The last thing I remember is the sound of a horn.
Too loud. Too close.
Then weightlessness followed by pain so sharp it steals the air from my lungs. The world spins, lights blurring into white, and my thoughts shatter into nothing.
I should have died. I did die.
Yet my consciousness returns.
Something is wrong. Terribly wrong.
I can't see. I can't move.
My body feels… small. Wrapped tight. Crushed by a gravity I can't fight against. I try to inhale sharply, try to open my mouth and scream but what comes out isn't a scream.
It's a cry.
High-pitched. Broken. Weak.
The sound rips through me like terror made flesh.
No. No this isn't my voice.
Panic surges. I try again to move my arms, my legs anything but my body refuses to obey. It's as if my mind has been sealed inside a cage too small to hold my thoughts.
And yet my thoughts are clear. Too clear.
I was crossing the street. The signal was green. I remember the truck
Another cry bursts from my throat, louder this time. My body shakes, overwhelmed by sensations I can't name. Cold. Then warmth. Rough fabric. Something soft pressed against my face.
Voices echo around me muffled, distorted, as if I'm underwater.
"She's crying."
"A healthy pair of lungs."
"It's a girl."
Girl?
No. I'm Serena. I'm twenty-one. An engineering student. I..
My thoughts cut off as strong arms lift me, cradling me carefully. The motion is gentle, practiced. Something brushes my forehead, and instinct an instinct I don't recognize makes me go quiet.
Slowly. Horrifyingly. Understanding dawns.
I'm not unable to speak. I don't have words.
My mind is adult. My body is not.
Terror pools deep in my consciousness as the truth settles, heavy and undeniable.
I've been reborn.
Not as a ghost. Not in another body like I imagined in stories.
But as a newborn baby.
My world fades in and out light seeping through closed lids, warmth, heartbeats, unfamiliar scents. I can't tell how much time passes. Minutes? Hours?
Then a voice. Clearer. Female. Elegant.
"My daughter?"
Daughter.
My heart too fast, too small pounds wildly.
"I want to see her," the woman continues. "Bring her to me."
I'm placed into new arms, and something strange ripples through my tiny body.
Not fear. Not pain.
Something else.
A voice reaches me. Soft. Low. Humming.
The sound weaves through the chaos in my mind like a thread of warmth steady, soothing. It isn't a song I recognize, yet it calms me in a way nothing else has since I woke.
My frantic thoughts slow.
The tight panic coiled in my chest begins to loosen.
"My daughter," the woman murmurs.
I'm drawn closer, wrapped in warmth that feels different from before gentler, safer. The humming continues, rhythmic and unbroken, like a lullaby meant only for me.
My body responds before my mind can protest.
The trembling eases. My cries fade into small, exhausted whimpers. I try to hold on to my thoughts, my memories, my fear, my questions
But they slip through my grasp like water.
I can't… stay awake…
My newborn body, overwhelmed by shock, fear, and sensations it was never meant to process, simply gives in.
The world blurs.
The humming remains, distant yet comforting, as darkness creeps in from the edges of my consciousness.
I fall asleep..
not because I understand what has happened, but because my new body will allow nothing else.
_________
I woke up feeling hungry.
The sensation was unfamiliar yet overwhelming, a deep, aching emptiness that seemed to hollow me out from the inside. It wasn't like the hunger I remembered the mild annoyance between meals, the craving for something salty or sweet.
This was urgent. Instinctive. Consuming.
I tried to open my eyes.
They felt heavy. Sticky. When I managed to pry them apart, the world bled into view in shapeless smears of color. Light hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut again, a weak sound slipping from my throat before I could stop it.
A whimper.
I hadn't meant to make it.
But once it started, my body took over.
The sound grew louder, more desperate, my tiny chest heaving with effort. My face twisted, hot and tight, and suddenly I was crying again raw and helpless and completely out of my control.
Stop. Please stop.
I tried to tell myself to be quiet, to calm down, but my thoughts felt slow now, dulled at the edges. The hunger burned, and the discomfort only fed the panic.
Footsteps hurried toward me.
"Oh she's awake."
A woman's voice. Not the humming one from before. This voice was younger, brisk but gentle.
"Shh, shh… it's alright."
Warm hands lifted me, adjusting the fabric wrapped around my body. I felt air against my skin, then warmth again as I was pressed carefully against something soft.
I whimpered, the sound breaking off into uneven breaths.
"She must be hungry," another voice said nearby. Older. Calm. Familiar in a way I couldn't place.
Hungry.
Yes. That.
The word echoed dimly in my mind as I was shifted again, tilted slightly. Something brushed my lips.
I froze.
The scent was unfamiliar, but my body reacted instantly.
Before I could think before I could protest my mouth opened, and I latched on.
Warmth flooded my senses.
The ache inside me eased, replaced by something grounding, almost comforting. My body relaxed as it fed, small hands curling weakly against fabric.
Horror flickered through me, faint and distant.
I'm…
But the thought dissolved before it could finish.
The hunger faded, and with it, my ability to focus. My thoughts drifted, scattered like leaves on water.
"There," the woman murmured softly. "See? She's calmer now."
I felt a hand brush over my hair gentle, rhythmic. The motion soothed me more than I wanted to admit.
I hated how easily my body betrayed me.
I hated how good it felt.
My eyelids drooped again, the world slipping further out of focus. Shapes hovered above me faces, maybe but they were only blurs of light and shadow.
One face lingered longer than the others. I couldn't see her clearly, but I felt her. The same presence as before.
Warm. Steady. Enveloping.
"My little one," she whispered.
Her voice vibrated through me, low and melodic. The sound wrapped around my fading thoughts, anchoring me just enough to keep me from drifting away completely.
I wanted to hold on.
To remember.
I was Serena, I told myself weakly. I had a life. Classes. Exams. Deadlines. I hated early mornings and loved late-night coffee. I—
The memories slipped.
Not gone but distant, like a dream I'd just woken from and was already forgetting.
Fear stirred, faint but persistent.
What if I forget myself?
The thought scared me more than the accident. More than the rebirth.
My body shifted slightly as I was adjusted in her arms. A finger brushed my cheek, wiping away the remnants of my tears.
"You'll be alright," the woman murmured, as if she could hear my thoughts. "You're safe."
Safe.
The word echoed softly in my mind.
I didn't know if it was true. But my body believed her.
The last of my strength drained away, leaving only warmth and exhaustion behind. My breathing slowed. The world dimmed.
As sleep claimed me once more, one final thought surfaced quiet, fragile, but determined.
I don't know where I am…
But I'll survive.
And then, wrapped in unfamiliar arms, I slipped back into darkness.