At some point, I felt a strange awareness as if I'd been asleep for a long time and was now waking into a lighter kind of sleep. The darkness became a little less dark, and my senses slowly flowed into me.
My body was slowly getting warmer, and I began to feel a strange stickiness on my skin.
Then, there was tightness around my whole body and a heavy headache striking my head.
What's wrong with this weird place?
I had to get out.
I moved my body, and then heard a strange scream. It wasn't right next to me but it sounded like it came from the next room.
"Alt—Aieeeee," a woman tried to say something I couldn't understand, then screamed…
"Alton! Hurry! Rory wants to come out!"
Wait, what language is that? I couldn't make sense of a single word.
"What! You were calm just a second ago," a man's voice entered the conversation. I couldn't understand his language but I felt the two shared the same language.
Probably a customer at one of the brothel's rooms.
"I don't know, Alton! Quick, get Auntie Shinzy!"
"Alright!" the man replied, his voice hesitant and scared.
Then I heard a door creak open, followed by a slam against the wall, followed by the sound of fading footsteps.
Only the woman remained, groaning…
"Rory, please don't rush. Your mother's delicate—she'll tear," she said, panting like she'd been running for hours…
Clients could get really annoying sometimes.
I recalled the nights when I couldn't sleep till dawn because of my aunties' work.
The door slammed again!
"Am I late?!" yelled the man.
"What's wrong with you, Alton!" the woman screamed mid-contraction. "You hold Aunt Shinzy like a damn princess."
"Is this the time to be jealous?!" the man yelled. "Look at your stomach—it's contracting like clothes wrung out on a line!"
"Ahhhhnnnn," the woman moaned.
Then the hurried footsteps came closer.
"Shirley," a new woman's voice said, laughing. "Congratulations, Shirley, congratulations. Let's bring this baby out together."
"Auntie Shinzy… I don't think I can. This is a man. A man worse than Alton."
A feminine laugh.
I had no idea what was going on.
When did we start accepting foreigners into our brothel?
Our fame was spreading.
Whatever. I needed to get out. This weird vibe is making me anxious.
"Ahhh Shinzy, ahhhh kill me and get him out!"
This damn wh*re was so noisy.
"My hand's gonna rip off—stop biting me!" yelled the man.
"Push harder!" everyone screamed.
Then I felt a force pulling me back. In a few moments, cold air touched my head.
I shivered from head to toe.
"Aaaahhh!" the prostitute screamed, her voice now very close.
What the hell! Are they having sex right next to me?!
Damn prostitutes.
The woman puffed, I got pushed, the other woman screamed with excitement, and the cold began to seep into my whole body like someone was slowly pulling off my blanket.
Within minutes, the cold settled.
And the prostitute quieted too.
Sleep crept back in…
…and I dozed off.
*** *** ***
A flashing dream
*** *** ***
Maybe the first time I realized what I wanted was when I was eight.
"Nayef, your daughter is cute," said one of my mother's clients.
He was sitting at the kitchen table, smoking.
A big man with brown hair, tall and handsome.
Even my mother, Marley, viewed him in a different light.
"He's a boy. His name's Cindy," my mother said.
"Then why is he wearing pink pajamas, and why does he have long hair? And why the name Cindy?" the man asked.
"Well…" My mother looked down, her eyes a little tired. "I didn't have a choice. Those were the elder sister's conditions for letting Cindy stay alive."
"Hmmm," the man looked at me, half-lidded eyes, face blank. "It's not your fault, Nayef. It's the child's."
Then he smiled.
"Kid, you're scrawny. You've got no lineage, no influence, no money. You're the poorest of the poor. The worst of the worst. And to survive, you need to have a unique thing, Cindy, something that gives you value.."
"Mark!" my mother yelled. "What are you trying to say?"
Mark chuckled…
"Don't worry. Cindy has something no one else has."
"Really? What is it?"
"It's a secret," said Mark, his hands on my mother's hands.
Lies…
I didn't have anything. Those were just sweet words to please my mother. Mark was obsessed with her.
Mark showed me the truth when I was eight… I needed strength.
I needed to have something no one else had.
But in the end, I didn't. I died in a stupid, pathetic way.
I couldn't even push the arm of the man trying to stab my mother, even though he'd already been stabbed and was exhausted. The only thing I was able to do was to become a human shield to protect her…
I'm weak.
I'm miserable.
*** *** ***
A strange world
*** *** ***
My world was interrupted by a woman's voice.
"Rory… Did you wet your clothes again? You little rascal," she said in a soft, gentle voice that felt oddly familiar.
Even though I couldn't understand the language, I felt she didn't mean me harm. For some reason, her presence calmed me.
My eyes fluttered a few times before I opened them.
As soon as I did, a blinding light hit me.
Ow, ow!
I shut my eyes.
"Did I wake you? Well, that was the plan anyway, hehe."
The laugh at the end was cute.
I tried opening my eyes again. The light still hurt, but less.
I blinked a few more times until colors settled into their places, and I began to see everything.
Before me stood a woman in unusual clothing and hair. She appeared to be in her twenties. Her green hair was braided and draped over her shoulder.
Her skin was pale and healthy. Her eyes were green with a shine of passion. And for some reason, she had a wet cloth in her hand.
"We've finished changing your clothes."
"What do you want?" I asked.
But what I heard was: "Ahh ahh oooh."
WHAT!
AH AH OH???
That was… my voice?
No way!
