After a long nap, I woke up. My mother was still beside me, looking tired and worn. Apparently, the household's financial situation isn't very good.
As I lay beside him, I stared up at the roof, which seemed to be one of the ancient designs found on Earth. Wooden frames with straw and large leaves covering the gaps to prevent leaks. The bed we were on was a makeshift wooden frame, stuffed with leaves as a mattress.
From a distance, you could see that the house lacked decoration and furniture; it looked like a typical home of a hardworking farming couple.
I tried to move so I could see what else was beyond the door, since there wasn't much to see in the room. But just after I moved, my mother woke up. Apparently, she's being very careful, and with the slightest movement on my part, she wakes up.
My mother gently shook my father awake. My father jumped up.
*Unknown language* "What?! What happened?! Does something hurt?" he said excitedly.
What I saw was my father more stressed than my mother, which was quite funny. A tender mother, always attentive to my every move, and a father who wants to protect us but is very loud.
*Unknown language* "Nothing's happened, honey. Sam woke up and you should take care of the farm. Winter waits for no one and you know it. I'll clean up and make breakfast," my mom suggested.
As I watched the funny situation, my mother held me in her arms. I listened to my father speak with an accent that seemed like a combination of Irish and French, which sounded quite harmonious.
My mother was still holding me when she heard a snap of her fingers, and magic began to work in the small house. All the extra dust and moisture was disappearing as if it had never been there. Every time I see it, it amazes me more. I try to recapture what was happening, but all I perceive is a light breeze.
As I looked up at my mother from her comfortable arms, my father had already walked out the front door of the house.
After finishing her magic, my mother put me in a small basket, which she used as a cradle, and went to the kitchen to start making breakfast.
"I should take advantage of the moments when I'm alone to investigate this strange breeze I feel when my mother uses what seem to be spells. Although this small body is a great limitation, having all the memories of my previous life will help me," I thought.
I continued with my train of thought for a long time, thinking about how old the house looks and how cold it must be. This could affect my parents, but I don't understand why, if they have magical qualities, they haven't tried to improve it. "Has having magic made them lose interest in learning other things?" I wondered.
It wouldn't be strange if something like this happened; things like this happened on Earth too. People get used to the comfort of some situations and aren't motivated to improve in other areas.
After a long while I saw my father come in, he was covered in mud up to his knees, his face dirty, but sporting a bright smile.
*Unknown language* "Who's a cute baby?" my father would say as he held me in his arms and stroked his newly emerged, spiky beard, which made the delicate skin on my cheeks start to turn red.
*Unknown language* "FRANK! You're hurting Sam. Look, his cheeks are already red," my mother said as she ran to my rescue.
Although I didn't cry, he was upset. The area where he'd scratched me with his beard started to swell and reappear in a cluster of allergies.
After seeing my mother scold my father for what he did, he tried to apologize, or so I think. I didn't understand a word he said.
My mother served breakfast to her and my father. They settled down to eat, looking at each other with expressions of great mutual affection, as if all their problems could be solved with their love for each other.
Later, after they finished their meal, my mother took me in her arms again and fed me. Although I still felt sorry, little by little I was getting used to having to receive food this way; after all, it was a natural process.
After we finished eating, my mother used the snap again to clean up everything that had been messed up by breakfast. She also used the snap to clean myself, which meant she didn't have to use hot water or spend too much time cleaning things. It was surprising how quickly things could be done with magic.
My father started talking to my mother, and they headed toward the small front door of the house. When they opened the door, I couldn't help but gasp, so much so that my parents were surprised by the cute face I was making.
The new world I found myself in was absolutely wonderful, even though the house we had was small. My parents had a small piece of land with a few animals, a very beautiful type of horse, a dark amber color with a whitish mane, grazing, some farmyard animals, and a small plot for growing food.
