Hello.
And a very warm welcome!
You are about to witness a game.
A game between two individuals.
Two souls I am about to connect.
Last time I did this, boredom nearly killed me.
They took ninety years to complete a game.
And the result?
A draw.
They died of old age.
Instead of fulfilling their purpose, they spent ninety years on a couch.
Living the proud life of a potato.
But trust me, this time it will be different. You will be entertained. I will also interfere to ensure everything's going smoothly.
The two players are ready.
They just don't know it yet.
When you play the game of chess, you win or you die.
But this one might be different…
I wish you a good game.
Lights out and here we go!
E4!
****
25
I'm tired.
It's still not midnight. Tomorrow I turn twenty-five.
I completed every major task at the office, but why do I feel that a deadline is approaching?
I'm already in bed, desperately trying to force myself to sleep.
Sleep.
Sleep.
I worked hard today. Hopefully I'll actually enjoy my day off tomorrow.
I like my job. It isn't too boring and the pay is decent.
But let's be honest - like most people, I'm only doing it for the paycheck.
I've practically given up hope of ever finding work that brings me joy.
I don't even know what that would look like.
Which field? Which role?
I have no idea.
It's probably better to settle for what I have and keep drifting with the flow of life.
Just like I always have.
My life is… not exactly eventful.
Well at least I've been lucky with my friends. They make everything a bit more bearable.
Honestly, they're the only positive thing I have in this life.
I've never had a girlfriend.
I have no real goals.
And I have absolutely no idea where I'm headed.
I want to change this. Break out of this cycle. Bring something new into my life.
But am I capable of that?
Honestly… I don't think I have the strength.
Instead, I just dwell on the past.
Replaying memories.
Running endless what-if scenarios.
Imagining how everything could have turned out differently.
As for the future? My mind automatically blocks it out.
"Where and when are we meeting?" the group chat pings.
I reply and toss the phone aside. I'll answer the birthday wishes in the morning.
Then I'll go out with the guys.
We'll eat, drink, and have some fun.
And then, everything will go back to the way it was.
The same routine.
The same job.
The same everything.
I try to sleep, but instead of counting sheep, I'm counting every single urgent task waiting for me the day after tomorrow.
I rest my hand on my right knee.
I was seven or eight when I fell somewhere. The scar is still there.
Funny how some things never really heal.
I try to clear my head. My mind goes white.
Wait, no...
The whiteness is covered in vertical and horizontal lines.
Even here, Excel won't leave me alone.
A dog starts barking somewhere in the neighborhood. Perfect.
I pick up my phone again. One game of chess. Just one. Maybe this will finally burn out my brain and put it to sleep.
I open with E4.
I started strong. I won a piece…
Blunder!
Now I'm losing...
The clock is ticking and it's getting harder to focus on the moves.
I lost.
I can feel it now. Exhaustion is finally taking over.
In a few seconds, I'll be gone...
0
I wake up to strange sounds. Everything feels heavy.
Distant voices echo from somewhere far away.
I try to open my eyes. They won't cooperate fully, but I manage to catch a glimpse of light.
Something is wrong. Very wrong.
My body feels… wrong. Smaller.
I try to move my hands, but my body won't listen. I want to scream, but I have no mouth!
No, wait… my mouth is open. I just can't close it.
Thoughts race through my head, but this body… it isn't mine. It can't be mine.
Panic.
Panic!
What the hell is going on?!
The sound becomes clearer. Someone is crying.
Is it the neighbor's kid? No, they don't have any. Maybe they have guests? Unlikely.
As if my poor eyesight wasn't enough, now I'm seeing everything in black and white. I try to focus on a single point. It works.
Slowly, a face comes into view. A girl. I look closer and see tears on her cheeks.
So she's the one crying!
But her mouth is closed. And yet the sound continues. Tears usually don't make noise…
My eyes ache. I try to cover them, but I can't reach my face.
Now I finally understand how T-Rex felt.
Short arms. Useless arms.
What is happening to me?! This is not the time for jokes…
The girl is moving her hands.
A sudden jolt, like an earthquake. Then the world starts to sway rhythmically.
The girl opens her mouth. Her voice is so pleasant, so sweet, that…
Suddenly it hits me.
I am the one crying.
The sound I've been hearing this whole time… it's mine.
Everything is happening at once. My world is shifting. I try to organize my thoughts, but it's impossible. Maybe it's just because of burnout from the office.
My head is splitting. I'm drifting toward the border of sleep again.
Just before I slip away, one final thought flashes through my mind.
I think…
I was just born.
Huh?!
****
I wake up again.
I try to find the thread of my thoughts, searching for the exact moment my consciousness cut out. As I remember, a wave of confusion crashes over me.
No, not confusion.
Panic!
The word "panic" comes from Greek mythology, rooted in Pan, the god of the wild.
Why am I thinking about etymology right now?!
Focus.
Concentrate.
I force my mind into some kind of order and start processing the facts. Every sensation, every scrap of evidence points to one undeniable conclusion.
