Chapter 1 – Living Simply
Summary: She was just a sickly girl back home, living her short life to its fullest. She was supposed to die, but she woke up in an entirely new world as a completely different person in a baby's body.
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"Are you happy, Melody?" Her mother's comforting voice cut through the haze of her numbing senses. It was almost over. All of her senses were starting to feel dull. She could barely see, her vision like a long narrow tunnel, and the light at the end was a mass of blur and gray. She could still hear the music that her mother was playing for her on the guitar, though it sounded like a muted thrum. She could feel her father's warm touch on her hands, but it was so faint. The usual aseptic smell of medicine and flowers of the hospital was also dull now, although there were still hints of it. She could feel herself fading away.
But she'd rather be here than anywhere else in the world.
She felt her lips curve in response to her mother's question. "I am happy, mom. Thank you….mom, dad…..for everything."
The strumming of the guitar stopped. She felt her mother wrap her arms around her shoulders and sobbed quietly on her shoulders. Her father wrapped his arms around them, burying his nose in her hair.
"I am glad, my darling girl. You should be happy." She squeezed Melody lightly, conveying her desire to hold on to her for a long time. But even her mom knew that it was really almost over.
Melody was only 19 years old, but it was already a blessing that she got to live this long. She had been sick from birth, and the doctors predicted that her life expectancy would only be 5 years. But she had made it and lived for such a longer time than expected. And for that, she was very happy.
The hospital was her second home. She had been in and out of it so frequently that she spent more time there than her actual house. And every time they came in, they always prepared themselves for the chance that she would be gone. So she was very blessed from her perspective.
After she passed the doomed 5-year mark, her parents vowed that every day would be a new adventure for her. Her parents took her everywhere. And although she was very much protected, she observed the world with wide eyes full of excitement and wonder. She absorbed everything with a thrill. She knew that she would be gone soon so she tried to take everything in and appreciate the beauty of life.
Her parents also wanted her to socialize, so they tried to enroll her in fun classes, like music and instruments. They found out later on that Melody was in fact, an introvert. She kept to herself, but not unkindly. She was quiet but her bright smile made everyone feel comfortable around her. They just knew that she was a gentle soul. She enjoyed those classes, although she was shy performing herself and kept an interested eye on everyone else. She liked watching people and understanding them.
As she grew older, she came to loving and appreciating life more. She expressed her love through music, and people would gather around her as she sang songs of happiness, joy, and experiences. She thought that this would be her legacy to the world. When she was gone, maybe people will hear her songs and remember her short but sweet life.
When she finally grew weaker, her mother learned how to play the guitar. Melody's own fingers had been too weak to play, and her voice became too hoarse. So her mother and father would sing her to sleep every night. She wasn't afraid as she felt her own body failing her. She had a full life even in just 19 years. She had seen the world and she had loved people quietly. She had shared her music. And she had given her heart to her awesome parents.
She couldn't ask for anything more. Perhaps she secretly wished for a normal life. But she knew that what she had was a blessing, and she learned so much more knowing that her life could end at any moment.
"Melody, would you like to watch the television?" Her mother asked her softly. It was futile of course. She could barely see now so it would be useless to try and watch. But aside from music and adventure, she and her parents bonded over the anime called Naruto. It was a great story about dreams, hope, adventure, and friendship. Her mom used to reference Naruto's speeches when she was teaching Melody the value of loyalty and keeping promises. Her dad always focused on the cool action, but he taught her the value of never giving up and hard work through it.
At her last moments, it seemed nice to watch Naruto, the story she grew up with, as she came to her end. It seemed poetic, if nothing else.
So she nodded weakly. As expected, she could barely understand what was playing. But she could hear the usual loud voice of Naruto. She smiled, wishing she could jump out of bed and scream "I'll never give up." Then somehow, she'll be okay, like Naruto.
But of course, it wasn't going to happen.
Her mom and dad slept next to her that night, their heads resting on her bed as they sat beside her. Melody urged them to go home. But they insisted to stay. Melody fell asleep clutching both their hands and hearing their last song for her.
The next morning, she didn't wake up anymore.
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Melody wasn't sure what heaven was supposed to be like. But she didn't expect it to be quite like this. She felt very cold, she shivered under what felt like blankets. She tried to open her eyes wider but everything was so blurry. She thought that maybe she was still alive, but upon looking around her, she knew that the silhouette of her surroundings wasn't familiar. Wherever she was, this wasn't home nor was this the hospital.
She tried calling her parents, but she only managed to make a garbled sound. It was strange. She thought her voice had gone hoarse already because of her sickness, but this was different. She could hear how loud she can voice out, but she couldn't speak. It was like her tongue couldn't curl properly to say the words. Her tongue felt small. So did her arms. She could move them again, unlike in her hospital state where she could barely lift a finger. This time, she could definitely swing her arms. But they were short and small. Her legs were too, short and stout.
She couldn't see all of this properly, but it felt like she shrunk.
She squinted and tried to look around. It looked like she was lying down on someone's front door.
