Veer opened his eyes slowly as he listened to the footstep approaching him. It was his mother in this life. Her name was Swarna. Her eyes, brimming with cautious hope and maternal relief, settled on Veer. For days, she had mourned the near-impossible loss of her beloved son. Yesterday, she had wept bitter tears at the thought that her boy was consumed by the dark veil of death; today in soft light, he was reborn.
"Beta, you're awake," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "How are you feeling now?", she asked.
Veer looked at her with silence and replied gently, "I am fine, mother."
Three days ago, Veer went with his father Chandrakanth to gather herbs, woods, and fruits from the jungle. They had entered to the deep part of the jungle. On their way back home, it started raining cats and dogs. They had to shelter in one of the caves nearby for the night. During the night, Veer was stung by a poisonous insect. In the morning his hands were swollen. He was suffering from intense fever. His father carried him back home and called a nearby physician. They could not identify the poison. However, they did not give up. They fed him herbal tonic and used acupuncture to expel the poison out of Veer's body. Even so, his condition didn't improve much. He had fallen into deep sleep.
His mother stayed beside him putting cold wet cloth in his forehead to provide relief and help manage the body temperature. She fed him medicinal soup and recited stories about the tales of the immortals that walked in their lands thousands of years ago.
Today, after seeing her son get up on his own, she was overjoyed and thanked the gods for granting her wish. She approached him and caressed her hand gently on his face and hair. She said, "I was so worried about you. Your father kept running to town to bring you medicines and food. Now that you are awake, go wash yourself, I have prepared breakfast for you. Your father brought deer meat from the market."
Veer got up and washed himself. He saw in the mirror that he was so young and paled skin. He didn't look like he was 28 anymore. He was 12 years old young boy. He was thin but his aesthetic was like he had been working out. He knew that this might be due to constant hardships they had to endure to survive and keep on living. He accompanied his father to the jungle to bring wood, herbs, wild fruits and sometimes hunt for small wild animals. Despite the hardships, they were living a comfortable life.
In his previous life, he had to live in a boarding school so he did not spend times with his parents. Even when he came back in his holidays, his parents had to keep working. He rarely got attention and love in that life so he had become cold and distant himself from attachments. He lost them after his high school in a car accident. After that to continue his studies and life, he sold the properties and moved to city. He had a very few friends over there. He also got betrayed by the one he loved and cared for. Now, he was here – in a world where he got another chance at life. He wanted to make this life a better one. Be a better version of himself – enjoying the life that the heavens had given him.
He had a full belly meal. It was not cooked in a restaurant; nor did it had any added flavours like in the modern world he had lived in the past life. Even so, it tasted and smelled so nice. He could not express his feelings after having this meal. It was not only delicious, but filled with the emotions of love and care.
His father asked him to stay at home and rest. He was going to the market to sell the herbs that he had gathered while he was unconscious. He said goodbye and walked on his way carrying the herb basket. Veer did not want to rest so he asked his mother if he could go to the cliff at the end of their village. He wanted to see around. His mother said, "You must come back immediately if you feel unwell. Take care."
Veer walked along the road. He saw that their village was located in a flat mountain. His house was a little far from the village separated by a small brook. There was a wooden bridge that connected them to the village and other two roads that lead to the city and the jungle. There was an old plum tree at the cliff before the village. It was said that an immortal had eaten a plum at that place after descending to the mortal world and killing the monsters that had been haunting that place about 400 years ago. The seed that fell on the ground grew to become the legendary plum tree. It gave fruits every summer. There was a carved stone statue placed at that place paying respect to the immortal that had saved them. The village name came to be known as 'immortal plum peak village' or 'plum village'.
Veer went to the statue and looked carefully. The statue was carved with such precision that it seemed like a real person. If not for its rocky-white colour, anyone could get confused. He went to the end of the cliff and sat on a stone taking support from the plum tree. He started thinking how he should live his life and make this hard-struggling life easy for his parents. He also knew that he needed to get stronger if he wanted to survive in this world.
There was no technology here like Earth. There was no rules and regulations. Only the strong ruled here. There was a king but that only applied to the city. Outside the city, nobody cared if you lived or died. The danger was not only from the people, but the beasts that lived deep in the jungle as well. There were different kinds of beasts. Even the weak looking beast can tear a normal human into shreds if he was not strong. This was a land of kill or be killed.
There were many martial arts and cultivation sects on this planet that produced prodigies and strong warriors that could rival these monster beasts. He had only heard stories about them from his mother. She would tell him that the people who cultivated were called immortals. They could fly and had magical abilities. They could live for as long as they wanted. They only came to the mortal world when there was a beast tides to protect the humans. She also said that the last time it happened was 400 years ago. After that many generations came and went, the monsters that once ruled this part of the continent left and did not come back since. There were only a few low-level beasts that lived in the deepest part of the jungle and were rarely encountered by humans.
