I opened the trunk of my car slowly and took my suitcase, along with a black backpack. A hand reached at the trunk' door and closed it, I turned my head to the right side and saw Clara beaming at me. A small silver diamond ring wrapped on her left ring finger, and it sparkled under the sun. I smiled at her while put my backpack on the top of my suitcase.
"Do you have everything?" she asked me while tucked a few of her blonde hair behind her ear.
"I think I have" I said and patted the small bag on my side "I have my passport, some money in American dollar, my plane ticket, my phone and my credit card"
Clara stepped closer to me "Aren't you forgetting something?" she said and sent me a little grin.
I chuckled as I put one of my hand behind her head and pulled her face closer to me.
"Saying good bye to my amazing fiancé?" I looked at her brown eyes.
She let out a small giggle as she put her forehead into mine, her warm breath tickle my cheek.
"You forget, this" she said and gave me a small peck on my lips.
I closed my eyes as I enjoyed every second with her, her scent, her warmth and her voice. I wrapped my arm around her rather tall body and pulled her even closer, I buried my head into the crook of her neck. I didn't know why but I had this feeling that, I wouldn't able to see her again.
"Reiner" she began to laugh lightly "You just going back to D.C for a 2 weeks, why are you acting like you are going into a war?"
I let out snort as I pulled myself away from her "Do you really have to ruin that?"
She stuck her tongue out at me jokingly, as she snatched my car key from my hand "Just go, before you're miss your flight"
I ruffled her blonde hair "Okay, okay. I'll go, for now. See you soon?"
She nodded her head "See you soon, babe"
After that I began to pull my suitcase into the departure area of Frankfurt Airport, I showed my passport and my plane ticket to the security guard, before I entered the Airport area. Luckily, I already checked myself in so, I didn't have to join the long line on the counter to get the real ticket. After I got my real ticket, and handed my suitcase as a baggage. I quickly headed to the immigration area since, usually the line there pretty long. A middle age man smiled at me when he saw my passport.
"Holiday?" he asked me in heavy German accent.
"Yes, winter holiday" I said.
"Oh, what university do you attend?" he asked me again.
"Frankfurt University" I said proudly "I took Pharmacy degree there and just graduated three days ago"
"That's good to hear" the man smiled, while stamped my passport.
"Thank you" I said as the man handed me my passport back.
I began to walk into the gate 5B that printed into my ticket, and sat there for the calling to aboard the plane. After waiting for an hour, the intercom began to announce to aboard the plane because it's ready to depart. I began to stand up, and fall into the line of people that headed into America, I showed my ticket to a beautiful woman that wore a flight attendant uniform, before I walked into the hallway that lead into the plane. After a few minute, I already inside the plane and found my seat, which an aisle seat. I sat there and buckled my seat belt, while began to turn my phone into airplane mode. I almost dozed off, when the captain told us that the airplane will be taking off soon. Lazily, I began to watch some random movie that the plane provided on the small screen in front of me, fall asleep, woke up rather suddenly, got an in-flight meal that didn't have a taste, fall asleep again, and woke up because I need to go to the restroom.
But the minute I exited the restroom the plane shook rather hard, I stumbled and quickly stabilized myself by grabbing nearest seat. The captain told us to get back into our seat and buckled up, since they experience a bad weather. I saw that we are above Atlantic sea, according to the map on the screen in the front row of the seat. The plane shook again, and this time I saw a freaking lightning bolt flashes outside, followed by a loud thunderclap could be heard along with a few screams and curses.
Then, out of nowhere a huge lightning bolt flashes again and the plane began to take a nose dive into the ocean below us, which is even worse than the sky itself. There's a freaking storm below there, like a huge storm, and this plane got smacked in the middle of it. It looks like that the sky and the ocean have a fight among each other, a war just brew between those two, lighting stroke the sea, and the sea sent a huge wave as if the sea itself try to reach the sky and dragged them into the depth. The oxygen mask began to fall from the compartment above me, and I quickly pulled it towards my face and covered my mouth and nose, and put the strap over my head. My hand gripped the hand rest so hard, until my knuckle went white, I breathed frantically as my heart tried its best to escape from my rib cage.
