Immortal Destiny

There was the sound of a large crash followed by the fires of an explosion that rocked the body with violent shock-waves and sent massive tremors through the very earth and shaking its foundation.

In the wreckage of a medium family sized personal spacecraft, the terrified screams of a child could be heard calling out loudly into the empty space. With the debris of the collapsed spacecraft blocking his way as well, the electronic sparks from damaged appliances adding to the somber atmosphere in the spacecraft, a boy of not more than seven years old stood in the wreckage crying and screaming out loudly for his mother.

His face was blackened by the soot resulting from the explosion and snot and drivel ran down his nose as tears streamed from his eyes.

Cough, cough, cough!

Due to the smoke that was everywhere, the child entered into a coughing fit for a long while as he choked on the smoke. Trying to look through the haze of the smoke, the child called out at the top of his voice.

"Mama, mama, where are you!"

"Mama, I'm scared! Where did you go to? Come back!"

Cough, cough, cough!

After crying and calling out for his mother but not receiving any response in return, the child slowly fell silent, and no longer cried as loud as before. Instead, he started to whimper silently. trying to suppress his fears, the child eventually stopped whimpering.

Looking at him right now, even with all the snot and tears on his face, there was still a certain sense of determination that could be seen reflected in the child's eyes. It was as if he was truly no longer afraid and he would no longer cry anymore.

It was only through the occasional shuddering of his shoulders that one would be able to tell that this child was putting up a brave front.

Seeing this child like this, unless a person was dead inside, they would definitely feel pity and remorse for him.

Looking around the wreckage of the spacecraft, the child tried to peer into the distance through the thick smoke to see what was beyond it.

Although the child was young, he was actually quite mature. The child knew that he was in danger and that he could not just wait around like this. Since his mother was nowhere to be found, he would have to find a way to save himself, and the only way to do that was to move forward in the dark and dense smoke.

Still, even if the child knew this, seeing the darkness all around him that was occasionally lit by the sparks of the damaged electronic appliances which further gave the surroundings a gloomy and eerie vibe, the child could not stop the irrational fear that crept into his heart.

The child hesitated, contemplating if he should really step into the darkness.

He was really scared and afraid...

It was only when the child felt a tug in his arms that he suddenly came back to his senses.

Looking down at his arms, one would find that there were two bundles of tightly wrapped clothes in both arms of the child.

Through a gap in these tightly wrapped bundles, small delicate and pale white hands no bigger than the pinky of the child himself stretched out to fondle the clothes in the hand of the child.

Seeing this, the child hurriedly opened up a tiny gap in both bundles of clothes and through these gaps, he could just barely make out crystal clear eyes that shone like stars peeking through the gap.

Seeing those bright eyes that had the resplendence of the stars, the child's heart melted and he choked with feeling.

Looking at the two little critters that he had wrapped tightly in thick clothes to prevent them from choking from the smoke, the child was filled with love and warmth.

The child's eyes immediately became misty, and it looked like he was going to cry once more, but this time it was not due to the fear he felt. Instead, it was because the child was feeling sad and angry at himself for hesitating.

Looking at those star-like eyes that were staring at him through the bundle of clothes, the child felt as if those eyes were smiling at him and encouraging him to not give up. Almost as if on cue, the child could hear clear giggles coming from the two little critters in the bundles, causing his spirits to be lifted.

After spending some time like this, the child finally covered up the bundles again and stood up. This time, there was no longer any trace of hesitation in the child's eyes. In its place were determination and courage.

Making up his mind to no longer hesitate anymore, the boys looked around his surroundings once more. This time, instead of the smoke that filled the place, the child could see that a fire had started at some point in time, making the already hot environment to become scorching.

The child could feel the heat of the fire steadily grow in intensity and it felt like he was about to be cooked in this place. Even the little critters wrapped tightly in heat-insulated clothes started to feel uncomfortable due to the heat and they shifted in the child's hands in discomfort.

Holding the bundles very close to his chest as if he was trying to use his body to protect them from the unbearable heat, the child slowly whispered to the two little critters in a soft voice as he tried to comfort them in his child-like voice.

"There, there, Arya, Verna... big brother is right here. Big brother is not going anywhere, and he promises to get you out of there safely. After big brother has taken you both safely out of here, he will take you to find mama. I'm sure you would both like that very well. Once we have found mama, she will hug you both very tightly as give you the delicious sweets that you both like so much. So don't cry you hear, big brother will protect you forever."

As if the two little critters could hear and understand the child's words, they slowly became quiet, and no longer struggled in the child's hands.

Opening a gap in the bundle once more to check on them, the child saw that the two little critters were quietly sleeping soundly in them. It was as if they truly believed that with their big brother to protect them; they were truly safe.

Closing the gap once more, the child finally mustered up the rest of his courage and stepped forward into the smoke and fire.

The rest of a blurred haze and mist filled the child's consciousness.

Walking in a land of fog and mist, the child gradually found that he was lost in it. It seemed like it had been forever since he had been walking and that the more he lost, the more he forgot about himself.

The child did not know how he had been walking or even why he was walking in the first place. He had forgotten who he was and what his purpose for entering this foggy land was.

Gradually, the child felt that it was too troublesome to be walking without any purpose at all and it was better to just sit and wait until he died.

'Death!'

Suddenly, the child thought about this word...

How was it that he knew what this word meant?

It was as if he had a certain relationship with this word that was very important, but try as he could remember what it was, he couldn't recall anything.

As it was too much work to even recall that, so he did not bother to do so.

He thought, "After all, it's not like I promised anybody to meet them in death, right!"

When the child thought about a promise, the whole land of fog and mist suddenly shook as if it was affected by something.

Suddenly, the boy seemed to have a feeling that he really had made a promise to somebody before.

He tried to recall who this person was and he could even feel a few images trying to surface in his mind. Still, it was very difficult for him to do so and the child was having a splitting headache from trying to do so.

Just as the child felt like his head was about to explode, all of a sudden, from out of nowhere, the child heard a soft and clear voice in his head calling out to him. This voice sounded like clear bells ringing on a bright and sunny day. Followed by this, another voice that reminded the child of a clear stream rushing through a brook enter his ear.

Immediately, the headache that threatened to split his head in half disappeared and the child remembered who he was and what he was doing there.

The child remembered that he was dreaming, and that he was no longer a child at all. At the same time, he remembered who those voices calling out to him belonged to.

Smiling at the memory of two cute and pretty little critters. The boy, who was no longer a child and had grown into a handsome man, smiled to himself.

The handsome man closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them next, he was already awake.

The first thing that entered the sights of the handsome man was the identical faces of two cute and pretty little girls who were smiling down on him.

With their eyes that shone like stars looking down on him, the two cute little girls smiled brightly and said to him in unison.

"Big brother, you're finally awake..."