"Brother, are you feeling okay?"
Rose wiped the vomit off the floor with a wet cloth she had in her hand...
I looked at Rose. She was a girl with deep dark circles under her eyes, a bit skinny, almost malnourished, a gaunt face, red eyes, pale skin and black hair.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
My dizzy, confused voice made Rose hug me tighter; I put my hand on her head to calm her.
Ugh...
I tried to stand up but my mind and body weren't coordinated. This body felt very strange to me.
Rose helped me up and took me to the living room; she went to get some water...
While I looked at the floor my dizziness quickly turned into hunger... maybe because all the food goes to Rose; and from what I can tell we've passed through a long period of hunger and scarcity.
"Nero."
I raised my head to see a porcelain cup with some stains; I took it and drank all the water. The cold water felt amazing in my body; my nausea eased as the cold went down my throat.
"Are you hungry?" Rose asked, worried.
I nodded before turning my head to the clock and the calendar on the wall.
Tick! Tock!
The clock read 5:32 PM — it was October 12; Saturday, October 12, 1427. I suppose that is the day of my "resurrection."
As I felt my body align again I got up and went to the kitchen to see what Rose was doing. I peeked in a little and saw Rose reaching for a bread bag; she took out two old, hard loaves but with my hunger they seemed like a delicacy.
Rose turned her head to look at me, came over and pulled my hands, putting the two loaves, one in each hand.
"Rose, I'm going out, I have to find work," I said, eating the two loaves I had in my hands in one bite before heading for the door; I grabbed the doorknob and prepared to leave.
Rose sighed before saying, "Don't forget to take Dad's revolver."
I stopped dead, searching Nero's memories for where that revolver was. I slid down the hallway and stopped at my room.
I opened the door and went in slowly; I opened the top drawer of the bedside table. I sighed before taking out a wooden box with metal edges.
I opened it slowly and took out the revolver inside; I opened the rotating cylinder to see how many bullets it had.
There were only two bullets...
I'll have to think before I shoot... I thought.
I put the revolver on my waist where no one could see it, secured by my belt.
I returned to the living room and waved goodbye to Rose before opening the door...
I had to cover my eyes with my hands because of the sun; after all I hadn't left the house...
As my eyes adjusted to the intense light I started walking on the smooth dirt ground; dust got into my shoes which bothered my heels a little.
Now that I was alone I couldn't stop thinking about one thing: why can I only remember the last 24 hours of life from my other life?
Not my parents...
Not my friends...
Not even my name...
Well... I have to concentrate on the present... I thought calmly.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
A shrill laugh shook my ears; I quickly turned toward the sound. A group of people were laughing at a boy doing a performance.
The boy wore black clothes and a hat of the same color...
A magic show?
I walked up to the front of the stage...
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is I, the incredible..." the man paused before saying, "Merlin!"
Clap, clap!
People applauded and laughed at the caricatured way Merlin moved. Merlin took off his hat and put his hand inside it.
Little by little he put his whole body inside his hat...
His hat stayed on the ground and his body was totally gone...
Bang!
Merlin dropped down onto the stage; he picked up his hat with one hand and snapped his fingers with the other.
From his hat came white birds like snow that when they flew sent out a white powder from their wings...
I slowly left, thinking I shouldn't waste time on nonsense — I need to get a job...
It must already be around 6 PM... I thought hurriedly.
In Nero's memories there should be a map or something to guide me. I stood still in the street searching my head; I wasn't afraid after all — we're in something like the Victorian era, there are no cars, maybe carriages but only in the West or North area.
"Bingo!"
I found a map and it was very detailed: the streets, where there might be more work, the dangerous zones, the stalls where the cheapest food is sold, even the alleys!
This is pure gold in a sea of dust, dirt and poverty... Nero thought with sarcasm.
I started walking toward a seedy bar called "Blue Sea," after all they always need a waiter.
With my new mental map I knew every shortcut which allowed me to arrive in three minutes; after all knowledge is better than strength.
Knock! Knock!
I knocked on the damaged door once and, getting no answer, knocked a second time. It seemed closed.
"Damn god of luck, this place is always open on Saturdays but just when I need it it's closed!"
I breathed in and out deeply to regain control. I was a little desperate for not finding work but I still had a lot of time — nothing to worry about.
I looked at the map again and decided to go to a café called "Brown Day."
I slipped through the alleys, leaving a trail of dust where I passed.
When I arrived at the café...
I opened the door slowly and walked up to the counter. The barista looked up and stared me up and down, sighed before saying, "Sir. Are you here to buy something or to work?"
"To work," I said in the calmest voice I could muster. "Over there," the barista pointed to a hallway.
I walked confidently, but inside I was nervous. At the end of the hallway there was a wooden door, I grabbed the knob and opened the door.
A woman standing and looking at papers turned toward me and said, "we're full, we're not hiring today."
Dammit...
I left the café, looked up at the sky — it was already dark, night had fallen, I had to be careful.
I searched for work for three straight hours, but I was rejected everywhere.
"It must be 10 by now."
I decided to go back to Rose...
I passed through an alley where three people were inside. One of them stopped me by grabbing my arm; he smiled and said in a mocking tone: "Hey, you're in my territory, if you want to be around here you follow the rules... my rules."
"Give me all your money and I'll leave you alone, and if you don't want to... you know what will happen."
Faced with the not-so-subtle threat, the first thing I thought of was the last psychology class I had: the two ways a human reacts to adversity. The exact words of the professor were: "a human has two ways to react to a situation: flee or fight."
The corners of my lips curled into a smile at the choice I made...
Pow!
I hit the guy in front of me in the ribs; a second person (this time a woman) tried to strike my face while the third person stayed back watching us with curiosity.
I barely dodged the woman's blow, it grazed my face, I kicked her stomach, sending her backward. I quickly kicked the throat of the guy who hadn't recovered from my previous kick.
Gah!
A crimson liquid came out of his mouth, staining the ground the same color.
The girl and the guy ran away terrified...
"Interesting. Very, very interesting."
I turned my head toward the third person. I got into a fighting stance, waiting for a strike.
"Kid... would you like to earn some money?"