Adrenaline were being pumped into my blood system quickly, as my eyes darted around to find something that can save me, if this plane decided to crash into the middle of the ocean. Before I could find it, my sight became hazy and before I know it, my eyes rolled into the back of my head as the plane began to crash into the ocean below us. I felt something cold began to spread around my body, and then nothing. Darkness enveloped me, as the coldness began to fade away until I couldn't fell anything anymore.
Am I dead? That question began to float in my mind as I began to wait, waiting until something or someone brought all my senses back to me. But, I felt something tugging me, grabbing me and dragging me into someplace that I didn't even recognize. I heard a something faintly, and then darkness again. Nothing happened for a long time, since I didn't even know how long I'm in this darkness. Since nothing happened till now I could only drew one and only conclusion, one conclusion that I hated the most. And that conclusion is...
I'm dead, yep I'm dead! How did I know that I'm dead? Well, I'm floating in the darkness right now, and only god knew how long I'm stuck in this darkness. I couldn't see anything, and couldn't feel anything. After all, the plane that I'm in crashed in the middle of the ocean. That's just...I didn't even know how to express my anger and frustration, why do you ask? Do you even dare to ask why?! Fine let me put it nicely.
I have a fucking fiancé, an amazing girl that I'm about to marry a month later. I just graduated from a freaking University for god sake and I finally managed to finish it with outstanding 3.90 GPA in Pharmacy, yes freaking Pharmacy! And after that a big Pharmaceutical Company already asked me to join in, after I graduated and I will worked there on next spring!
Next, I have a small but amazing family that waiting for me back in D.C, my youngest brother that idolized me and practically worship the ground where I walked by, and my annoying but smart little sister that just finished her high school, and about to enter college, and both of our parent that loved us to death! And to put a cherry on top, I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!! I'm still 23 years old for Christ sake! I didn't want to die that young, I still can put my ability to change the world into a better place and made my family proud!
And all of that just gone in a puff! All of that hard work just gone, and that's because one fucking awful weather! This is not fair, seriously, this is just not fair! I swung my fist around and found out I enveloped in some kind of liquid. I moved around and bumped into something soft, I groaned internally. Great, I'm in some kind of enclosed space full with strange liquid. Is this some kind of new hell? Or heaven? Probably heaven since I had a dream to find a cure the cancer and I'm practically a good guy.
Suddenly a huge force pushed me out, and bright light attacked my eyes. I blinked rapidly and saw a middle man face peered at me. The man had grey hair and grey eyes, or maybe blue eyes? I didn't know, my sight is blurry as hell, maybe I should check my sight after this. Sigh, all those reading I spent during my University time is bad for my eye sight. Back to the man who smiled brightly as he carefully scooped me up and yelled something about a blanket and someone to cut the umbilical cord.
Uh, please wait a second. This just didn't make a lick of sense, I mean how in the hell, a middle age man managed to scoop me up that easily. And umbilical cord? Uh doc, isn't that thing attached to a new born baby, and I'm not a newborn baby. Also, what the hell with all this blood that covered me and the doctor hand. The nurse came back, she cut my umbilical cord and cleaned all the blood that covered me, before she wrapped me with some baby blue blanket. She handed me to the doctor while saying, what a beautiful baby.
What? What did you say to me?
"It's a boy!" he exclaimed.
Then everything began to click, I'm in a hospital judging by the doctor, the nurse and this heavy antiseptic scent that assault me once I saw the light. It's still blurry but still, I saw a light. And judging by the room and the occupant faces, someone just giving birth to a baby. And that baby is me, I'm a freaking baby, again.
I began to let out a loud cry of protest, I just wailed there for a moment and I hear a comment that said I'm a strong baby because I cried loudly. I kept crying my eyes out before the doctor handed me gently to a woman with long black hair. Her gentle black eyes scanned me before she smiled softly at me.
"There, there" she said softly and put me on her chest, I could hear her heart beating slowly but steadily.
Out of nowhere my cries began to stop, her warmth made me calm and I can think more clearly. I able to sort my thought more easily now. I can only guess that, I'm already dead from that accursed accident and somehow by some twisted mind or idea, I'm being born again. What the hell with this rebirth cycle? I mean, isn't usually its just heaven or hell? If you a good guy you go to heaven and the angel will be your friends, and if you a bad guy, they would chucked you into hell and the demon will roast you for eternity. I never heard the rebirth choices, well, I heard it once, from one of my Buddhist friend. He strongly believe in the rebirth cycle, and what our deed in previous life will decide what we will be in our next cycle of life. I'm not that religious to believe in that, but still, what the hell?
