Death had suddenly come to me.
From an unexpected place and time.
In front of a large truck.
Time had moved slowly. Things that I had left undone appeared on my mind one by one and disappears.
My boss from my previous part-time job, my friend, my university professor. That reminds me, I haven’t submitted my report yet……
And lastly everyone from the orphanage.
I don’t think they would end up thanking me for my life insurance.
I still wanted to live with more thrills in my life if possible.
When I though so, I heard a voice of a kid laughing, and every bone in my body was broken.
I was in the forest when I woke up……
I looked around and towards the sky.
The moon, which I felt was bigger than the moon that I knew, was shining in the sky.
The trees that were illuminated by the moonlight were very big. I wonder how many times taller the trees had grown compared to me?
Was this the afterlife?
There was a story about a flower garden and the Sanzu River, but I didn’t catch a sight of it.
This was a shabby afterlife.
Where the hell am I……?
Suddenly, I felt something bitter in my mouth.
It was some grass when I spat it out.
Why did I eat some grass?
And then I realized that I was famished.
Dizziness, fatigue and the general feeling of malaise assailed my whole body.
If I don’t eat something I will die for sure……
I must look for something that I can possibly eat.
Acorn, mushrooms too, anything is okay.
I need something I’m able to eat.
Suddenly, a big centipede entered my field of vision.
Usually, I would scream and run away from that place, but I just stared it for some reason.
Looking at it carefully, I think I could clearly see it had so much muscles.
I’m certain the poison was on the mouth, aside from the mouth, will I able to eat it……?
……
……
Can I eat it?
For the first time, I ate an unappetizing centipede.
“Come to think of it, will I be okay from the parasites?”
After the centipede settled in my stomach, I became worried.
I was a little worried……
Will I become stupid if I don’t have enough nourishment?
However, I don’t now how to start a fire. Oh well, might as well eat it raw since I need to survive.
Since I chewed it well, it’s going to be all right, going to be all right. Probably.
If my brain worked half as much and hesitated, I might die from starvation.
I just wished that there wasn’t any parasites present.
“I’m thirsty……”
I began to walk to look for water.
I want to wash out the aftertaste of the centipede in my mouth quickly.
I felt it was ten minutes of walking when I found a brook.
The words that came to my mind was to not drink the water, but there’s no way around since I don’t know how to start a fire to boil it.
“I have returned to the living……”
Water was important after all.
Because the water looks clear, I think I’m safe from parasites. Probably.
I looked at the water surface on the brook.
My face was illuminated by the moonlight……
……
……
……
Who was this guy?
An emaciated gray-haired kid was reflected on the surface of the water.
Wait, wait, surely the reflection on the water was wrong. Even the reflection of the light may sometimes go wrong.
I rejected the reality before me because I don’t understand what this means in my mind.
I touched my cheeks timidly.
I could see that my cheek bones were visible.
I was not fat, but I’m not that skinny for my cheek bones to be visible.
Next, I tried pulling my hair. My hair was gray.
A typical Japanese should have raven-black hair……
This was reality.
In other words, this was that, it’s that famous…
“It’s reincarnation……”
I looked up at the night sky.
The size of the moon that was shining in the sky was twice as big as the moon from Earth.