A truck's horn… blinding headlights… then a flash of pain! That was the last thing the man remembered before ending up in black floating darkness. So this is death... He had to admit it was kind of nice. It was a lot darker than he had imagined, but it was peaceful and comforting.
What would his wife think when she found out? He'd only gone out to get them something to eat. The crash hadn't been the man's fault. That light had been green! But who's fault it was wouldn't matter. His partner would be crushed when she received the news.
The man's entire 34 years of life had ended suddenly without warning. His love, his family, all his goals and dreams. It was all gone. The only question was, what now?
He started to hear a rhythmic thumping noise. As he listened, it got louder and louder. A smaller, faster thumping noise also came into existence. The man clenched a slimy fist in order to concentrate. Wait. Slimy fist? He could have sworn the last time he checked he was nothing but air. Why was his fist slimy? Why couldn't he breathe?
Warm tissue clenched around his body from all sides. In the distance, he could hear a woman screaming. The pressure got harder and harder, only pausing briefly at times. It felt like his head was going to explode. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the pressure released, and sharp cold air hit his wet form. Bright light hit the man's eyes, causing him to quickly close them, as he took in a few gasps of air, shivering in shock. Giant, rough hands handled him gently, laying him face-first down into soft warm flesh.
Panicked and a bit bewildered, the man struggled feebly against the embrace. Was this what he thought it was?! What in hell was going on?! It's not that he hadn't ever contemplated reincarnation or life after death. But reincarnation would come with some sort of brain wipe, right? And if this was the afterlife, why was he born like a mortal?
A soft, deep voice spoke behind him, followed by a choked-up crying one from a person above. The crying made his body shake, leading the man to conclude that he was resting on the crying person's chest. The soft arms and hands of the crying person continued to hold him tight as a soft kiss was placed on his forehead. His baby brain was in a slight fog, so the soft mumbles said in his ear afterward were hard to grasp. But when the fog cleared, he realized that it wasn't just his brain that was making things incomprehensible. The person was speaking in a different language!
Great.. the man huffed internally. This was just what he needed. He really wanted to figure out what was going on. He sighed, moving his lethargic tongue around uselessly. It didn't matter. Even if he did know the language, it would be some time before he could speak. Questions couldn't be asked.
Was this how all babies felt? Helpless in their inability to communicate.
A panicked thought struck him. Did all babies remember their past lives? Did this mean that he was going to lose his memories at some point?! The man could handle a brain wipe, but slowly losing memories seemed like torture. He'd always had an excellent memory, and cared about the people and experiences of his past. Dementia was one of his worst fears. He didn't want to suffer through it.
Exhaustion overcame the former man as he fell asleep in the warm embrace of the person holding him. Oh well. There was no use stressing about it. Dementia might be natural and peaceful for a baby. When he forgot, he might not remember that there was something to remember. Hopefully, this was the case.
He would just have to take life as it came…