"Reiner Lockheart" she murmured at me.
I internally flinched when she said my name, Reiner is my old name. How did she know about it? Coincidence? Let's just chalk that up as a coincidence, since I didn't have any clue how did she know about my old name.
"You have your father eyes" she said again.
My previous eyes is grey and I had auburn hair, but I couldn't see my own eyes and hair right now, so...Crap, I really wanted to see my appearance right now. The woman smiled again and she began to breast-feed me. I almost snort in amusement at this action. Great, now I'm a baby, and guess what, I have to go through all that puberty thing again didn't I?
4 years later
Finally, I'm 4 years old and I already finished all those horrible things that happened to me as a baby. I can't even poop or pee normally like I'm used to be. I can't even hold it anymore, I can't believe how many diapers I spent in one day, and how many gallon of milk I have to drink to satisfy my hunger and thirst. And don't even made me start on the milk, it taste horrible! And I had to drink that until I was 1 years old, or maybe it 2 years old? Anyway, those stages are done and finally I'm able to walk, and speak a full sentences without even stammering. I can run though, but after a few minutes of running, I always ended up falling flat into my face.
And now I'm stuck here with bunch of kids which is a year or two below me. My mom is working, so she put me in a day care, she told me I need to socialize more with other kids with my age. I almost laughed loudly at that, since I'm practically a 27 years old man, trapped in a 4 years old kid body. Also, I'm supposed to be in the kindergarten now, but since 4 years old is the age requirement to enter and I'm still 3 at that time. I was born the 4th of December, and my mom told me that I will attend the kindergarten next year, and I will be a year older than everybody.
I sat on the corner of the room, while watching other kids ran around the room. I felt a bit terrified when I saw those kids, a group of them playing something in the corner, a group of girl playing house wife while dragging some poor boys into their little group, a little girl wailed in the another corner because a boy just stole her stuffed animal. I just sat there with a few toys in front of me, somehow I already tired just watching those kids. How did they have all those energy? Is this what will happened to me when I became a father? Chasing my children around, prevent them to hurt themselves, because you know, those kids sometimes can be the clumsiest person in the world, they can trip over thin air, or slammed into something or someone. But they just brushed that off and continued to run around, completely oblivious of the adult that almost had a heart attack behind them.
A kid walked up to me and tilted his head cutely, he had messy jet black hair and stunning sea green eyes. He just stood there staring at me with those eyes, before he decided to sit down in front of me and looked at the toys between us.
"Want to play together?" he asked me and gave me the most adorable looks.
I flinched when he gave me those looks, it almost like looking at a puppy or a kitten, who begging for an attention, and I'm weak at those kind of things. I nodded at him as the boy cheered loudly and took a toy car. We began to play several of random games, like pretending to be a cop and robber, hero and villain, the knight and the wicked witch. After that the boy began to talk about random things in rapid speed, while waving his hand around. I fiddled with the stuffed dolphin he practically shoved at me when he said his name.
"Percy Jackson" he said and grinned toothily at me "What is your name?"
I froze when I heard that, a memory tried to resurface, but I quickly shoved it away and chalked it up as another coincidence, I mean Percy Jackson is a common name right. He couldn't be that 'Percy Jackson' right? I looked up to him and studied him closely, his features is kinda resemble Percy Jackson from those novel series that my sister practically shoved into me when I'm back at home though. Those sea green eyes and black hair, but, there are people who have that feature too right? I mean what are the odds that I met THE Percy Jackson in here right? But then, this is way too much coincidence in one person. Then it began to click inside my mind. Not too long ago I had been diagnose with ADHD and dyslexia, I couldn't stay till for a long time and whenever I read something, the words just floating around. At that time I just brushed it off as a normal thing. Then some time, I swore I saw a big black dog walked across the street, they are bigger than a dump truck. When I asked my mom about it, she always turned pale, picked me up from the ground while laughing nervously at my remark, while hurriedly walked into our apartment.
Shit, I guess I'm in the world where the Greek gods exist, and monster exist. And this adorable kid in front of me is a huge magnet to them because of his heritage.
So, I did the right thing, or the most logical thing to do. I screamed, like a little bitch.