1 Chapter One

"Where am I?", I asked as I found myself twirling in the vast ocean of darkness."Am I dead?", I thought.Maybe I have died. Who would remain alive after being hit by a truck? Yep, a truck hit me, and no, I wasn't saving someone. I was just crossing the road, and I remembered the signal saying stop to those vehicles. But a truck did crash into me.I looked at my hands, and I found that they were translucent blue. Kind of weird, but probably it was because I am a soul now.There was no point in crying now, right? I remembered my life. It was ordinary. But I was happy with what I had. I had an excellent family. My parents and an elder sister.I couldn't help but think of them, especially my sister. I knew the most affected person by my death would be my sister. She did love me a lot. My parents were... Let's just say, not much interested in my affairs. They did give me good enough pocket money, so I had no issues with them.Also, who am I?I remembered my name… It was Akhil. Well, unlike how bland the name sounds like, it had a good meaning. Akhil means something that is complete. But did my name suit me? I guess not.I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.And that was also when I realized that my body, which was disoriented and was moving in this ocean, had now stopped as if something had stopped my body from moving.I tried moving my "head," trying to see what held me.That's when my body still was suddenly thrown by my feet. It was as if something held me by my leg and threw me to the other side.I caught a glance of a leather whip that was large enough for a giant.I had no idea when I came to a dark place, but it somehow gave me warmth. This place was familiar, yet weird. And that was also when I realized it wasn't the place that was dark. My eyes were gone. I tried touching my eyes, and that was when I realized I had no hands and legs.I freaked out, but that was unnecessary because I heard a soothing voice, "I wonder whom you would look like? Me or your father."That's when I realized.I got reincarnated. Or reborn.I don't know what they call it. But right now, I have somehow become a baby, and that too, a developing baby. Call me foetus I guess.So, it would take me nine months to be born. That's too long. I really did hope there was some way that I could get out of this place.I even wondered how I could think, since I thought baby's brain wasn't formed this early, right?That's when I heard another voice. It said, "Child, you are indeed correct. You are really reborn. And you are a lucky one, aren't you? I can see your future. Although it has many ups and downs, but you are destined to do great things. "I got freaked again. I screamed like a baby, literally I was a baby anyway, "Ahhh.. Who? Who is it? I am not afraid of you. "Well, it was indeed awkward for me to even "speak" those words.It ain't like I could do anything.The voice laughed and said, "You are humorous too, I see. But now, I have to take my leave. You are born into a new world. But I think you won't remember any of this or your previous life, anyway. Well, whatever. I guess I will just take my leave. I hope we won't meet too soon. "Then, the voice was gone.Yep, totally gone.The next thing I remember was feeling drowsy. My eyelids were too heavy, I guess.I couldn't help but think again. Why am I even feeling that my eyelids are heavy? I haven't yet developed properly.Meanwhile,A woman laid on the bed, while carefully but lovingly caressing her stomach. Her eyes hold a gentle kindness, reflecting a nurturing spirit. Dressed in flowing garments in soft colors, she couldn't believe she was going to bear a child. It was something that should have been impossible, because these days there aren't many women or men who are fertile enough to bear a child. Maybe she was a lucky one.The woman smiled warmly while thinking about this. A hand fell on her shoulder. She raised her head to find it was her husband, Vishnu.Cloaked in flowing saffron robes that draped gracefully around his frame, he carried the simplicity of a seeker and the humility of one devoted to the divine. His figure, though not imposing in stature, emanated an aura of quiet strength and unwavering faith.His hair, neatly tied in a simple knot, reflected the disciplined life of a Brahmin, symbolizing the restraint of worldly desires. A tilak adorned his forehead, signifying devotion to the divine, and his eyes, pools of profound knowledge, sparkled with the light of inner wisdom.His hands, adorned with prayer beads, moved in silent gestures of devotion as he recited ancient verses, the cadence of his words carrying the weight of centuries of spiritual practice."How are you, dear Sumati?", Vishnu spoke softly. Vishnu was happy when he had heard that his wife was going to give birth to a child.Sumati smiled and said while looking at Vishnu's clothes, "Husband, you do know that you would be in a lot of trouble if people were to see you in that attire. ," Vishnu smiled to himself and said, "I do know. But you know, it is a bit of my instinct. Babuji (father) was quite strict, and I did like wearing those clothes. It connected me with my roots. "Sumati smiled and said, "I think it would be a boy. I saw a dream. And I saw him.." Vishnu was surprised when he heard this.He had never heard of this.But Vishnu was happy with him becoming a father. Vishnu sat down and began to tell some stories while looking at