Ch-1: The Beginning

Had I ever thought that life was unfair? Cruel maybe, but unfair, not so much. My Grandfather used to say life is equally cruel to everyone. The sentiment of unfairness is shared and felt equally by everyone. Grandpa immersed himself in philosophy and religion. Though I never felt an affinity towards religion, I believed what he taught me.

After he passed away, I didn't have any family left. I was young, impressionable, and most of all, lonely. Companionship was tempting, and I didn't realize how needy I became. When the once-dreaded texts came out of the blue, I wasn't prepared for it. There were signs but I was too busy trying to make it work.

Resigning, I shut myself off for some time, and years of my life slipped off my hands like sand. It took two years of commitment, hard work, and a peculiar meeting with an enigmatic monk for me to start rebuilding my broken self-esteem. 

Life was hard, but not unfair. Despite whatever happened, that's what I told myself till yesterday. But, not anymore! Just a few hours ago I was celebrating a year of sobriety with my friends from the locality and now, I am dead. At least to those who knew me as Stanley Morgan. Who would have thought a stray hunting bullet would pierce my skull in the middle of the night in the sparse outskirts of a protected forest? It must have been those damn poachers! Where are you, stupid forest guards? 

But before anything, let's address the elephant in the room, how am I still talking fine? I frankly do not know! For all its worth, it just might be the usual business in the spiritual world after death. A standard procedure for all dead people?

As I contemplate, another dreadful possibility comes to my brain, or whatever you call that mangled-up piece of flesh that remained after the skull-crushing, eardrum-bursting, brain-melting impact. Would I continue to linger around here till cremation? What about the afterlife with Yama's proceedings and whatnot? I wasn't an expert in shamanism and religion didn't interest me one bit, so I left the matter to the higher beings that may very well not exist for the sake of my mental health. 

Soon, I sensed two men making their way to the site. The duo equipped with hunting rifles soon made their way to my corpse. Seeing their unwarranted actions, lighting cigars and puffing out smoke while poking around my corpse, I felt grossed out. It was easily the worst experience of my life. It is difficult to assess how I would react if I were alive. Well, that doesn't make much sense. Me being alive would eliminate the entire scenario.

As a guy with a professional experience of being dead for a little more than three minutes, I don't feel much about it. Uncomfortable? Yes. Angry? Not so much. What irked me more was the sheer lack of professionalism. Even when I see these supposed killers wearing anime t-shirts and shorts manhandling my lifeless body, I only find it a little funny seeing how stupid they look.

Total disregard and detachment. Ah! This must be what the monk was referring to. Once you have an out-of-body experience, you can't feel affection or cruelty towards the material world. Honestly, this is incredulous and intimidating at the same time. The shallowness of the emotional spectrum and insignificance of human life could only be felt by those who escape human bounds. 

While the duo was burying me, questions kept popping into my head and I fell into deep contemplation. Do all people go through this? And if it was, what is the time after which I lose the ability to articulate my thoughts? Well, never mind! I'll try to enjoy what I can right now. 

Boom! "

"What the fuck is happening?", I screamed. Seeing the two guys not reacting at all, it seems my voice doesn't reach them. Even then, the explosive sound should've elicited a reaction. 

The soul shrieking sound resounded again in my ears immediately alerting me. I could see two black vortexes spinning rapidly, one anticlockwise and the other clockwise. Another vortex soon emerged out of thin air with a thunderous sound. 

I don't know what these vortexes are, but they don't look inviting at all! I could feel a certain suction from each of the three vortexes pulling me towards them. While heaven and earth were crashing for me, the duo seemed unperturbed by the commotion. It was clear that this phenomenon was either illusory or confined to this metaphysical realm. Naturally, I was more inclined to believe the second possibility. 

The pipsqueak wearing the rip-off anime t-shirt was breathing heavily. He didn't look accustomed to this sort of work. A first-timer? What terrible luck! His hands were shaking a little as he dug the earth with his shovel to bury my body. But, the greed in his eyes was evident. He removed the expensive jacket and the silk shirt I had bought for the celebration leaving my upper body naked. What savages! 

I didn't know what these vortexes were, but I felt tremendous danger from them. While the runt was collecting the loot, I looked at my body for a final time. Over the last couple of years, I started working out with high intensity.

A result of which was the fine specimen I was leaving in this world. While I would love to claim it, this physique wasn't natural. Deeply ingrained insecurities regarding how others perceived me fueled my desire to train. It wasn't healthy because I was dangerously obsessed.

Still, I don't regret it much. Grandpa once told me that a wise man chooses not his virtues, but rather his vices. Trading one addiction for the other is usually how it goes for most people. 

I gulped seeing the vortexes spinning vociferously. 

"Ah!", cried out the little runt. 

The vortex had appeared in the real world! It started sucking copious amounts of air. The stupid t-shirt was soon pulled into the vortex. The little murderer and his companion crouched down to lay down on their stomachs gripping the mud tightly.

A loud roar encompassed the surroundings before it suddenly halted. And everything disappeared. My ears were ringing at first, but then it became dead calm. I tried to open my eyes. To my shock, I could physically open and close my eyelids as if I was still alive!

In my excitement, it took me a while to notice that I was hanging upside down by a rope on a huge mango tree. Soon, I started feeling various parts of my body, aching. Although it hurt, It was not a bad feeling at all! 

'Why are you laughing while hanging upside down from the tree? Weird guy!', said a boy. He looked no more than 10 years old. 

'Screw off kid, I'm not in the mood to play with you... Ah! But before you go, help me get off.'

'Who are you calling a kid? ', he muttered. 

The boy soon took out a sharp blade from his toolbox. Kids these days! Using such hazardous sharp tools at a young age…As a responsible adult, I consider it my duty to educate this irresponsible child and reprimand his parents! 

Woosh! Before I could even reprimand him, he threw the sharp blade at me. I closed my eyes, cringing at the sudden strike. 

With a thud, I fell on the ground with all fours sprawled on the ground. 

'Why did you throw it? You could have just sliced the rope gently?'. I almost shouted at him. I must control my anger somehow! 

'But why do you own such a sharp knife?'

The boy put one of his hands behind his back while pointing his finger at me and shouted, 'Not my fault that you don't even know how to break your fall! And this kunai isn't even sharp at all. It barely held up when I fought Sasuke'.

'What are you blabbering about? Wait a minute!'

'I have to go to the academy for the test! Did you already graduate? With your skills, it doesn't seem like it though. See you later at the test!''

Sharp tongue there kid! Only if I knew what he was talking about. Soon the boy started running off rapidly. I shouted, 'What's your name, boy?'

He stuck out his tongue, 'What boy! I am Naruto Uzumaki, the man who'll become the Hokage! Believe it!'