Eugene, when he slightly opened his eyelids, a scene appeared before his eyes that was unfamiliar but, strangely, peaceful: a wooden ceiling… In the corners, black traces of mold were scattered. The wood seemed to silently bear the weight of the years.
And then he saw a face.
She was beautiful — but that word was far too insufficient for him. Her amber-colored eyes shone like a warm light even in the darkness. Some strands of her brown hair had lightly stuck to her face due to the drops of sweat falling onto her forehead. Those eyes… were filled with tears. She was looking at Eugene. But those tears were not from sorrow; they were drops of overflowing joy, of indescribable gratitude.
He tried to speak. But from his lips came only meaningless, babyish sounds like "Ughhh… Aghhh…". At that moment, an echo resounded in his mind — the last words he had heard at the cold edge of death:
"Be reborn… and grow strong."
At that moment, he understood. The scene he thought he had seen before dying was not a hallucination. It was real.
And now, Eugene… was a baby.
(Damn it, at least you could have started me as an adult! What is this being a baby? Was that thing even a god? Why did it choose me?)
While he was lost in his own inner voice, the woman's voice pulled him back to the present moment.
"Ah… my baby. You… are my miracle."
Even though Eugene should have been hearing the woman's language for the first time, he could understand everything clearly.
(So it uploaded an automatic translation into my head… fine then.)
When his thoughts scattered, his tiny hands were moving involuntarily, and sweet meaningless sounds were coming from his throat. The woman spoke with a smile full of affection:
"How cute you are, my baby. But it feels strange to always call you like this… I should give you a name."
Eugene could not help but flinch at these words. Being given a brand new name created a strange feeling for his sense of self, but…
"EUGENE."
With this name falling from the woman's lips, his eyes twitched.
"Your name will be Eugene."
He could not help but think this was fate. In both his previous life and in this one, his name being Eugene made him unable to stop himself from laughing.
"It's like you already like your new name," said the woman, with a warm light in her eyes.
"Eugene… my sweet baby."
The woman took Eugene into her arms and embraced him. The feeling Eugene had was warm and comforting. A feeling he had never felt before. No — a feeling he had felt, but had forgotten because so much time had passed. Maybe it was the shock of what had happened, maybe because he was a baby, or maybe because the weather outside was as dark as night, but he felt tired. His eyelids began to close slowly.
The woman chuckled softly while holding Eugene.
"Did you get sleepy? That's fine… sleep, Eugene. Tomorrow, your mother will take great care of you."
Her voice flowed into his ears like a lullaby blending into the darkness. Eugene closed his eyes in the embrace of peace.
Seven years later…