Reincarnation

Michael, an 11 year old child, couldn't see anything properly. He was lying down on something hard, and it looked like he was in a room of some sort. But he couldn’t be sure. There was black everywhere, as if there was a dark veil between his face and the outside world. He thought he heard… sobbing. He couldn’t feel almost anything. Was he… dying? He probably was; he could hear a heartbeat monitor beeping away now and then. “Is this what dying feels like?”

But he couldn’t feel anything. It was like dying in a dream. He felt his eyes flutter, and closed them. He shuddered and took his last breath, and felt himself flying away…

***

“Oi, John! You seeing that?”

“What?”

“It’s one of our wolves! She just entered that cave over there!”

The two wildlife guards stood on a tall metal tower in the nature reserve, observing the area below. John took out a camera and focused it on the cave.

“Think she might be giving birth. It’s been 2 months and something since she met her mate. They usually hide in caves while they’re doing it too.”

“Sounds likely enough.”

The two guards retreated to a lower floor of the watch tower for a cup of tea while they were waiting for the wolves.

It turns out they were right. A new litter had been born. 

Everything was black and there was no sound to be heard. It was terrifying. Michael let his instincts guide him to something warm and fuzzy. He could feel a bunch of other bodies pushing around him. What was happening to him? Was this Heaven? Were those bodies corpses? . He joined the crowd of pushing, nudging and heaving masses, pushing through and again letting his instincts guide him. This was difficult, since he was both blind and deaf.

He remembered seeing a documentary or something about animals who were born blind and deaf. Maybe… he was beginning life again as something new? Did that even make sense. He just wanted to get out of this nightmare of not being able to see or hear: It felt like being stuck in bed during sleep paralysis. But it probably wasn’t sleep paralysis; He could feel, and he remembered himself dying clearly. It was strange to think that you could remember yourself dying…

***

“You were right. I’ve just looked into the cameras and there are 4 healthy cubs in the litter. No runts by what I’ve seen.”

“That 's good.” Said John.  “This pack is sure to make it.”

“Is everything ready for that visit in 2 weeks?

John nodded, and looking at his watch, remarked that it was time to end his shift, and bade the other guard goodbye.

***

As the days went by, Michael began to understand more and more about his current situation. He was now able to see, and could confirm that he was an animal now. A wolf, to be more specific. 

It was a bit strange, to be something you weren’t used to being, but just like when he was born, he let his instincts guide him. He wondered if his siblings were once humans too. 

He went over to one of them, and tried to say “hello” in the human language to him. The other was so confused by the strange  noises he was making with his throat  that he slashed him on the nose with a clawed paw and walked away.

As time passed, he felt himself growing, and forgetting many things that had happened to him before, so that 2 weeks after his birth, Michael remembered little of his past life. Now that he was able to see and hear, he started exploring the space around him more. It was very big, with lots of different animals in it. But there was a certain section that was blocked with some kind of barrier that prevented him from crossing it. On the other side was a road and an abundance of little wooden huts with signposts outside them.

And so it was that one day, while Michael was observing the fence closely, a loud rumbling sound was heard. He promptly ran to hide behind a tree, but left his head out so he could see what was happening. 

A large vehicle, bulky and of a treebark- brown colour was thundering down the gravel road outside the fence, sending small stones flying everywhere. It skidded to a stop in a spot with a large wooden signpost in it that Michael had tried to read earlier to no avail. Michael could hear voices - Human voices.

A group of people clambered out of the vehicle to see the space, so Michael decided that to avoid being seen, it was best to run. He scampered off, and heard loud “Ooh”’s and lots of repetitive clicking noises. He looked around, and froze still. He had seen something he never thought he’d see again…

***

John the Nature Reserve Guard looked through his binoculars at the crowd of people standing around an old, dusty Jeep Wrangler. He also spotted one of the wolf cubs running away from the scene. Apparently, his curiosity had led him to the Jeep, and now he was running from the loud noises that the people made.

With all honesty, John was against the visits. “Let the animals be” he had said, but his boss paid no heed.

He could only imagine how terrifying it was to hear and see loud humans for the first time, especially when they were all looking at you. Sure enough, the pup was frozen still and refused to move. John shook his head, and swore. It seemed that no matter what happened, people were always making noise…

***

His mother. Not his wolf mother, mind, she was back at the cave, but his other one. The human one. From his other life.

Michael gaped, and tore straight for the fence in a wild attempt to get to her. How could he make her understand it was him, Michael? He would worry about that later. Now he had to get to her.

He tore wildly at the fence, his sharp claws gnashing and slashing on the tough metal. He could hear loud gasps coming from the crowd. Finally, he managed to tear through! He ran to his mother wildly, tongue out, tail wagging - but he never reached her. A tall, burly man grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him back into his area. The vehicle huffed and puffed and started again, and as Michael watched his mother’s face become fainter and fainter in the infinite road, he knew he would never see her again. The man looked at him angrily, and stamped his foot. Michael knew what this meant. Slowly, sadly, he crawled away to the den. It seemed that he would have to forget all about his past life. He hoped he did - and soon...