The sea was calm in front of him, its waves gently breaking on the shore. The only place he always turned to whenever the burdens of life became too heavy.
Noah sat on the rocks, staring at the sunset, drowning in a whirlpool of thoughts.
I'm a senior in high school… My name is Noah. And today, I learned the truth: lung cancer, in its fourth stage.
He let out a slow exhale, his eyes fixed on the burning horizon.
"I'm afraid of death…"
Did you expect anything else? That I would say I'm not afraid?
The ironic thing is that I never smoked a day in my life. Yet… here I am.
At first, I was angry. Angry to the point of suffocation.
Why me?
What truly hurts isn't the illness…
No one shares this fear with me.
I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was five. I stayed with my grandmother… until she passed away last year.
After that, I relied on myself. I worked at my uncle's café—the man who became my guardian after my grandfather's death.
He stood up slowly, watching the last rays of the sun fade away.
He whispered, "I wish this moment would never end…"
But my body had another plan.
A violent cough tore through my chest. My knees trembled.
I looked around… no one.
My breath cut off. My lungs burned. My chest tightened until the air disappeared.
Then… I fell.
No sound. No light. Nothing.
Absolute emptiness.
Noah floated weightlessly, and one thought repeated itself mercilessly:
So… I really died.
What comes after death? Heaven? Hell? Or nothing?
I wasn't a saint. I wasn't a monster.
I lived as I wanted. I only cared about myself.
Is that wrong? Will I be judged for it?
And suddenly—
Something pulled me out of the void.
A whistle…
A mechanical sound. Cold. Regular.
Whistle…Whistle…
He opened his eyes slowly.
A white light pierced his vision, and he shut them immediately. Then he tried again.
A bed. An oxygen mask. Wires connected to machines flashing around him.
A strange room… not a hospital he knew.
Where am I?
The door opened.
A nurse entered carrying a file. She froze when she saw his eyes open.
"Oh my God… he's awake!" Then she rushed out. "Notify Dr. John!"
At that moment—
His head exploded.
Memories… not his.
Faces. Places. A childhood he never lived.
"What is this…?!" "Ugh… my head!"
He closed his eyes, but the pain intensified. Then he fell back into darkness.
A distant voice fading away:
"Mr. Luca… can you hear me?"
Fifteen hours later—
He woke up again.
He tried to stand. He failed.
"Ugh…"
Where am I? Who am I?
Noah… I'm Noah, right?
But his mind was full of things that didn't belong to him.
Strange memories. Foreign feelings.
"This isn't real…" "I died… I'm sure I did…!"
He tried to stand again. His body betrayed him.
"Damn… this cursed body."
The eternal slumber.
A rare curse. Extreme sensitivity to mana. A body that rejects it… and collapses.
A sleep with no return.
Quick footsteps. The door opened violently.
A woman with purple hair and amethyst eyes.
She threw herself onto him. Held him tightly.
"Oh Luca… my son…!"
Tears came before words.
"Mom…"
Why did he say that? Why did he feel this warmth?
Why was he crying?
These aren't my feelings…
Then—
A little girl entered.
Purple hair. Features identical to his.
"My brother…!"
Their eyes met.
His heart froze.
Impossible…
How does he not know her? She is a character he created himself.
From his novel. From his dreams.
He knows her story. He knows her end.
Yet—
She is here.
Alive. Crying. Calling him.
"Brother…!"
His chest trembled. Surprise. longing. Fear.
Why am I here? And why must I be part of this world?
He opened his mouth… but pain hit him first.
"Ugh… my head!"
The doctor approached. A syringe.
Darkness returned slowly.
"I feel… sleepy…"
"What's wrong, Dr. John?"
"Nothing serious. Just post-coma effects… He has been asleep for two years."
------------------------------------0-----------------------------------------------------------0-----------------------------
"Where am I? Why is it so dark?"
He spun around, searching for something, and saw a distant point of light. He began to walk toward it.
"Come on, move, damn you, legs!"
He kept moving, and after what felt like an eternity, he started to make out something.
"A computer screen? Or is this mine?"
He recognized it, and scenes began to appear on it—scenes of him watching the same woman he had met the night before. He felt joy at seeing her.
"Damn it, these aren't my feelings. Stop!"
Her image appeared on the screen.
She was in a hospital room… similar to the one he was in.
Machines surrounded her, and harsh white light reflected off her pale, sweating face.
She opened her eyes suddenly and screamed in pain.
A sharp cry tore through his chest before reaching his ears.
The woman beside her leaned over, gripping her hand tightly and trying to calm her, then said in a shaky voice, trying to hide her trembling:
"Just a little… push… his head is starting to show."
Suddenly, the baby's scream erupted.
"Waaaaaaah… waaaaaaah."
A piercing sound announced his arrival into the world.
The nurse handed him to the woman, then said calmly after the chaos:
"This is your son."
Her hands trembled as she hesitated to reach out.
When the baby's body touched her chest, his cries softened, as if he recognized a familiar heartbeat. His breaths were short, small… but alive.
Tears poured from her eyes without her noticing. She laughed and cried at the same time, her eyes fixed on his wrinkled face.
She whispered in a hoarse voice:
"You're here at last…"
In the background, the machines continued their steady noises, as if announcing the end of a long battle. The doctor approached, glanced briefly, then said with professional calm:
"The delivery was successful… both are fine."
But in that moment, she heard nothing but her baby's breathing. The whole world shrank into this small being…
"Your name will be Luca."