Maybe Sin would finally feel free.
But what about his mother?
Maybe she'd spend the rest of her life carrying the weight of it — two children gone in a single night, one by accident, one by the road. She had worked herself to the bone for them. Saved money in secret. Fought with her boss. Come home exhausted, night after night.
And now the house was empty.
Sometimes the smallest things leave the largest holes.
Sin's soul had separated from his body.
He floated above it — looking down at himself, at the broken shape on the road, at the crowd of strangers who hadn't known his name ten minutes ago and wouldn't remember it tomorrow.
Is that me? How? Why am I up here?
He still didn't understand. He reached toward something — an answer, a reason — but before he could grasp it, his eyes closed.
His soul lingered for a moment longer. One last look.
Then it faded.
Darkness.
And then — voices.
They'd been there for a while, Sin realized. Distant at first, like sounds heard through water. Slowly sharpening.
"Mendriya! Come here, quickly. Look — your little brother. Come meet him."
"Dad, his eyes still haven't opened."
A pause. Someone leaning in close.
"You're right. Linea — what's wrong with him?"
"Loane, I'm scared. What if something happened to our baby?"
"What if he was cursed?"
"Mendriya." A sharp voice — a mother's voice. "Don't say things like that about your brother."
"Sorry, Mom. Can I hold him?"
A soft laugh. The feeling of being lifted — carefully, like something precious.
Who are these people?
Light began bleeding in at the edges.
Who is this girl?
Sin's eyes opened.
A young girl was staring down at him, close enough that he could count her eyelashes. She had a wide, genuine smile — the kind children wear before the world teaches them not to.
"Mom! He opened his eyes!"
"Bring him here."
The girl carried him carefully to a woman lying on a narrow bed. The woman took him into her arms with practiced gentleness and looked down at his face.
"Welcome," she said softly. And smiled.
Who is this woman? Why is she holding me?
Sin turned his head slowly, taking in the space around him.
A large tent. Two beds. Clay pots and wooden bowls stacked in the corner. Fabric walls. Dirt floor.
A man crouched nearby, watching him with tired eyes. Dark hair loose and tangled. A scar across his cheek — the kind left by a blade. His clothes were worn thin at the elbows.
His clothes are torn, Sin noted. He turned to look at the girl — Mendriya, they'd called her. Hers too.
Sin processed this slowly.
I was reborn. That's the only explanation. I died — and now I'm here. Which means I was already dead before this. Reena... did she get reborn too? And Mom—
The memories hit all at once.
The kitchen. The knife. Reena on the floor. Mom on the phone. Running. Headlights.
Sin's eyes filled with tears before he could stop them.
Then a different thought surfaced, quiet and a little embarrassed:
My Linux 4D Pro. I'm never getting that now, am I.
"Loane." A voice from outside the tent. "It's time."
The man — Loane — stood. He moved without wasting motion, folding what little he had into a cloth bundle and hoisting it onto his back. Old habit. The habit of someone who leaves often.
"You're going already?" Linea asked.
Loane swallowed.
"Yeah." A small smile. The kind that apologizes without saying sorry. He looked at the girl. "Mendriya. Take care of yourself. And your brother."
"Yes, Father."
He turned to leave.
"Loane."
He stopped.
Linea's voice was quieter now. "Aren't you going to name your son?"
Loane turned back. He looked at Sin — really looked, for a moment. Sin stared back at him, unblinking, with the unsettling focus of someone who understood more than a newborn should.
"Jhed." Loane said. "How about Jhed?"
Linea smiled. It was enough.
"Jhed. Jhed." Mendriya repeated happily, leaning over to look at him.
Loane walked out of the tent without looking back.
Linea watched the entrance for a long time after he was gone. Something in her eyes said she already knew — he wouldn't be back soon. Maybe not at all.
Sin — Jhed now — stared up at the tent ceiling.
A new name. A new world. A family he hadn't chosen, wearing clothes that were falling apart, living in a tent with dirt floors.
And somewhere far behind him, a life he couldn't forget.
How am I supposed to live this new life, he thought, when I'm still carrying the last one?