Nate - or Nathaniel according to his birth name - was an old man. He had celebrated his hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary not so long ago. He had watched his children die, their children and some younger generation members. He was old enough to have great-great-great-grandchildren. His end was nearing, and all of his family knew it. It wasn't a surprising thing. For him, finally having a confirmation that he would be leaving was almost a relief. He had watched too many people die, too many close to him. Most of his descendants were estranged from him, a seldom few still coming to see him. His friends were all gone. To have a nurse tell him the last parts of his body keeping him alive were breaking down and that he probably won't see the next sunrise was good news to Nate.
Lying in a bed in his home, some of his family members were around, as the nurse that cared for him daily had announced his nearing death. Despite how little they came to see him during their life, many of those living near his home had come to see him away.
Nathaniel could hear one of his youngest great-great grand-daughter retelling him of their time together. She was already past her twentieth birthday. He couldn't remember her exact name, only that it started with a "C". It had bothered her at a time when she couldn't understand why he couldn't remember something as simple as a name. Nowadays, she took it in stride, going from Caitlyn to Celeste or Chloe or Claire. Despite her distant ancestry from him, she was the closest to him. It had been the case since she could visit and talk to him. And even more so when she started having some independence.
Now that she knew Nathaniel was about to leave -definitely- in a few hours at most, she had decided to stay with him till the end, reminiscing the days when she was still a child and when he could still take a stroll. Of stories, he had shared with her about his very long life.
From his time in the army, during both World Wars, to the time he had decided to retire and see the world, taking just a backpack with him. He was past fifty years old at that time and had left his home in Plymouth, England, to cross The Channel and then explore most of Europe. His trip then took him to Asia, then Australia before coming back by traversing Africa from The Cap to its eastern then northern coast. It took him almost ten years as he often stayed for a while to get to know each culture and learn what he could from the natives.
She also told him of what happened in her life, her studies to become a journalist and travel across the world to let people know what's happening beyond their homeland. She shared with him snippets of her childhood. As well as, for the hundredth time, at least, of the time when she went spelunking with some friends and found an odd and flat stone with a strange symbol seemingly carved into it. A small rock that, to this day, was still hanging as a pendant on Nathaniel's neck. The girl's hand reached it as she spoke of it. She laughed about how it reminded her of the deathly Hallows symbol from the famous series of books Harry Potter. And of the fact that he will not die but become the master of death.
The girl's father berated her for speaking lightly of her many-time great-grandfather's approaching death, not noticing Nathaniel's smile as the young woman talked to him. Unfortunately, Nate was too exhausted to speak out and approve of her silly thoughts.
Slowly, he noticed how the sound of those around him became unclear with every passing second. The only voices he could still hear were that of his three-time great-granddaughter and her father. Yet, even those were fainter than before. The light was fading before his eyes, and his mind started to get hazy until all that was left was the echo of his thoughts. No sound, no light, nothing that could tell Nathaniel what might be happening around him. He knew at this moment that he was dead.
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Nathaniel, despite his name, wasn't a believer in any gods. He never expected to experience something beyond his death. Death for him was something definite, and if there was anything like paradise or hell or any trial of the soul to evaluate his sins, karma, or whatever the case may be, then it wasn't death per se. He had lived a long life, and despite having a few regrets, he was at peace with himself when he died. As such, to wander into emptiness like he was, with nothing but his thoughts and no notion of the passing time, was disturbing. He couldn't even feel or see his body anymore. It was even frustrating. If he was supposed to get the opportunity to go somewhere after his death, he might as well get to see something tangible instead of... well... of nothingness.
As there wasn't the notion of time passing, Nathaniel didn't know how much time went before he noticed any changes to his surrounding. He was lost in his thought, wandering in the memories of his life. At first, he could only remember as much as before his death, which was already quite a lot considering his long and healthy life. Then, as he kept reviewing time and time again his memories, he became able to remember more details of every moment. At first, it was only the memory of his meals up to the last month or the list of clothes his past visitors wore when they came by. It wasn't essential per se, but the amount of information Nathaniel could remember kept improving, from the quality of each memory or the time since it happened.
He remembered the day when his body stopped supporting his weight, forcing him to stay the whole time in bed. 19 February, the day that ended the unending argument he had had with most of his descendants about his ability to take care of himself. Before that event, Nathaniel was still a healthy man. Albeit past a century old. Only after his body started failing him did the rest of his being followed. First, his limbs became unable to hold any weight, be it his body or most items, and then some of his organs failed to perform as they should. Finally, his cognitive abilities were degrading with each passing day. That was around ten years ago. At some point during that period, he started having trouble writing and talking and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. However, his memory hadn't many problems, considering his advanced age. There was even a time when he could communicate by hand signs.
