Chương 2: I'm named Kaff

This is still my story.

After I was born I felt excited. Is this the popular reincarnation thingy? I've read a few novels, and being intact with a human body is usually the case. Good thing my soul or whatever term is it that contains our conscience didn't transfer to some kind of weird or ugly animal.

Although there were some stories that had cases where the person is reborn into another body, there are a few novels which I've known and read that were reborn as an infant, too.

Seems like there's such a thing as magic here too, as the priest or acolyte or something they called had glowing hands during the blessing of the child---me. I wasn't sure at first if it was only the glove glowing but his hands definitely were glowing as he took off the glove and marked something on my belly. It disappeared thereafter though. It looked like I was just baptized.

After seeing that, I'm finally sure that this is a different world. If not world, then maybe another planet with different laws of physics?

I was feeling really calm though, and the emotion and feelings that came towards me instead though, was great relief.

The previous world felt like hell.

If there was a way to do this to every person in the previous world I came from, people would probably do it for good.

After that I fell asleep.

***

After a moment of waking up, I realize that I couldn't move much and look around, seeing only the ceiling and the smell of a bit of pollution in the air. Is this really a different world?

I just slept and got breastfed everyday after that for two years until they fed me solids, enjoying the life of a beloved child.

I also finally understood my name, Kaff. Quite a weird name, but it is a different world, after all. On the other hand, my parents' names were Meltor - my dad, and Pisa - my mom.

Mom had a dark and red hair, didn't wear girly clothes most of the time, and hated the neighbors outside. I always see her talking to my dad about them being obnoxious, noisy, smelly, etc... A way of choice for my first few words. If she didn't acted out what those words meant I wouldn't probably have understood her, it seems that she has a bit of good humor.

My mom would often comment that I rarely cry, and that I was a strange baby. She tried pinching me and it was painful enough to make me cry... Dad found out later from the pinch mark and scolded her with a few words, where my mom just laughed it off and dad's frown disappearing and forming a smile moments later.

Sure enough, I've had my fair share of seeing my mom's firm and curvy body. If that didn't gave me a reaction then I wouldn't be a guy, but strangely, seeing my mom naked doesn't give me that feeling.

Or was I naturally becoming celibate? Or because of blood ties?

Father would take care of me mostly, though. It seems my mom works in his stead for some reason.

He had black hair, his eyes always relaxed, and his arms only had a few veins popping out which doesn't look like arms of a man at all. Whenever he touches me, there's this texture of roughness and softness to his grips, which was quite confusing.

Sometimes when he sees that I still haven't slept, he'll start telling tales of heroes saving the world, or about creatures of different kinds that can slay a few men in a flash. Of course I'd be interested and will become awake instead. His voice is rather sleepy too, so most of the time, just after a few minutes I already can't recall what he was talking about from the previous night.

There was one time that I heard him coughing and groaning, in a very hushed and careful manner. Like he was controlling his own breathing. It seems that he also has problems of his own.

Then I'm already two years old, have a bit of language and freedom, can move my small body.

One day I took a seat on my own and it was only then that I realized that my shoulder aches from the previous world are gone. I somehow started to tear up slowly and cried loud, startling my father and carried me up, patting my back.

The shoulder aches disappearing was one of the best things that probably happened to me, hopefully it doesn't come back anytime soon as I'm still a child.

***

On my fourth birthday, I found out that the place that my parents lived wasn't good. I guessed that it was why I was smelling a bit of pollution when I was still a baby. I got dulled by that smell since I almost intake it everyday, which surprisingly, I felt disgusted. Strangely enough, our house didn't contain that much of bad air.

My father took me out on a walk while greeting our not so good looking neighbors. I can also hear them gossip like chipmunks, it seems my father could hear them but just ignored them. My mom was rather right that they were smelly.

Our home was located inside a city, yet we were at the slums. Our space was about nine square meters. The toilet was outside, and would be always dirty so I refuse to go there and find a nearby flowing water source or canal instead (when people weren't around).

My parents cannot afford lands, are unable to cultivate plants, so that leaves hunting, but my mother was the one to hunt. We rarely meet due to the hunting grounds being quite far. She goes home every four days and brings back home enough food and money for spare whenever she comes back though.

