Click!
[Shot through the heart, and you're to blame. Darling, you give love a bad name...]
With a gentle push of the button of his Mp3 player, Aiden stepped off the train and unto the platform as high strung keys of electric guitars rang into his ears. A rare bolt of exhilaration shot through his body once his earpieces were connected, as if readying him to face the world.
Yes. The same train. Same music. Same day.
And same memory.
One of Aiden's biggest hobbies since growing up was music. For as earliest as he could remember, it was the most colour his life had at the time.
It wasn't so much as what the lyrics said to him, in fact, Aiden couldn't probably care less about how masterful each crafted sentence of each verse were.
It was simply a matter of how it all made him feel. The beats, the tone, the sound — all of it. It all boiled down to whatever emotion or excitement merely the sound of the song elicited from him.
—Ring!!
The vibration from his cellphone came next from his pocket, cutting this short respite in half. Aiden stopped, looked down and frowned. Barely halfway through his song, he pushed the round button of the MP3 player and paused it, pulling out his earpiece and raising his phone instead.
"Hello?"
A chilling sound came after.
"Tik...tok..."
An inadvertent shudder ran through Aiden's body for an inexplicable reason as he heard the unsettling, yet familiar voice resound from the speaker.
He raised his head and locked eyes with a mysterious man in black with a payphone in one hand, and a revolver aimed at him in the other like a scene right out of a nightmare.
—CLICK!
Aiden's body tensed in place, his feet seemingly bolted tightly against the ground unable to move. The feverish sound from his cellphone persisted as in inhuman voice thundered from the speaker.
"WAKE UP!!"
—Cha!
There was a flash, the smell of rain. The taste of iron and the loud sound of a bang.
Then—
...Everything grew dark.
***
—Flutter!
My eyes fluttered open as i drew a gasp from my bed. The sheets ruffled as i jerked up suddenly like I'd woken from a horrid nightmare. For a second, everything blurred around me as my senses all seemed to obscure into an indistinct ball of perception.
The sound of a gun shot rang at the back of my head, along with the vague, rustic smell of rain wafting past my nose.
It took me a second or two, but of course i knew none of those sensations were real. There was no gunshot, nor the metalic and earthy smell or patter of rain since i was indoors.
In contrast, everything was perfectly still and quiet around me. All was normal, and i had just woken up from yet another nightmare. The same recurring horror i had been dreaming about ever since i 'arrived' here.
I swept my calloused palm over my sweaty face, brushing backwards the silky wet strands of my hair and muttered in a bitter hiss.
"It's that same damned nightmare again..."
My chest was still heaving between pants as i gradually recovered my breath and regained composure.
With a very deep sigh, i pulled myself out of my reverie and back to reality. Pristine white, ruffled sheets were sprawled over my legs and across the wide bed. I felt a hint of sunlight barely trickle through the gaps of the drapery, casting faint morning, golden yellow rays across tte corners and edges of my vicinity.
The sight of the expansive and unbelievably wide bedroom around me was like something out of an old English folktale. Suddenly, it was like waking up from one nightmare and into another dream.
But of course i knew better. This time, this really wasn't a dream and i was indeed awake in reality. My new reality. And it had been that way since two weeks now.
I shuffled out of my ruffled sheets and over to the edge of my bed, gently placing my bare feet fown against the cool wooden floor. Despite the fact i just woke up, i felt the whole weight of exhaustion emotionally weigh me down.
Even after all this time, deep down i still couldn't fully believe everything that had happened until now. Not ever since i met Moriah...and was brought here a little over thirteen days ago.
There was a brown dresser made of what i imagined was exquisite mahogany with a smooth brown polish sheen across its surface. Sitting atop the desk was a moderate sized mirror, the glass surface reflecting 'this' appearance from the side.
It was the face of a young kid with inky black hair and deep black eyes with a faint red undertones when light shone on it. I think the proper name of a colour like this was something called 'Cherry black'.
He looked no younger or older than the age of at least 15, with quite the arrogantly handsome features if i had to say myself. His skin was white and porcelain like a jade or ivory doll, contrasting beautifully against raven black hair and dark eyes. His build was lean, a little bit on the small side, with narrow clavicles that showed underneath the soft fabric of the silk pyjamas.
It was a face completely foreign to me as it stared back dryly from the mirror. The face of the last and only heir and scion of an anihilated family.
It was the face of Ramiel of Montclairre.
***
It's been two weeks since the mysterious deal i struck with the uncanny Goddess of Fate and Luck Moriah. And since then, i woke up in an unfamiliar world, an unfamiliar face and an unfamiliar body, with a different name.
Needless to say, words weren't enough to describe the level of confusion, anxiety and dread i faced, grappling with my new reality. The idea that until some time ago, i was just some other run of the mill compliance worker, and in just an unfortunate night, my whole life had been turned around.
