Winter Burning Flame

 The man's life had flashed by in naught but an instant, with a speed much more rushed than the explosion itself.

 His memories lay bare, exposed to him in all of their entirety.

 Dead he was, his soul remaining, only his thoughts left to accompany him in the dark void he had now found himself in.

 A story still left unfinished, which now must be split in two, just as his soul.

 ~

 I found myself drifting... I could feel nothing, see nothing... everything that was sensible was now nonexistent, leaving only my thoughts and me.

 'I am dead, why am I still conscious?'

 Moments pass, I find myself visualizing all of the faces of my "family", feeling a myriad of emotions, all negative with none truly positive besides the fact that I had finally found them... yet the true disappointment of whom they were.

 'Do you regret your birth and life?' A booming voice sounds within my conscious.

 Taking but a moment to regain my bearings, I reply...

 'No, I would go through it all again and again. I have lived a life that let me see what all the world had to offer; I regret nothing as I have experience it all.'

 Within a second the voice returned, 'What of love, what of the joy of giving creation to life, there are still many things you have not experienced, boy.'

 'Do you pity me, there's no need for that... thank you however, whoever you are.'

 'Indeed, there is no need for such an emotion. I give you a choice much like the previous given to you by your father-'

 'Just do it, choices are limited, there is only ever one true option.'

 Suddenly, I felt an excruciating burning in my very soul, a pain unlike any that could ever be felt in my previous world, none could imagine.

 'Never cut me off again, ah... I guess that will never matter.' the booming voice says before I heard what seems to be a finger snap within my thoughts, my consciousness once again fading just like it had for but a moment when I died.

 ~

 Heat, darkness, pain... so much pain... and then light!

 My vision was blurry. I can't move fully, yet I could wiggle my limbs here and there, I try to move my head around a bit only to have a huge face appear above my own, encompassing my entire vision.

 "He's alive!" a voice yells excitedly, "He's not crying, but he's moving and is breathing properly, he made it!"

 'That can't be possible, that explosion should have blasted the whole entire room away, I am definitely not alive... unless...'

 It all clicked with me in that instant, the heat that shrouded my entire body, the darkness to sudden light, the pain... I was reborn as a baby!

 'Really, I'm not too surprised anymore, had I not just talked to a god?'

 Seeing the face that was looming above me had shifted... I find myself surprised.

 "His name will be Ember, to burn bright even amongst the coldest winter wind... my dear baby boy, thank you for surviving all of this turmoil...'

 'What is that look, I've never seen... it before, it's so... beautiful.'

 '...why am I so tired.' I lose consciousness unwillingly.

 ~

 Thus, the man had found himself in the body of a newborn, confused by the look of unconditional love that his new mother was casting down to him as she held him gently in her arms.

 A feeling that he had never experience had bloomed within his heart, one he had never felt before. However, he will soon come to know that it will become his new purpose in his new life.

 The woman who had holds him, his mother, with her silky midnight hair that was cut to her collar bones, peers down on her newborn baby, her deep scarlet hued eyes staring down at him with pure affection.

 A man stood next to her with a hand on her shoulder, his hair a fading red of a once magnificent vibrance gliding down to his back, a pair of cold silver eyes that conversely shone with love at this moment.

 "Yes, that is a fine name my love, very suitable for such occasions." he chuckles.

 His new father, his new mother. A new family in a new world. Like this, years passed with him slowly getting accustomed to this new life.

 ~

 "Happy birthday Em!" a multitude of voices yell as I enter the room, wiping the dust from my eyes and yawning.

 "Eh?" I stop, gazing around the room and spotting my family; my mother and father, some of their friends and kids. Each of them singing the birthday song for me. 'I'll never get used to this.'

 "Come here baby, blow out the candles and make a wish!" My mother beckons me toward the table, my father on standby, both with a wide smile on their faces.

 Nudging forward, I take a deep breath in and blow all five of the candles out at once, gaining an applause in return.

 '...Is it really that amazing? I just blew out some damn candles...' I grumble within my mind, 'These people are truly weird, goodness... it was the same way when I took my first step and said my first word.'

 "Don't tell us what wish you made, or it won't come true!" My father says with a laugh, as he had seen I was opening my mouth to say something.

 "Ah."

 'I suppose they want me to wish for something, well uhm... I wish to understand what is the feeling that has been welling in my heart since I've been born here.'

 "Alright now have some cake baby, have some dessert for breakfast!" my father says with a huge grin on his face, "I've convinced your mother, aren't you glad?"

 "Yes, yes. Thank you, dad." I say with not much emotion.

 "I love you son, here is your plate." my mother puts down a piece of cake on the table, pulling out the chair for me.

 I walk to the table and sit, being pushed closer to the table, I begin to eat the cake at a snail's pace.

 'Love, huh? Maybe that is what I am missing, that word... is that what this is?'

 While munching on the cake, I take a glance at my mother and father and the feeling gets stronger, a string in my heart seemingly tightening.

 "I love you too, mom and dad." I reply between bites, a small smile growing.

 Their reaction however, to say the least was surprising. They seemed shocked, surprised by my words, but what was so gasp worthy?

 My mother burst into action, wrapping her thin yet durable arms around my body, "Oh thank goodness, I was starting to think you couldn't feel emotions baby! I- I'd though that-" she was crying slightly.

 "Honey, you're hurting him..." my father's voice sounds as he pulls her from me gently while simultaneously planting a small kiss upon my forehead, "However yes, thank goodness!"

 'Oh. I hadn't realized... wait, they were worrying over that? Something so small?'

 However, there was something during that entire encounter that shocked me to my very core when I saw it, much more than my newly discover feelings: a badge hidden in my mother's clothing, just beneath her thin jacket.

 A badge with a symbol that I was very familiar with... an outlined circle with three arrows crossing its contour and pointing to the center. The structure is closed in a thin frame, which repeats its silhouette — a circle with three protruding rectangles (Thank you Wiki).

 The very symbol that belonged to an organization known as the Foundation.

 'No fucking way, no fucking- just no.'

 Maybe they could see the shock in my face, because in the next moment they were hovering over me, worrying for me, and smothering me.

 "Em, what's wrong? Are you okay? Do you feel bad, are you allergic to that cake?" my mother spewing endless questions.

 "I'm fine, hey-" I push them back a little, "I'm alright, I just saw something that looked really... cool... in your jacket." I point at her left breast, while using my hands to mime the shape of her rectangular badge.

 "Oh, I see..." she pats her chest and feels the badge beneath, "I forgot to take it off, huh? Wow I must be getting old."

 Glancing at my father for a moment, I could see his eyes narrow when he heard her, realizing what she meant, and then back at me.

 "That's the company badge that we work for, we need that to enter the premises so that we can do our job, for security. Maybe you will even join us in the future, my dear son, only time can tell." he spoke in a mysterious tone; however, I knew all too well what that 'company' was.

 The SCP Foundation, their sole goal to Secure, Contain, and Protect.

 I was in that world, and my parents were people who worked for them.

 'What the hell have I gotten myself into?'