I opened my eyes yet again—to unfamiliar wooden beams above me and warm, flickering light filling the room.
I was in a house. A rustic, cozy one by the looks of it. But what really unsettled me was the fact that I was surrounded by people. Lots of them. Faces I didn't recognize peered down at me, smiling, crying, cooing. Some had tears in their eyes. Others were cheering.
"Who are these people?" I thought, trying to speak… but all that came out was a soft, gurgled squeak.
I tried again, forcing the words out of my throat.
"Ah—ahh…!"
It didn't work. My tongue wouldn't move right. My mouth couldn't form the syllables.
So, I did what any panicking soul trapped in a baby's body would do—
I screamed.
"WAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
The crowd laughed softly, tears of joy replacing any concern. A woman—probably my new mother—held me gently in her arms and rocked me while whispering soothing words I couldn't understand. Her voice was calm, gentle… loving.
That's when it hit me.
I had been reborn. Literally.
Not as a teenager. Not even as a child.
A newborn.
And from the looks of it, into a well-off family—judging by the detailed embroidery on the woman's dress and the wooden furniture carved with floral patterns. A fireplace crackled in the background. I smelled herbs. A midwife, perhaps, had just finished her work.
I have to start over… from zero.
From birth.
Suddenly, I felt tired again. My new body couldn't handle too much stimulation. As the warmth of the woman's arms enveloped me, my consciousness began to fade.
But just before I drifted off to sleep, one thought pulsed louder than anything:
Suzume is somewhere in this world.
And no matter how long it takes…
I'll find her.
The room was filled with warmth—not just from the fireplace, but from the smiles on everyone's faces. Laughter, tears, hushed voices… even though I couldn't understand their words, I could feel the joy in the air.
The woman holding me leaned down and whispered something softly near my ear. Her voice was so tender that even without knowing the language, I somehow knew what she meant.
"Welcome to the world."
A man approached—tall, broad-shouldered, with kind eyes and a beard dusted with gray. He reached out and gently placed his hand on my head, looking at me like I was the greatest treasure he'd ever seen. He said something in that strange language and the crowd cheered again.
"Are they… my new parents?"
It was a strange feeling. I didn't know them, yet their warmth was real. Their love was real. I wasn't just a soul reborn—I was someone's child now.
As the celebration continued around me, I was passed from arm to arm. Everyone seemed eager to meet me. I cried again, overwhelmed. Every time I was held, I felt safe but confused, like I had entered a story that had already begun without me.
Eventually, I was brought back to the woman—my new mother. She kissed my forehead and tucked me into a soft blanket, humming a lullaby I didn't recognize.
Through my half-lidded eyes, I glanced around one last time. Wooden walls. Firelight. Laughter. Foreign words. Unfamiliar people.
A brand new life.
And as I drifted into sleep again, the image of Suzume's face flashed in my mind—flickering like a distant memory I couldn't quite reach.
"Wait for me… Suzume. Wherever you are."
I was named Nael Lumis.
They said it softly, like a prayer. Over and over, I heard it from the lips of the people who held me—especially the woman with the warm eyes and tired smile. Her voice trembled with joy every time she whispered it.
"Nael… my little Nael."
It wasn't a noble name, not something you'd hear in castles or carved into grand monuments.
But it was full of love.
And that made it beautiful.
The days blurred together. Sunlight through wooden shutters. The scent of freshly cut herbs. A dog barking somewhere outside. Laughter from the neighbors.
I quickly realized that I hadn't been born into royalty or some high-ranking household. The people around me wore simple linen clothes. Their hands were rough from labor, and their smiles were genuine, untouched by politics or wealth.
My new parents—humble folk by every measure—lived in a modest cottage on the edge of a small farming village nestled near the base of a wooded mountain range. My father was a carpenter, with arms built from years of shaping wood, and a voice that boomed with laughter. My mother was a herbalist, often mixing potions and teas with hands that carried both strength and tenderness.
They weren't important in the eyes of kings or nobles.
But to the village?
They were the kind of people others turned to. Dependable. Steady. Kind.
Even though I was just a baby, I noticed things. I could feel the warmth in the way my mother sang lullabies as she ground leaves into her mortar. I saw the quiet pride in my father's eyes when he lifted me with his calloused hands, holding me like I was the most delicate thing in the world.
And despite the simplicity of it all—wooden walls, dirt paths, meals cooked over an open flame—there was something about this life that felt rich in ways my past one never was.
They didn't have servants or gold or magic-powered chandeliers.
But they had each other.
And now… they had me.
The village folks came by sometimes to see me—offering small gifts, baskets of fruit, or handwoven toys. From the way they spoke to my parents, I gathered something important: I was a child they hadn't expected.
Some called me a "blessing child"—born late into my parents' lives after they had given up hope. Others said the moon had been full and shining the night I was born, and that children born under such light carried unusual fates.
Maybe that was just superstition.
Or maybe… they were more right than they knew.
Because I wasn't just some child.
I was Nael Lumis—a soul reborn under a promise.
And as I fell asleep in my mother's arms once more, wrapped in hand-stitched cloth and the scent of cedarwood from my father's workshop, one thought stayed close to my heart:
Somewhere in this world, she lives.
Suzume.
You may not remember me.
But I will find you.
Even if I have to start from nothing.