I tried to speak again—similar sounds came out.
What's happening?! I reached up to scratch my head—and that's when disaster struck: I was bound!
I was wrapped in some ragged cloth. And in front of me, the woman smiled a strange, twisted smile while her eyes gleamed with… excitement?
Hey! What are you doing with your hands stretched like that?!
Her arms wrapped around me, and before I knew it, I was lifted into the air.
"The most handsome boy in the world—Reopard," the woman said.
Damn it, this is humiliating. Even if I'm skinny, I still weigh like 40 kilograms. How's this woman carrying me so easily?!
She pulled one arm from under me and held me with just one arm. Then she tugged her brown shirt down with the other hand letting one of her boobs pop put!
Prostitute! Oh god, she's a prostitute!
"Get your huge boob away from me!" I tried to scream—but what came out sounded like a crying infant.
"Rory," she said with a wavy smile, "It's feeding time."
As she pulled me toward her breast, a terrifying hunger crept in.
Damn… Prostitutes.
Boring Routine
Sleep. Wake. Milk.
Sleep. Wake. Milk.
Sleep. Wake. Milk.
Ugh… I wet myself.
Sleep. Wake. Milk.
Sleep. Wake. Milk.
Ahh… I wet myself again.
…
The days passed.
Maybe Shirley had fed me sixty times so far. If I count every three meals as a full day, that's about twenty days. And during that time, I realized something: I had been reborn. In a new body, in an extraordinary place.
The woman with green hair—Shirley—passed by at least eight times a day. Between visits, she peeked through the half-open door like she was checking whether I was asleep or not.
From what I gathered, her name was Shirley. She was my mother. A real mother, one with genuine love and tenderness—two things I'd never seen clearly in my past life. That's why I'm still surprised.
"Look who's here!" I recognized Alton's voice as the door creaked open. Like I said, it was always half-open and didn't need to be fully pushed—but Alton made a habit of slamming it into the wall.
This guy barged in with enthusiasm and visited me two or three times a day. But unlike his acts, the man was always looking cold and quiet with two black half-opened eyes.
Today, he seemed happier than usual.
"Where does little Reopard want to go?" Alton said, trying to make me laugh.
Idiot. Where would a baby who can't even crawl go? Of course I'm here.
I didn't hate Alton. Most likely, he was my father. A tall man, broad-shouldered, muscular, and lean. A clear image of the kind of man I wanted to be. I was happy he was my father, probably because when I grew up, I'd look like him.
Yeah, I'd be a hot guy with a scary body like that. What was his height, like 190 centimeters?
Hehehe… Awesome.
Yeah, I didn't hate Alton, but I didn't exactly enjoy seeing him either. I never laughed when he poked my lips, because I just wanted him to leave and bring Shirley instead.
"Say 'Agoo!'" Alton would say, sticking his tongue out and rubbing his finger over my lips.
Nope. I won't say agoo. Die sad Alton, lol.
Yeah, it didn't feel bad not giving him what he wanted.
Alton frowned, wearing his usual face—blank, half-lidded black eyes. To be fair, the guy was handsome. His shiny black hair waved gently, and his nose was straight like a pen. His expressions were sharp and clear. The man… was expensive.
If I were to price them based on looks, I'd value Shirley at $1,000 and Alton at $10,000.
And that's no insult to Shirley—Alton just gave off a premium aura, clear as day.
He held me with both hands, eyes half open, staring at me.
No matter what you try, I won't give you the smile you want. Go get Shirley.
I could hear my wicked little laugh echoing in the back of my mind, but I didn't show it either.
After he picked me up and supported me against his chest with one hand under my butt, I got a better view of the place.
From the triangular shape of the ceiling, I figured I was living in the attic. And from the furnishings, it looked like a storage room. Leather tossed all over, a two-door cabinet—one door half open. Spiderwebs in the corners. And even though I remembered Shirley cleaning recently, the spider seemed determined to make this attic its home.
The attic was old, with worn-out wood that made the place feel like a medieval village house.
"I like your curiosity," Alton said, rubbing his cheek against mine.
"Ahh ooh."
"Wanna see the village?"
No, I was telling you to shut up—but actually, good idea. Show me.
I pointed toward the attic window. Its broken glass would cut me if I touched it—but before Alton moved me closer, he placed his forearm over the glass. Maybe—just maybe—so I wouldn't get hurt.
Not gonna lie… that move was strange. That movement with protective intent—I'd never seen it before.
I looked up at Alton's face. He was smiling at me. A gentle smile, not even showing his teeth, but his eyes sparkled with thoughtfulness.
Then I looked back at his arm.
Maybe I was being too harsh on him.
I smiled
"Aaaah! I knew it! I knew you'd smile for me eventually! But do it again when Shirley's with us—I don't want to lose the bet."
They were betting on me?! How selfish.
I decided to forget about it and look out the window.
And the moment I saw the village, my eyes widened. My body shivered from head to toe, and if I had hair, it would've stood on end.
The view before me… I'd never seen anything like it.
Village homes stretched across many rows, with lines of trees separating each row. The trees were bizarre—some had white trunks like radishes, some brown like normal, others even green. The leaves came in all sorts of colors.
Beyond the village lay a vast forest I couldn't see the end of. And far off on the horizon—mountains.
This world…
It was not Earth.
And this village was nothing like the ones in my old world…
No phones.
No cars…
Now I get it.
This is amazing…
A new body.
A new family.
And best of all—a new world.