Sumati's slightly bulged pregnant stomach.He had thought of this a long time ago. If he were to become a father, he would share the stories of gods like what his father had done with him. He didn't want his son or daughter to forget their roots. Because the stronger the roots are of a person, the stronger he would fight against bad things.I got my bearings in this place. It took me a long time to feel what was happening around me. And now my organs have also developed. Maybe I will come out of this place soon.I was surrounded by sticky fluid. Probably the amniotic fluid. I could now move around a bit, but I was careful with my movements. Even though I could move, it didn't mean I should do that. I didn't want the woman who bore me to feel pain. It wouldn't be right for her.I did feel sleepy from time to time, and I would unconsciously sleep like I was a machine programmed to sleep at that exact moment.Days passed by, and probably months passed by.I noticed changes in these places too. I found the walls around me contracting, so out of instinct, I moved my body. And soon, a few days later, I found the space to be small, and the surrounding walls still contracted. So I did the only thing I thought was right.I pushed myself towards the opening, which was now visible to me. It was too bright, so I closed my eyes as I tried crawling out of the place. I could feel my breathing almost stop, so I redoubled my efforts to get out of this place.And finally, after lots of efforts by myself as well as the surrounding walls, I could get out.I was just adapting to the change in my surroundings, while remembering to breathe. That's when I felt a stinging pain in my butt.And I cried.Soon, I was flying near something white. As I got close, I realized it was sheets. And I saw a woman lying on the bed. She had sweat on her face, as she looked at me with a loving smile, while tears fell down her beautiful face.I was stunned. I understood she was my mother, and I wanted to hug her and tell her not to cry, but all that came out of my mouth was babbling.The woman, my mother, brought me close to her lips and whispered, "Nirmal. " That was my name. I felt the world around me shake a bit, but I didn't see anything on the face of my mother. I felt the world around me turn dark.I saw things. It was like visions. I was hit by something. A… Truck.Why am I getting these memories? The face of a woman, not my mother, kept appearing. She called me the same name. "Nirmal, mom and dad are busy, so we have to rely on each other from now on. Do you understand, brother?" I saw a young boy nodding as he hugged the woman while he wiped his eyes.I am that boy. And that other person was my sister...I seemed to recover my memories. I had forgotten about who I was while I was inside. It wasn't like I was trying to forget my sister or something. But something was really wrong, making me forget.That's when I realized I was behaving weirdly in front of my mother. My eyes had rolled back as I stared straight.My mother was scared as soon as she saw me. She was worried, so she immediately called the doctor, who was standing in the room. The doctor immediately picked me from mother's hand and looked at my eyes.I acted quickly and started babbling to ease the tension in the air.Then he sighed in relief when he realized I was okay.Even mom sighed in relief. And that's when I realized there was someone else in the room.A man with a beard, wore a weird suit and was crying when he looked at me. I frowned as I thought who that person could be.That's when I realized, "Father.. " Yes, that made sense. The doctor returned me to my mother and mom beckoned my father, who slowly walked forward with careful steps.His hands shook as he held out his hands to pick me up. Tears flowed down his eyes as he saw me. I looked at him and was surprised to find out that he was a handsome man, with a well-built body, too.I sighed in relief. "At least I would be handsome. ", I thought.My eyes felt heavy as I lay in my father's hands.I soon fell asleep in his hands.Vishnu was scared when he saw his newly born son closing his eyes. And seeing this, the nurse and Sumati both chuckled softly. The doctor had already left.Sumati spoke, "Nirmal is just asleep. "Vishnu smiled and whispered, "Nirmal.. a good name for a pure soul. "I had no idea what was going on, because as soon as I fell asleep, I saw several strange things. A weird sea or ocean. But it was milk, not water around.But before I could solve the mystery of the ocean made of milk.I felt my stomach aching slightly. So I cried. I was probably hungry. I had no idea how long I was asleep. Not that I cared anymore. I just wanted to drink milk and fill my stomach and then sleep again.It seemed like being born was really tiring. I yawned. Mother was holding me as soon as I started crying, and when she saw me yawn, she smiled warmly. And planted a kiss on my forehead.I snuggled closer to her as she did so.I miss this feeling. In my previous life, I had never been close to my parents, so I had already decided not to experience the same things again.There was nothing I could do about my previous life, so I decided instead to focus on my current life.Mother started feeding me milk. And after feeding me, mom started to sing a lullaby. I didn't understand its meaning, but it was heavenly."Mother should probably try taking singing as a profession. " I thought while I fell asleep.