Their continent was called Bhagyadweep, meaning the land of luck. Their continent itself was hundreds of times bigger than that the land of the Earth. No one knew how big the entire planet was. There were around 5 continents separated by the vast ocean in between them. It took years to travel from one continent to another. His mother told him that there were many monsters that lived in the Ocean. Some were so fierce and big that even the immortals feared.
He wanted to get strong too if he wanted to survive. This year, the immortals were about to come to the city near their village to recruit disciples. It was a chance for him to try his luck. But he did not know if his parents would allow him to take part in the competition. He also did not have any idea about the recruitment process. He felt sleepy while thinking about the future he wanted to make in this world him. He closed his eyes and slept all afternoon lying beside the plum tree.
In the evening an hour before the sunset, he was awakened by the sounds of laughter and joyful cries of children about his age playing and running around. A few children ran towards him. "Veer! What are you doing here? Why were you sleeping at this place? Would you like to play with me?", the children asked him one by one before he could answer any of their questions.
"I just fell asleep. I have to go home now. Mother would be worried.", he said and walked away towards his home.
Children started gossiping about him after he walked away. "He seems different today."
"I heard he was bitten by a poisonous bee in the forest.", another said.
"He had no chance to live. My father talked about him. No antidotes worked on him even after taking the poison out of his body.", the physician's son Akram said.
"Let him be. He'll come around soon after he recovers. Let's play.", Rohan said. He was a small farmer's son.
Then, the children started running and playing.
On the way home, Veer looked at the sky, there were two moons – one very big, in comparison to the earth's moon, it looked 6-7 times bigger and the other was small, which was 3-4 times bigger than the moon of earth. He remembered that they were called Yuna and Luna respectively. The sun had not yet set still the moons were clearly visible in the sky.
He walked on the mud path, on both sides of the road were paddy fields. After crossing the bridge, there was a small grass field after that was his home. He hurried fast and went inside. His mother was preparing the evening snack and tea.
"You've returned, son. Go wash yourself. Call your baba too. I have prepared some pakoras and fried peanuts for you.", his mother said looking at her son's arrival.
"Yes, mother."
He washed his face and feet and went to the backside of their house. His father was chopping woods for the fire. He was drenched in sweat. He was tall around 185cm and was muscular. It was the final wood. He swung the axe hitting the wood at the centre cutting it into two equal pieces.
"Wow! That was awesome.", said Veer. "Mother is calling us for tea. Let's go father."
"Let me wash myself first. Go ahead, I'll be there soon.", his father replied.
They had a lovely time together. They ate the snacks, drank tea and his father talked about his day in the market. Veer told them how he fell asleep at the cliff enjoying the view of the horizon. His mother listened to their talks smiling and filling up their cups and plates with snacks and tea.
"Father, mother, I want to be a cultivator too.", said Veer looking at his parents.
His parents were shocked by his words. It was not something that can be decided in just a moment. Becoming a cultivator was not an easy feat. One would have to leave behind their home and don't even have the guarantee of ever returning back.
His father looked at his son. He was so determined and his eyes looked as if he was asking for their approval. He asked, "Do you really want to be a cultivator, son?"
"Yes, father. I want to try my luck in the coming recruitment ceremony.", Veer replied politely.
His mother looked at him and said, "You know, you will have to live without us. You will have to face dangers and hardships all alone if you choose this path. Do you really want to go?"
"Mother, I think I am ready. I promise I'll visit whenever I get the chance. I know it is hard for me to leave you both all alone. I have never stayed alone; you were always beside me and father provided me all that what I wanted. I want to become strong and travel around the world. I want to make both of you proud. If I am selected, you won't have to live in this hardship anymore. Father would not have to go to the jungle to chop woods and mother, you will live in luxury.", Veer said holding his mother's hand.
His mother pulled and hugged him. She said, "You don't have to do it for us. If you want to be a cultivator, you should do it for yourself. Just don't forget who you are. You should always be kind to others and never forget about us. There's still a month for the ceremony. You should get ready for the selection during this time. It is not easy."
"Son, I know you are going to be selected with flying colours. After all you are my son.", his father laughed.
After that Veer went outside and sat on the courtyard on a rock. Looking at the stars that were shining in the sky. He wondered if he could recognize any constellation in the sky. He saw only a few constellations that looked similar to that of the earth but were not the same. He missed earth even after enduring so much so he wanted to know if it was located on any of the stars that were shining in the sky.
"I'm just delusional. It is impossible to go back now. This is my life now. My second chance. I will make my incomplete dream complete here.", he thought to himself.
He saw a shooting star in the sky after a few moments. He saw it and wished for a better future this time. He promised himself that he won't trust anyone in this life apart from himself.
His mother was cooking dinner and his father started to count money and planned the expenses for Veer's journey to the city.
After having dinner, he went to sleep. He fell asleep unknowing about the future that was about to come. Is it going to be like he wished? Or the fate is going to play with him again? –