Dawn timidly peeked over the horizon when I began to stir in my crib. My tiny fists opened and closed while my face contorted in a grimace of discomfort. Something was wrong with me, my complexion had acquired a pale and sickly tone.


    A moan escaped my lips while thick drops of sweat pearled on my forehead. My little head moved from side to side on the pillow, as if trying to escape some terrifying vision.


    Suddenly, my eyes opened with a jolt.


    Darkness completely enveloped me, a blackness so dense and absolute that it seemed to have its own substance. My eyes strained to distinguish any shape, any contour, but it was useless. Everything around me was a black and impenetrable void.


    I blinked several times, thinking that perhaps something was wrong with my vision. But not even by closing my eyes tightly and opening them again could I dispel that oppressive darkness. It was as if I had been swallowed by the jaws of some colossal beast and was now trapped in its entrails.


    Total darkness invaded me, surrounding me completely. I was in a place devoid of all light, where not even the slightest ray could filter through. I tried to move my limbs, but I felt as if I were bound by heavy invisible chains.


    My body did not respond to my commands. There was no strength in my hands or feet. My entire being felt defenseless and vulnerable. The only thing I could move were my eyelids; the rest of my body remained completely immobile, beyond my control.


    I could not be sure, for I could not even recognize my own limbs in that absolute blackness, but instinctively I realized that there was nothing wrong with my eyes. If I had gone blind, I would have felt some kind of pain or discomfort, but my senses seemed to function normally.


    That meant the problem was not in my vision, but in the place where I was. A completely dark place, impenetrable to any type of light.


    "Underground?", the possibility crossed my mind. I had never heard of a building constructed by man that could block light so perfectly. If that were the case, then there was a high probability that the space I was in was beneath the earth, in some type of basement or hermetically sealed enclosure where light could not reach me.


    Why was this happening to me? Slowly, I began to delve into my memory.


    Who was I? And why was I in this situation?


    My head throbbed painfully as I tried to refresh my memories. I could not think clearly, as if someone had struck my brain with a mallet.


    Soon, tears began to flow from my eyes. The pain was unbearable, as if someone had stuck a finger in my head and was twisting it mercilessly. I swallowed the scream that was struggling to escape my throat. Despite the suffering, I did not stop striving to remember. And then, little by little, the fragments of my memory began to fit together.


    My name is Noah and I am ten years old... I turned the steering wheel to the left and died in a car accident where my wife and unborn daughter were. And then... I was reborn in another world.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I frowned once more. The pain hit me like a tsunami, threatening to drag me into the depths of oblivion. But I forced myself to keep thinking and, as a result of my tenacity, I managed to remember with total clarity who I was. Now was the time to find out why and how I had ended up in this place.


    The image of a man appeared in my mind. I remembered the individual who was etched in my last memory. A middle-aged man with a simple face but a penetrating gaze that did not match his common appearance.


    The man I had encountered while begging had told me: "You look quite good". Those were the last words I heard before losing consciousness and waking up in that absolute darkness. That man from my memories must have something to do with my current situation, with the fact that I had been left alone in a space where not a single ray of light entered.


    I did not know the name or identity of the man. I did not even know why he had brought me to this place. It could not be out of resentment; there was no way that an orphan simply wandering aimlessly could be the target of such deep resentment that someone would do something like this.


    There must be some kind of purpose, an objective, I reflected. If the intention had been to kill me, they would have already done so. They would not have bothered to lock me up without taking my life. So obviously they must have some need or purpose for me.


    My head hurt as if it were about to split in two. Trying to think deeply about my abnormal state had already consumed a great deal of mental energy.


    I closed my eyes, although there was no difference between having them open or closed. I wondered what the point was of closing my eyes when everything around me remained plunged in the most absolute darkness.


    Still, keeping my eyes closed was less painful than having them open. I did not know how much time had passed since I woke up in that place. The boundaries between sanity and madness were becoming increasingly blurred.


    My mind was chaos, but I fought with all my might to maintain clarity of thought. After what seemed like an eternity, my mind began to clear, as if my efforts had borne fruit.


    —Huh! — I was surprised by the involuntary sigh that escaped me. The last time I had tried to make a sound, I had not even managed to breathe with difficulty. Now I could take air and exhale it, though in a choppy manner.


    Being able to breathe more deeply was a clear sign that bodily functions were gradually returning to normal. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but I decided to cling to that positive thought.


    It was painful to be alone in the darkness without a single light. The absolute blackness made my mind wander uncontrollably. Thoughts flowed like an unstoppable tide, threatening to drag me into madness. The number of ideas crossing my head was enough to drive anyone crazy.


    And even more so for me, who could not move. The feeling of isolation, as if I were completely alone in the darkness of the beginning of time, was corroding my mind little by little.


    If time continued to pass in that way, it was clear that I would end up losing my reason, trapped in the labyrinth of my own thoughts. That is why I strained to the maximum to think positively and keep my mind as clear as possible.


    Amidst the whirlwind of ideas that assailed me, I tried to concentrate solely on those related to my identity. The only way to maintain sanity in the face of that avalanche of thoughts was to cling with all my might to who I really was.


    I did not know how much time had passed since I woke up in that place. It could have been just a few hours, or perhaps entire weeks. It was impossible to understand the flow of time in the midst of such profound darkness.


    Moreover, my entire body was paralyzed. All my bodily functions seemed to have fallen to the lowest possible level. I could barely maintain my breathing, while the rest of my vital functions remained practically stopped.


    That is why I could not even feel hungry. It was like being dead in life, trapped in a limbo between existence and nothingness. That was the most terrifying moment of all. To overcome the fear that threatened to consume me, I murmured ceaselessly, —My name is Noah —I repeated over and over, like a mantra that kept me anchored to reality.


    Suddenly, a familiar voice pierced the darkness like a ray of light:


    —Oh, little Ars. I did not think you would wet the bed.