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(HPMM)Chapter 1: Death and rebirth
🕑 Added 2025-08-20 14:44:52 +0000 UTCLife's a funny thing sometimes.
One moment you had years left to do whatever you wanted and the next it's all over and you can't help wondering, did I do my best? In recent months I couldn't help but ponder such thoughts after I collapsed in the convention I was at. Honestly it felt like a fairly good day so far before that. I got dressed in my best Ash Ketchum cosplay, plastic pokeballs and all. I set out from my home after saying my "see you later" to my mom who I still lived with.-
The economy sucked at this point and I frankly couldn't afford to move out despite being twenty nine this year. I always found it funny how when we were younger we'd make fun of thirty year old's still living with their parents only for most people in my generation being forced into that exact situation. It wasn't all bad though as I loved my mom and helped support the household with my crappy Walmart job. I paid my way in rent, utilities and groceries so I can't say I was free loading but gods did it feel like it sometimes.-
I was single of course. I suppose it was only natural really after seeing my moms many failed relationships over the years. The very idea of romance just seemed unappealing to me at this point. It didn't help that I wasn't particularly handsome or smart or anything like that. There was also the nihilism that an unfortunate number of my generation held. You know the kind, no hope, better off dead, that sort of mindset. Not exactly great for romance really. Still I found my relief from that dread filled mindset in anime, books and video games. -
My escape from reality. Fantastical worlds and quirky characters that told grand stories that I couldn't help wishing I was a part of. I really got into the community and this was my first time going to a convention in cosplay, I was nervous and excited at the same time. I felt a little hot when I arrived at the convention but thought nothing of it at the time since it was July in Florida. I of course brought a whole can of deodorant as I knew how bad you could smell after stewing in your own sweat for a few hours.-
Everything was going wonderfully at first as I mingled with other fans, got some complements from others and even did a few funny skits with some people who came dressed as pokemon. At about two thirty pm though while I was looking at some figurines for sale I started seeing black spots in my vision while my strength left me and I passed out. When I woke up next I was in a hospital gown and got the worst news of my life, cancer and paralysis. Turns out I had bone cancer and it had hidden from us until it had spread to my spine. -
The tumor had finally grown big enough that it pressed on the nerves in my spine paralyzing me from the waist down. As if that wasn't bad enough more thorough tests told us that it was extremely aggressive and had spread over several parts of my body already including my arms and skull. I knew this was going to be the end of me when the doctor told me some of the tumors were inoperable. I took the chemo in hopes of fighting it off but other than making me miserable it failed. I was given three more months to live and couldn't even spend that time at home in comfort as we simply couldn't afford it.-
I had insurance so my medical bills were covered and there'd be a decent payout once I was gone but that didn't exactly do me much good at that moment. It was strange knowing definitively that my time was at it's end, numbing almost. I was in the middle of reading through the Harry Potter books again since I knew I'd never see the new reboot of it and it was one of my favorite stories when I breathed my last.-
I passed in my sleep so I couldn't even tell you what dying was like as one moment I was dreaming and the next I felt a sharp sense of twisting which jolted me awake. The first thing I could tell you when I did was that I panicked, HARD. Everything felt wrong, my body felt small and strange and my surroundings were horribly unfamiliar. Even stranger was that I could feel my legs again and didn't feel like death warmed over, if anything I felt great. A bit hungry but compared to the agonizing existence I was leading before I'd take that any day.-
It didn't take me long to figure out what had happened and how I ended up like this. Using the dirty glass of my cramped attic room I saw that I was in the body of a child, no more than eleven from my guess.
'So I died and was reincarnated as this child huh?' I thought as I looked at my reflection in the moonlit glass.
It was hard to believe but I was not going to dismiss something when I was literally experiencing it as fiction. I had to admit that while a bit malnourished this new body of mine wasn't that bad in the looks department. I had short blond hair and bright green eyes with a pale freckled face that was soft with high cheekbones and a strong sharp jawline. My new body was a bit on the skinny side but not so much that it was concerning. The cloths I had on were not great though, simple dirty jeans and a dirty rough grey shirt.
'I must be from a poor family or something, I'll need to play dumb until I figure out how I am supposed to act since this body didn't come with memories.' I decided before turning to explore the room I found myself in.
Small, rough wooden floors, slanted walls(attic room), single dirty round window, single three drawer dresser/nightstand, half burned candle stick on the dresser/nightstand, single mattress bed on slightly rusty frame with a single pillow and thin wool blanket. That was it, that was all that was in the room. The room was ridiculously barren by all metrics to the point I almost thought I was in prison. Yawning I decided that I'd try and learn more when the sun was actually up.
Comments
Christian Jeffress
Thanks for the enjoyable opening chapter, and I’m really looking forward to how things continue to develop. I kind of hope one of the worlds he has access to would be cyberpunk, since there are certainly some fun things to trade for in that world. Anyway, thanks for sharing, looking forward to the next one. Hope all is well.
Shadow king
TFTC
