Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.
The hours on the clock passed. Adrian, or better said, Heinrich, was still calculating in his head what had happened to himself. He was sitting in his crib, with a desolate look.
Some more time passed, and the only things going through his mind were:
—What happened? Is this some kind of paradise? No... It's more like hell. Or maybe a dream? No... Too real to be just a dream... Did I really reincarnate?!
He spent a little more time drifting in his thoughts, wondering why this had happened? Wouldn't it have been better if he had just died to that madman?
Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock.
A year had passed since the young researcher reincarnated.
Heinrich could get out of his crib and crawled around the house, no one noticed because his father had left for work, and his mother was in the kitchen making lunch.
While crawling, Heinrich was planning to explore the house, at least until his mother found him.
He went through room by room, memorizing each part of the house, reaching the conclusion that:
—This house is too rudimentary to be from contemporary society, more like a house from around the 1700s, and it's also noticeable that this house doesn't have light from a lamp, but from candles... Either my family is too poor, or I might have reincarnated in the past. Possibly the latter, since the clothes my "mother" wears look a lot like a peasant woman's outfit from ancient times.
The little baby kept exploring that house more and more, until he reached the library room.
—A library?! Maybe there's some book that contains information about this world!
When he got closer to grab a book, someone caught him — it was his mother.
—Oh my son! I've already told you that you can't go wandering around the house! This is the fifth time you've done this since you learned how to crawl.
Heinrich just looked at his mother, a woman with brown hair and dark eyes, like pure emptiness. Her name is Emily.
She put him back in his crib and returned to making lunch.
Some hours passed, and finally, Heinrich's father returned home. He came through the door and was greeted by his wife.
—Friedrich! I'm so glad you're back, love! How was work? — Said Emily, while hugging him.
—It was a bit complicated, but luckily I got out alive.
After that, they kept chatting for a while, while Heinrich watched.
Some hours passed...
The whole family was at the table, having dinner while chatting, among laughter.
—Damn! Why do I have to eat this baby mush again? It really sucks being a baby...
After saying that in his thoughts, Heinrich looked ahead and saw his parents talking happily. When he saw that moment, the baby who was once an adult felt something deep in his chest, something that never happened in his past life while with his family. Could this be... Happiness?!
In his previous life, he never had that moment with his family. His father would leave the house to go drinking, and his mother would also leave, this time to party with her friends and have relationships with strange men during parties.
When the three were finally together, they left the poor child alone and constantly argued with each other, while the boy was forced to listen to all the screaming in his room.
A memory emerged:
—Where's my beer, woman?!
—Leave me alone, you alcoholic freak!
SLAP!
A loud slap could be heard coming from the kitchen.
—That's for your disobedience! Bitch.
His father left the house, while his mother stayed on the ground, crying in a fetal position.
He, being a child of around 7 years old at the time, ran to his mother to try and help.
—Are you okay, mommy?! — The little one said as he slowly approached her.
As a response, the mother turned to him and punched him in the face, as hard as she could.
THUD!
The little child fell to the floor, blood spreading on the ground, and his mother kept beating him, until she got tired and began to pant.
—You're a disgrace, I should've killed you when I had the chance.
The memory dissipated like smoke. He was back in the present.
—Are you okay, son?! — Said Emily, worried.
—Is something wrong, Rich?! — Added Friedrich.
When Heinrich finally realized, tears were falling from his eyes, each tear representing a pain from his past life.
He didn't understand, after all, it was the first time he cried since his past life.
Waaah!
More tears came from his eyes, as he cried like a newborn baby.
Quickly, Emily got up from the chair and held him in her arms, while Friedrich tried to calm him down.
Maybe, that was the happiest day of his life.