The lethargy i felt for the day ahead of me was justified even after all this time. Since i woke up in this new body and world, i hadn't taken a single step beyond the door of my room.
At first, i had thought it all to be a dream and stayed in bed all throughout the two weeks. Somehow, I hoped, that maybe if i pretended like none of it happened and continued to sleep, then I'd wake up eventually...
Of course, i knew how that sounded, but it was hard to remain practical and realistic once your soul had actually been Transmigrated.
I mean, I'd read and watched a lot about this in certain shows and series, but it was still terrifying.
How the hell do those brain dead protagonist from such series manage to feel excited, i lamented inwardly.
Unfortunately, i knew i didn't have enough time to continue bewailing my circumstances any longer. It was about time before i decided to finally make my move.
I'd already been still and done nothing for two weeks, and nothing more would change if this continued.
As confusing and unsettling everything is, the only way to make the most sense or purpose of it was to get active.
"Besides, I'll look even more suspicious if i continue to stay in bed for two weeks." I placed a palm against my forehead and sighed, rising off my bed and unto my feet.
After that, i got out of the soft, silk fabric of my night wears and into the bathroom.
Although calling this a bathroom was a big understatement. No matter how many times i see this, i can never get used to the scale of this thing, i thought, full of baffling wonder as i stared at the sight of the bathroom.
I stood at the entrance, a piece of towel wrapped around my lower body, and took in the immense details.
There was a literal tub, almost the size of a small pool that could fit it at least six people. Steam was slowly rising off the surface of the water, and surrounding the edges were decorated ceramic floor tiles.
Over to one side of the 'bath house', there was a compartment with what looked like a shower, and a toilet. Cold, fluorescent white lights lit up and glowed from the ceilings above when i stepped in.
It was a bathroom fit for kings!
And what was interesting was, this whole bedroom and luxurious bath was only a guest room, and Ramiel (me) was probably the furthest from a king or luxurious guest...
I quickly went through the motions by hitting the showers first. The steaming tub was always tempting, but i refused to let myself indulge in such comfort that I'd forget who i really was and what my situation was.
—Tok tok.
By the time i was finished, beads of water streaking and glistening off my bare body, the gentle sounds of knocking came from my door. I reached for the door deliberately, pulling open a small gap enough to peek from behind.
"Yes. Who is it?" I said, and a feminine voice came after in a polite greeting.
"Good morning. It has been a fortnight since Sir Ramiel has been confined sick to his room. The 'Young master' has sent me to convey his concerns over your... wellbeing."
It was a polite voice, yet the tone was vague with a hint of reservation. The voice belonged to a maid of the manor most likely, and the manner of speaking towards 'Sir Ramiel' was mixed with undercurrents of impressions.
I lingered for a beat before responding. My shoulder pressed up behind the door.
"Yes. I... Let the Young Master know I'm fine now. No. In fact, i was just about to do that myself. I feel much better now, thank you."
"Huh? What did you say...?" The maid's voice from outside whispered in suprise.
I blinked blankly from behind the door and swallowed. My fingers unconsciously tightened over the door knob.
"Uh, thank you...?"
"..."
For a while, no reply came. The voice from the other side of the door went quiet. The silence that stretched for that half a second was awkward enough to make my heart and mind race and worry.
Could i have said something strange? I haven't given myself away right?
Thoughts like that were hard to keep away. Up until now I had done my best to limit contact or direct interactions with anyone else until i got a proper grasp on my situation. That was the whole point of locking myself away for two weeks under pretense of being under the weather.
Even now i was only speaking from behind a door without so much as letting my face been seen.
Before i could say something else to dispell the awkward silence, the voice of the maid quietly spoke again.
"...I see." She said, then added, "Then i shall take my leave."
A heavy sigh of relief broke from my lips as i heard the maid finally leave. Without realising, i had been holding my breath throughout the latter end of the conversation. The sound of her retreating footsteps was like a breath of relief.
I quickly shot the door back and pressed my back against it, leaning tiredly like an intangible weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
I sighed.
"That was close." And i wasn't even sure why.
Actually, i think i vaguely did.
After the maid was gone, i slipped into some clothes which had already been neatly folded next to my dresser. It was a black suit with a waistcoat and a long sleeved quality satin shirt that fitted perfectly.
You could feel the luxury and quality from every sewn fiber of its fabric. In both my lives, I'd never been in an outfit of such quality like this one before. The waist coat and suit jacket clung to my torso like they had been custom made for my exact proportions. And though this was my first time wearing such clothes, it almost didn't feel strange or odd a single bit.
If anything, i felt a sense of grace and pride exude from my visage.
Gently brushing the black strands of my hair from over my eyes, i gazed at my reflection off the mirror. A pair of reddish-black eyes stared back aloofly, with a hint of bafflement.
Once more, i couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. The unfamiliar face, eyes, room and name...
'...This isn't me.'
It wasn't who i was.