Father has a handicap as he had been a victim of a random ransacking by thieves that went rampart before I was born. One of our neighbors let that out when they were chattering like parrots outside.

This made me curious about how they had me.

In general, my circumstances right now were at the lowest.

Seeing that we're poor, I'm quite saddened by the truth, and the only saving grace here is that I have my parents.

I lived in an orphanage my whole life back then, and got sent to a special school for skills, that's why I was able to apply for employment and everything legal. Else I would've been an illegal person or something, I dunno.

I tried to study reading in the new language, and they call it Frall. The world here has only few literate persons though, strangely. Thinking about if this world probably stagnated its technology because of magic, I'm not sure.

My parents couldn't afford books and such, and they were quite illiterate as well, and could only count below the thousands if I'm converting the numbers right.

It really is a fact that I've been reborn into a different body in a different world, but it doesn't seem like I have some kind of cheat ability or something. That thought gives joys and sorrows for itself.

There was this day though, that I found a girl holding a book. She seems to be lost in our place. Her body seems to be faintly glowing with light if I'm not hallucinating in broad daylight. She wore a defined dress that didn't seem to be classy or common.

Just what is she doing here?

I was just chilling out by the door as there was not much stress in the world right now... Besides from being poor.

Looking like there was a problem going on, I closed the door to the house---only to be blocked by that same book.

She was probably seven years old or so, or maybe even four? I think girls grow faster than boys.

"Let me hide for a bit, quick!"

It wasn't a question but more of a command. I tried to reject her good intentions but I refuse and try to close the door instead, but she got in anyway.

The fluff of her sleeves waved through my face as she went in, and a slight scent of powder wafted through my nose for a second there. I only noticed now that she's higher than me.

The book she had was the same book I found before I got reborn here, so I asked.

"Do you have a lot of those?"

"Oh, these? *huff* *huff* At our library, this is only *huff* a part of a set. *huff* *huff* There are twenty four of these series. Wait, you recognize this? Since when could slum people read?"

"I can't yet, but I want to. Since I kept you here, teach me how to read..... Or maybe I could just let you out now?"

"Don't! I agree. Let's meet somewhere later, and I'll teach you, and get back the book."

She had a flustered expression, and didn't seem like she really wants to be out right now. I wonder what the matter is anyway?

*BANG*

The door suddenly blast open, the remnants on the floor. I was even hit by a few debris, but it didn't hurt so much. A red haired boy or teenager was in front, his hands seemed to be emitting some sort of steam. He had black robes that were similar to what the girl is wearing, and underneath them I saw a shiny glint before it was hidden by shadow.

Is he wearing inner armor?

I raise both my hands in the air...

"Hail Hamion," I said.

"Hail Hamion."

The men behind the red-haired boy replied along with the seemingly acolytes behind him. One of them had his hands glow while raised, and somewhere on my belly glowed at the same time.

"It's a brother of ours." I heard him said to someone further behind, and then that person went in front. He had glasses, a weird straight bangs clergy haircut, and with black robes, as all of them do.

For a church, they sure seem sketchy.

That man nodded towards me and I put my hands down before turning to the girl.

"Dorother, why do you insist on getting out? All the Vates have looked all over for you, and here you are. Come with us."

Seems that these church people or acolytes are called Vates then.

"I hate that class! I'm not going until it's done. Humph!"

So the lady is just cutting classes then? If I remember correctly, only the rich here can afford schooling...

This atmosphere is stifling. I hope they go soon. Where's father anyway?

"By time we reach the school, classes will have been finished. No need to be jumpy," the red haired boy said. Then he looked at me for a second, before looking at the girl again.

"Fine. Lead the way."

Convinced, the vates turned around and marched off, then the red-haired boy kept staring at her as if checking if she's going to escape, but no further extra happenings came, and he turned around as well.

"Go to this place, this is where we meet. At the weekend." She turned to me and I got a piece of a poorly drawn map that seemed to be made of fabric or paper, and then she also walked away.

"Who's gonna pay for the door?"

I stood there thinking how to fix the breeze that's gonna come tonight.