Nathaniel's memories kept flashing in his mind. He couldn't say if what he was visualizing was in his head or was somehow being projected in front of him. As he hadn't a body, nor could he feel his existence in any shape or form, it was hard to say if the things he saw were his imagination or real. It could be the preamble to his trial. At least, that was one of Nathaniel's guesses as he kept reviewing his memories.
As a fan of Wuxia novels and their associated mythology, he wasn't thrilled by the prospect. Being judged by some deity who would decide where to go depending on his sins wasn't particularly enticing. He knew he wasn't a paragon of virtue, and if such a trial had to be made, Nathaniel was sure he wouldn't enjoy his afterlife. It wasn't the worst of what could have happened since he didn't have to weigh his heart or soul against a feather. Nor did he have to resign himself to a pre-written destiny from the book of Death. Still, not knowing why he had to go through such an experience was quite worrying.
Eventually, after Nathaniel got to review his life once, then twice, then many more times with more details at every cycle, he started doubting the purpose of the process. At least he could remember every detail of his life. Up to the oldest, like the few days he spent at the hospital when he was born. Or the most insignificant ones, like the socks he wore for his first school day or the name of every chapter of every book he ever read.
It was a peculiar and fantastic feeling to recall his whole life perfectly. After the n-ieme iteration of viewing his life's every moment, Nathaniel finally got to experience something different. The emptiness that until now surrounded him had started to change. Warmth began to spread around Nathaniel's being, as well as a feeling of wetness, making him quite confused. He couldn't yet get any sense of his body nor discern anything noticeable since all he could see was emptiness. Or rather, he couldn't see anything, as if he hadn't any sense of sight. Moving wasn't producing any results either, giving Nathaniel the sensation of being trapped in his body or wherever his consciousness might be. Luckily, he wasn't claustrophobic, and the warmth was somehow comforting. Deep down, he knew he was relatively safe. He was also almost sure that the situation was familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint how exactly.
Time went like that, with Nathaniel still unable to count how many hours or days he had spent in this state. Still, some changes began to occur after a while. For one, his body started answering his thoughts, even if it were only some minute movement, closer to a spasm and unable to bring him anywhere. Not that he could have anyway: the experience allowed him to notice he seemed to be in some liquid, with something linked to his body that prevented him from moving around too much. That, on the other hand, made him freak out!
Was he safe after all ?! Was he being detained somewhere? Being experimented upon with some tube-like device inserted inside of him? The thought alone made him shiver. The second novel thing that happened was his hearing bringing him faint sounds of voices or other random alien-like noises, none making any sense whatsoever, which prevented Nathaniel from knowing what was being said. However, it escalated his worries about being detained in an experimental laboratory. Has his body been taken after his family thought him dead? He couldn't imagine what value those insane scientists could see in the near-dead body of a century-old man. Sure, he had lived longer than most others, but he very much doubted his body held some secret about longevity or immortality...
It took Nathaniel a while to think about another possibility concerning his situation. And even longer to consider it a reality. Yet, with more time passing and the signs of progress concerning his body, he had no choice but to believe it.
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Somehow, by an inexplicable twist of fate, he had reincarnated and was currently aware of himself despite still being in his mother's womb. This didn't make much sense since a baby is said to be in a deep sleep during the pregnancy, thanks to many different substances in the placenta or the nutrients provided to the fetus. Being a reincarnated soul indeed went beyond the realm of his understanding.
The lack of sight made sense, knowing his situation and the fact that he felt the experience familiar since he had spent an untold amount of time going through the memories of his life, his birth and pre-birth included. The indistinct sounds outside or the weird thing linked to him were nothing scary like an apparatus from some evil being or alien experimentation but simply his umbilical cord. Nathaniel couldn't help but suddenly laugh inwardly at his situation, thinking about his great-granddaughter saying he would master death. It wasn't that far off.
Nathaniel anticipated his birth as much as he dreaded it for some reason. The thought of going through this period with all the drawbacks that being a baby may entail was somehow frightening. He was, however, anticipating what he would be able to do as a child growing up in this new era full of technological advancements.
If only he knew... that he wouldn't even be born in the same world, maybe he wouldn't be looking forward to this new life as much as he was.