She tried to scream for help again, confusion and panic flooding her mind. She felt so alive, despite her unusual circumstance. She didn't feel tired as she screamed and screamed, trying to get anyone to notice her. She felt very cold, and all she wanted was to go somewhere warm.
Miraculously, someone finally opened the door. It was a giant.
Melody couldn't be sure, but the giant was big enough to pick her up and curl her up in its arms. Melody didn't feel afraid though, the touch of the giant was comforting and warm as it swayed while holding her. She felt sleepy but finally safe. She smiled at the giant, feeling her eyes drooping. She wasn't sure why she was tired. She just woke up after all. But as lively as she was earlier, all the screaming must have taken a toll after all. She rested her head on the giant's chest and used the beating of its heart to fall asleep.
She heard that giant cooed and "aww"-ed as she continued swaying her.
She fell asleep contentedly.
It took several months afterwards to realize that she turned into a baby. Her vision began to clear, and she only began to realize just how small she was. She saw herself in a large mirror and grew absolutely still on the rest of the next days from shock. Her caretaker panicked and took her to a doctor. She was fine of course, but her doctor attributed it to a nightmare. Maybe it was a nightmare. But time had already passed by and she knew how real everything felt, the pain and the joy, and all the details around her.
But for those several months of near blindness, which she assumed was because her eyes weren't developed enough yet to really see clearly, she was actually just contentedly going along with it. Of course, she cried and cried over the next few days from when she was found because of confusion. Somehow, being a baby made her react like one. She wasn't a crier back then in her old life, she would just smile and think her way out of depressing situations. But being reverted back into an infant made all her emotions amplified. Her confusion and frustration terrified her young heart so much that crying was her only sensible way to release it.
It was even worse when 2 weeks after she was found at the front door, this massive suffocating air flooded the room. She wasn't sure what it was, but it scared the hell out of her. More than that, she could hear blood curling screams outside. She could hear explosions, and she could practically smell death. Weirdly though, this was the one night when she decided not to cry. She gritted her teeth and hummed a tune. Music was always her remedy when she got too sad. She couldn't sing because of her messed-up tongue, but she could still hum a tune. She was frightened to death, though she couldn't understand why. It was the air and the feeling all around. Whatever caused it, it was wreaking havoc outside. So Melody shut her eyes and hummed.
This amazed the adults around her of course. 2 weeks old and already forming a tune. She was named "Sara", comforting music. When Melody knew about it later on, she decided she liked it. It was almost strange that she was named after music in her first life, and yet again here in her new life. Maybe music had always been her fate.
The caretaker who got her from the front door was panicked and exhausted by the time she finally stopped crying. She was taken to a doctor, given shots and medicine, and they thought that maybe one of those efforts finally worked on her. But the truth was, she just decided to go along with it. It seemed silly to embrace the situation as it was without really understanding, but Sara had learned to take things in stride. Crying achieved nothing. She was safe anyway so she decided to relax and observe.
She was fed, clothed, cuddled, and sung to. She was contented, if nothing else. It did make sense when her vision finally cleared and she saw her surroundings and herself. She went into shock. But she didn't cry again. She decided to embrace it as it was. Unfortunately, she couldn't understand anything that the people were saying. She did hear some familiar words being spoken to her. "Akachan" when people refer to her, and "Aishiteimasu" when her caretaker sways her to sleep. Akachan meant baby, while "Aishiteimasu" meant I love you.
They were speaking Nihongo, Japanese language.
Sara bit her lip at that. It seemed like she was reborn in Japan, and now she needed to learn the language. As a baby though, she knew she'd be given ample time to learn it.
Was it weird for her that she was reborn? Did it freak her out that her nineteen-year old self was inside an infant's body? Of course it did. But she couldn't really do anything about it. She literally couldn't even stand up on her own, or even utter a single word.
She also realized that she was at an orphanage. She looked around her and noticed dozens of children running about. There were also some other babies rolling around and minding their own business. She wasn't really miffed by that. Some would say her parents died. But to her, she knew that she was the one who died on her parents. It was a blessing in disguise because she honestly couldn't see herself having new parents in this new world. Her parents were her heart and soul in her first life. As long as she remembered them, they would always have a special place in her life.
So even if she couldn't bring her parents here in her new life, she would still dedicate this one to them. She vowed to live a happy life, just as she had been happy in her previous life. She might grow as an orphan, but she will always remember her parents' love and care to get her through this new era.
But it was approximately a year later when she found out that not only was she reborn in an infant's body, she was also born in a village surrounded by a forest, in a world where physics was completely messed up and the biology of people were built differently. She was taken out before but only a short distance from the orphanage, to greet some people and maybe show her off to potential adopters. But it was only a year later when her caretaker decided to take her out as she shopped in the market. Sara was right there, in her caretaker's arms when she stared up at the mountain.
There she saw 4 great faces carved on its side.
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Minato Namikaze.
She was staring up at the Hokage rock.
She was in Konoha.
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