can sense vibrations and some sounds are leaking into this room.’

Just as he was about to return to his planning about the future and the rebah he would hopefully get to go to, a strong pair of hands took him up. He was shocked, he thought that the sense of being carried yesterday was just his mind playing tricks, but now again? What caused him to flinch was the familiarity and the warmth he felt from that person. As if he knew this person his whole life.

‘My instincts are telling me it is safe here, but why, I don’t have any friends or family I trust. Yet this person feels so warm and kind, I just want to wrap myself into these arms.’

As he was enjoying this new feeling he heard a gentle voice call out to him. His sense of hearing was still not top notch but this time he did his best to focus on catching the message.

“Henry, did you sleep pro***ly? Time ** see your m****. S** has been waiting, and so have I.” (man)

‘What is he talking about? Where is he taking me? Is it a check up maybe, but it doesn’t make any sense, how can I be lifted, and what is with my limbs, they are so weak…’ (Henry)

As Henry was thinking about what was happening the scenery before his eyes, or better to say the shapes and colors were swiftly changing. After a few moments, which seemed like an eternity he sensed a new, even stronger scent. This one felt stronger than the one that was carrying him. It was the one from last night. Henry for whatever reason felt a desperate need to come closer, he was flailing his arms and legs toward that scent.

“Haha, h***y, our boy knows you al*****. I am jealous.” (man)

“Well of cou*** he would, we have be** together for **** mont**. (woman)

‘What are they talking about? It’s as if they were talking about months? Was I out for months?’ (Henry)

A sense of despair overtook Henry, now more than ever he wanted two things. First to get to that scent, and second to get a better understanding of what is going on here. Still not much could be done at this point. He was basically a sack of potatoes being carried around from point A to point B.

“Come to mommy. Henry, our little miracle.” (woman)

‘Mommy? Must be that my desire to hear properly once more is making my mind play tricks on me.’ (Henry)

Yet, one thing was undeniable. The way Henry felt being embraced by that woman was a feeling like no other, a sense of pure happiness. Soon he felt his stomach growling, and as a grown man he felt embarrassed about that fact. Still not much could be done, he could not speak to apologize for ruining the moment. All he could do was attempt to smile, to lift the awkward atmosphere he imagined was now covering the room.

“Ho ho, good this s*** of mine h*s a good ap*****.” (man)

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“Quickly A***, help me f*** him.” (woman)

“Yes, my lady.” (A***)

Soon Henry felt a new sensation, his stomach was full and he felt as if he was coming home from a double shift at work. All he wanted to do was fall asleep, and so he did. As his eyelids were closing he tightly grabbed the cloth that had the scent of that person.

***

After a few hours Henry woke up slowly. He did his best to lift his eyelids which, to him, weighed a ton. His hands were still grabbing onto the cloth, he felt rhythmical breathing coming from behind that piece of fabric. He focused his eyes onto his hands but still not good enough, colors were showing but they were still without a proper form. Still he wanted to try, do his best to at least see who was the source of his comfort in these dark moments.

‘I must remember this person, I must thank them properly when this is over.’ (Henry)

Unfortunately his eyes did not have the power to give him what he wanted, and soon he found a way to spend the time. The brook which he felt this morning was not there. Henry focused really hard and looked in the places where he felt it before. After a few minutes he felt it. It was meandering through him, just like before. He felt relieved, but also regretful, it was small, if only it was bigger he could find it much easier.

‘Well, let's not be ungrateful. If the rest of my body is still useless, at least my nose and this peaceful brook can give me some comfort.’ (Henry)

So Henry focused on the brook and slowly drifted off into slumber once more.

***

Over the next two weeks not much happened. His routine was set in stone, sleep, eat, play with the little brook and sleep some more. He tried his best to lift his head and get better control over his arms. Then, on the 17th day after his arrival, he woke up as the first beams of light pierced through into his room. His eyes and ears were finally getting better. He could now see the content of his room with much greater clarity.

‘Oh this looks like a pretty nice room. It must cost a fortune to stay here, I wonder how I will be able to pay for this.”

Then his ears picked up a sound coming from beyond the door, it must be time to eat. The same voice as yesterday and the day before greeted Henry. It was a kind voice that made him feel safe. Again he was picked up and he felt the same spiky beard touch his face. The feeling was not pleasant at all, but he could not do much. Soon it was time to change rooms. As they were going down a hallway Henry caught a glimpse of two people in the mirror. It was a man carrying a baby.

‘Hmm, why is a baby here? Weird, but who knows what type of hospital this is.’

But his eyes were now much better than these past two weeks. So it was not long before he remembered to focus on his hands and on the face of the person carrying him. His hands were tiny, at least compared to the person carrying him. And the man's face, although still kinda not sharp enough, was before Henry. That face looked beautiful, even as a man Henry understood that the guy before him was a winner in the looks department. Then his stomach rumbled and the man quickly brought him over to the woman lying in bed.

***

“Li**le Henry is here, t*** to fe** him.” (man)

“B**ng *im over here d**r. Was he a**ke when **u got h**?” (woman)

“Yeah, a* al***s he w****d for d**dy to s**w up.” (man)

Henry was too hungry to focus on the sounds the two were producing anymore, and could only think about the food which awaited for him. Soon his hunger was gone, now he needed to get a better understanding of the room he was in, but to no avail. A heavy slumber hit him the next moment and the most he could do was blink a few times in a desperate attempt to stay awake.

***

A month has passed since that day, and again as the morning rays burst through the window Henry woke up. His routine was still not changing. But today he felt much stronger. The efforts he put into making his arms and legs get into shape were showing. Now he was able to lift his head, and even move his hands as he wished, albeit only for a short time. Most importantly his eyes started working much better. He did not have a 3d view of his surroundings but he could make out shapes much better, at least the ones very close to him.

‘This is good, my efforts are paying off. That means there is still hope for me. But these hands, there is no denying it, they are small and chubby. Not a set of adult hands, more like a pair of baby hands. Bah, I sure hope I never see that trash who put me in this state.’ (Henry)

As days kept on passing his eyesight got sharper and sharper, it was still 2d but it was good enough to shake Henry’s world.

‘There is no denying it now, I am either crazy or I am in the body of a baby. Ok, ok, calm down, let's do a few tests, no matter how messed up my brain is, there is no way it is that broken. Now, first let’s get these hands working.’

Henry used his hands to clumsily feel his face, then he swung his body and got his leg in front of his eyes.

‘Well if I had no other proof, this would still be enough. No matter how much I tried my body could never get this flexible, at least not without a lot of cracking and pain. These bones of mine are now like rubber.’

The more he thought about the situation he was in, the more he was sure of one thing. He was now a baby. He was shocked at first, but his brain calmed down thanks to his “happy place” that would provide him comfort whenever he was desperate. The little brook was not a little bit bigger and easier to find.

‘Now let’s see what to do from here on out.’ (Henry)