I am a newborn baby.
But how can I be a newborn if I can still recall the exact taste of ice cream?
I run a quick diagnostic on my brain, pulling up memories one by one. Everything is there. All twenty-five years of my life are perfectly intact.
So, I've been born again. Reincarnated.
That sentence sounds insane even inside my own head.
And this girl… she's beautiful, but she looks nothing like my mother. This means I've been dropped into a different family, or more likely a different world entirely.
Is this the real life… or is this just fantasy?
She has warm hands, though. I'll give her that.
Wait, wait, wait… I've read enough of these stories and seen enough of these shows to know the drill. Usually, to get a new life, you have to die first.
A cold realization suddenly hits me.
Then I remember.
I'm the one crying.
I force myself to calm down. Some of these cases happen without the whole "death" requirement.
I feel that momentary "earthquake" again.
Honestly, someone needs to tell this girl she doesn't have to use her tectonic-plate-like (yet warm) hands to calm me down every time a sound leaves my mouth.
The border of slumber is nearing again…
****
Woke up this morning again. Got myself a gun…
Ok, ok.
Something has definitely changed.
It doesn't take long to notice the bars surrounding me.
I've been arrested!
Wait… that can't be right.
I'm just about to let the negative emotions flood in and start screaming when it hits me.
This isn't a prison cell.
It's a cradle.
Which explains the bars. Slightly.
Which, unfortunately, confirms the baby theory.
I try to think, but I can't even decide what to think about. And here I thought I had a black belt in overthinking.
I need to figure out where I am. Am I still in my own time? My own world?
And oh god… what are they going to name me?
Whatever. There's no point worrying about that now. If they give me some miserable, tragic name, I'll just change it later. One way or another.
So far I've only seen my mother. I don't think I was born in a modern hospital. I can't quite make out the color of the ceiling yet, but the patterns remind me of wood.
A wooden ceiling.
I never would have guessed that my 25th birthday would literally become my birth day.
There's still a small chance this is all just a dream. But I've woken up three times now, and this dream refuses to end.
I think this is actually happening.
This is it. An opportunity. That "something new" I could never bring into my life on my own. Something incredible is happening to me.
And there it is again — sleep.
I guess my tiny baby brain just can't keep up with my adult thoughts…
****
I wake up again and honestly? I think I might as well just start crying.
I still have no idea where I am or what's happening, but one thing is clear: I need to play the part. It's better if they don't suspect a thing. I can't afford to be too quiet.
Just then the girl comes back in. This time there's a guy following her. They both look to be about my age… well, my old age.
Both of them are staring at me and talking about something.
Oh please no.
I can hear the words perfectly fine, but I don't understand a single thing. It's a completely different language. Who has the mental energy to learn an entire language from scratch right now?
I just finished twenty-five years of learning one.
It's easy for a regular toddler — they just soak it up like a sponge without even realizing it.
But I already know three languages (honestly, two would have been enough), and a fourth one feels like a cruel joke.
I'm just going to pray that this language doesn't have articles.
And please, let's not have "feminine" chairs or "masculine" tables…
They keep talking to me, and apparently I've stopped crying. I try to say something back because communication is key.
Unfortunately my vocal cords disagree.
All I can manage are these weird gurgling noises.
They're smiling.
I try to listen closely, hoping to catch a pattern.
And I actually do.
There's one word in particular that keeps coming up. They use it constantly. They start almost every sentence with it.
I'm already getting annoyed.
Because if I had to guess…
And then it clicks.
Alba.
Alba this, Alba that, Alba whatever…
They keep repeating it like I'm supposed to react.
Seriously, what kind of name is Alba?
That sounds like the name of a medieval restaurant.
I just hope my last name isn't Jessica…
Alba…
I guess I have to live with this for the rest of my life now. Fine. It could be worse. I don't even know what qualifies as a "good" name in this world.
It'll do.
But there is one big problem…
Isn't Alba a girl's name?
Let me check…
Oh, hello there, little buddy!
No, I'm definitely a boy.
Wouldn't I get bullied at school for having a girl's name?
Ok, whatever.
My brain is definitely not holding up. My focus is slipping, and here comes that familiar brain-slowing fog.
Sleeeeeep.
****
I wake up again.
This time there's a third person standing over me. I can't quite make out their face — it looks like they have something covering it, maybe a mask or a hood.
I glance at the girl and the guy. They both have these looks of pure dissatisfaction on their faces.
Great. I've been born for just two seconds, and I've already managed to disappoint my parents.
That has to be some kind of world record.
The heavy feeling in my head returns almost immediately. It's a familiar sensation by now, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.
Either I'm still exhausted from my previous life, or this tiny body has zero stamina.
It's probably better if I stop thinking for a while. I need to give my brain a rest so I can continue properly once I'm actually refreshed.
I hate it when my train of thought gets cut off mid-sentence. This sleep-wake loop isn't getting me anywhere.
Alright then.
I'm out.
I hope the next wake-up comes with more than five minutes of battery life.
See you in a bit, world.