The End of My Previous Life
Alright, let me answer everyone’s big question here.
Why do I know, before I’m even born, that my name is Kaito Brown Marsh?
Why do I already have a will of my own, even while I’m still inside Mama’s belly?
The truth is, this is my second life.
My first life was on Earth, in Japan. I was born there and lived as a Japanese person. Yeah, yeah, I know, classic reincarnation setup, right? Hey, don’t say that. Just hear me out.
I was born as the second son in a family with two boys and one girl, between a regular salaryman father and a stay-at-home mother.
My name was Shimokado Kaito.
My older brother had started working as a salaryman like our father, and my younger sister, Mio, had just entered her first year of university.
We were an ordinary, close-knit family.
I was sandwiched between my brother and sister, but our parents raised the three of us with equal love and care. As for me, I had just advanced to my third year of university and entered my specialized course.
The reason I’m talking about all of this in the past tense is because it really is the past. I mean, my past life.
On my way home from university, I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change. Just before the signal turned from red to green, I caught sight of a car coming straight toward me from the right.
They say that when you’re about to be in an accident, when death is closing in, everything looks like it’s in slow motion. It’s true. The driver of that car was a flustered-looking middle-aged man. His face was red…
The next thing I knew, a powerful impact slammed into my body. I was thrown into the air and crashed headfirst onto the pavement.
Gahn—a loud, dull thud rang out.
Somewhere nearby, a woman screamed, “Kyaa!!!”
“Hey, a man just got hit by a car!”
“Someone, hurry! Call an ambulance! Call the police!”
“Dial 119!!! 110!!!”
“Hey! Are you okay?!”
“Ahh… this is bad, isn’t it? Is he dead?”
Gradually, the voices around me started fading.
… An unbearable headache.
And then, a lukewarm, bright red liquid.
Ugh… I can’t move my body.
As my consciousness drifted further and further away, the faces of my kind parents, my brother, and my sister floated into my mind.
“Thank you, everyone.”
That was all I could manage, a voiceless whisper.
But amid the chaos of the accident, no one heard my thanks. It didn’t reach anyone.
And just like that, my life as Shimokado Kaito came to an end.
Then, suddenly, I felt like someone was calling my name.
“Kaito, Kaito, wake up. Open your eyes. Come now, open them.”
I slowly opened my heavy eyelids. Standing there was a woman dressed in something like traditional Japanese clothing. But I didn’t recognize her at all.
“Who…?” The word slipped out before I could stop it.
“Hehe. I am a goddess. I am keeping your soul here for the moment. Your soul was meant to pass on to the afterlife, but by my authority, I have kept it here.”
Huh? A goddess?
So that means… I died.
The realization sank in immediately. After an accident like that, of course I would die. Strangely enough, I found myself accepting my own death with a calm sense of understanding.
What do you think about this chapter?