The next thing I could see was a lush forest visible on the not-too-distant horizon, about a thousand meters from the house, a vibrant green. In the sky, there was a reddish-yellow sun, and strangely, next to it, there was another, smaller, pale yellow sun. The combination of the horizon, the clear sky, and the two suns with the few clouds that existed made the view a marvel for anyone who looked at it.
I couldn't help but appreciate the view between a loving couple and a small shack they were trying to make progress in. All that could be seen around us was the forest and a few harvested fields, seemingly far from the streets and the city.
*Unknown language* "Look at him, with his little surprised face. He has green eyes very similar to yours and his hair is light brown like mine," my mother said while looking at me with a tender gaze. "He is very beautiful. The name we chose fits perfectly. Sam in honour of Sarlin, the god of the suns who always protects us, with his blessing he will achieve great things." My father said, to which I could not understand anything, I just followed how his gaze evaluated me from all sides.
After a big yawn on my part, my parents decided it was time to go back inside. They placed me back in the makeshift crib and walked away, intending to continue with their daily work.
"This new life is a great opportunity to do everything I couldn't in my last life," I thought resolutely. "The rule of least effort, which applied to everything, is over. This time I'll try harder for my loving parents, so I won't have any regrets. It will be like starting over, but this time I'll have the advantage of everything I've learned." My thoughts continued to echo when I began to feel the breeze that always accompanied the snap of my mother's fingers.
This time I tried to shift my perspective and began applying the strange breathing methods I knew from the martial arts I practiced on Earth. They were strange because on Earth, even though the masters told us to do them, they never had any effect; they only caused relaxation. Unlike before, now, a small portion of the breeze entered my nose and began to fill my stomach with what seemed like a very refreshing energy. After a while, I began to feel hot and I had a sharp pain in my upper abdomen. I shuddered at the feeling and stopped practicing the breathing technique, but the pain continued. I began to strain to get whatever was there out, but I think I did too much. The next moment, what came out was a large package. It was quite smelly and very uncomfortable for me, a person who had gotten used to keeping clean without anyone's help.
To get out of the situation, I started yelling for help from my mother, who came running shortly after. She immediately realized what had happened.
*Unknown language* "Oh wow, it seems your food goes down fast hahaha, I'll have to change your diaper."
He picked me up to remove the cloth diaper while my mother snapped her fingers and cleaned me up. "Honestly, every time I see him, it's amazing," I thought, sighing.
After that loud bang, I didn't want to continue investigating the breeze; the warmth it felt in my abdomen didn't seem like a good sign. My mother had put me back in the makeshift crib.
I decided it was best to investigate my body and the space around me. So I set about the arduous task of moving my small limbs, which felt fine and were quite flexible, although very weak. This was to be expected since not much time had passed.
I fell asleep so quickly I didn't even realize it. Apparently this body is too weak; it wants to sleep longer than it can stay awake. When I woke up, my mother was already serving lunch to her and Father. While they ate, I just watched them. Although the food on their plates wasn't abundant, and they always seemed to be hungry, they kept smiling at each other. After they finished, it was my turn, and my mother began her routine of pushing my head against her chest while my father spoke.
*Unknown language* "Feed him well, I'll take care of the cleaning while you finish," my father said, standing up from his seat. "I'll have to return to the countryside soon. Things haven't been very good lately, and food has been scarce. If we don't find a way to produce more food, the winter will destroy us. We'd have to sell some of the animals for less than we should in order to get grain and get through this harsh winter."
*Unknown language* "Times have gotten tougher, taxes have increased even though we are far from the city, Grandma Thea's food and treatment have left us with almost nothing," my mother replied.
From their faces I could more or less understand what they were talking about, and on their faces I could see the frustration and concern about the situation we were going through.
Dusk fell, and my father returned home, completely exhausted, grime all over him, mud all over his clothes and even on his face. After cleaning up and taking a quick shower, we all went to sleep in the makeshift bed. The only thing that echoed in my head was the thought of helplessness, wanting to help them and not being able to because of this tiny body. It was desperate.