01. The Betrayal

It had been three days since the young man had confined himself to his room without eating or drinking, his condition more miserable than dying. His eyes stared blankly at the window of the room that only slightly emitted sunlight from behind the bright yellow curtains.

"I just found out that I'm this pathetic... Can't handle the betrayal of a woman and a best friend, really weak..." the man muttered weakly, he rubbed his face roughly, removing the traces of tears that were previously clearly visible on both cheeks.

Back to three days ago, where he discovered the shocking fact that Christoper and Halley were cheating on him, the two people he trusted the most in his life had betrayed him and were living an illicit relationship in his shadow. Christoper was his best friend, while Halley was his lover, but the two figures he had always prioritized were stabbing him in the back.

With a weak mental state, the man could only surrender while contemplating the unfortunate fate that befell him. He could have hit them both, but he didn't want to, considering there were many beautiful memories they had built together. Let's call him too soft, because that was the fact.

Reynard got up from his seat, stepping towards the balcony with unsteady steps. The balcony doors were open, revealing a view across the bustling city center of Washington. He breathed in the afternoon air that felt so fresh despite the many vehicles passing by, perhaps it was useful enough to calm his mind.

"Who else am I supposed to trust?" he muttered, his eyes still gazing at the vehicles passing below hia apartment. His gaze wasn't excited or tired, just empty. Like the eyes of a confused toddler when his mother is not around.

"I don't even have a family to complain to. When there's no one I can trust in this world anymore, should I stop trusting the world? The reality is that my path has always been filled with misfortune. What good are all those beautiful memories if in the end they are met with the pain of separation? I'm living my life in vain, there's no point..." he said in a weak voice, then ended with a tired laugh, mocking his helpless self.

He glanced down at hia balcony, the soles of his feet on the divider between the balcony and the void in front of him. He had never thought about this before, his life was too meaningless to think about meaning, he just lived so that he could live his days amidst the hustle and bustle of the world, eating when hungry and sleeping when sleepy, playing when free and then studying when there was an assignment.

If compared to colors, then the colors of his life were the same as black and white and gray, nothing interesting.

Reynard closed his eyes, he emptied his mind just as he stepped outside the balcony divider, freefalling downwards along with the lifting of all the burdens and pains he had been carrying all this time.

'Ahh... Is this the feeling of relief before death arrives?' Reynard thought, reluctant to open his eyes, because he knew that once he opened his eyes, he would probably immediately meet the angel of death, or should he say he approached the angel of death himself?

The violent impact he could feel in the next second, contrary to the pain he felt, Reynard smiled at the end of his story. The most monotonous story that God might have ever created, a story that others wouldn't want to read or know about.

***

The sound of birds chirping woke up the residents in a remote village in the Mondelez kingdom, the parents began their activities going to the farm to take care of their shepherds, some went to the plantation, applying fertilizer to keep the garden fertile and produce a good harvest.

While the children start their day playing, some are studying in small rural schools. The atmosphere in the village was warm, bustling and full of peace. Sometimes the parents greeted each other, asking what they were doing today, and the children played with their friends with happy looks on their faces.

Meanwhile, a child in a small hut in the middle of the countryside opened his eyes slowly. The child held his head, then got up from the pile of straw he used to sleep on.

"Where am I? Am I in the afterlife now?" he murmured in his adorable voice. He wandered around, slightly stunned when he realized it seemed he had woken up in a small hut.

"I didn't know there were huts in the afterlife, it's usually described as a horrible place..." The child made an effort to stand up even though both legs were limp, he walked slowly to the exit. Once he looked out of the hut, he saw the countryside filled with people. There was actually nothing strange about it, it was just that they were all wearing old-fashioned suits of clothes, even too old-fashioned.

"Why are they wearing such clothes? It's just like the Roman Empire..." As he took a step forward, his head suddenly throbbed, eliciting an excruciating pain along with unfamiliar memories entering his head.

Reynard Fillmore, 7 years old, living in the village of Oshley, both of his parents dead in the forest while hunting wild beasts, living alone relying on luck. In the end he starved to death in this small hut, alone.

Reynard had trouble accepting all this, he shook his head a few times while slapping his own cheeks lightly, "ah, it hurts. Wait, this isn't a dream then?! I transmigrated to another world? Not the afterlife, but to another world? How is that possible?!"

He who was once a poor young man on Earth is now a poor child in this strange world? Even after committing suicide from the floor of a 21-story apartment, he still had to live another unfortunate life in this alien world?

"Hah! What a joke! To hell with justice, you just want me to suffer, don't you? You gave me a fate and destiny full of misfortune in my previous life, and now you transfer my soul to this poor kid? Why did you create me if I'm going to suffer in the end?!" Reynard did not understand the flow of his fate, but it was certain that the Goddess of Fortune had never favored him.

The 7-year-old Reynard could only scream in displeasure as he stomped his feet in annoyance, his eyes already wide, ready to cry at any moment.

"Damn it! Hiks, it's always like this. I can't even live in peace, you don't even give me a peaceful death... Gosh, I seem to be going crazy..." the 7-year-old little boy dropped his butt, letting the ground come into contact with his buttocks. He bowed his head limply, not knowing what to do.

"Uh, Reynard? What are you doing here?" an old grandfather came over to Reynard who was still contemplating his misfortune. The grandfather sighed softly at the sight of the little boy in front of him looking so lackluster, in stark contrast to other children his age.

The old grandfather touched Reynard's head and stroked it, "Grandpa has prepared wheat bread and pineapple jam in the usual place, you have to eat it, understand?"

As Reynard wept over his unfortunate fate, a gentle rub on the top of his head made him raise his head, seeing who the culprit was. An old grandfather with a face full of wrinkles, looking at him with a sincere expression.

Ah, he remembered who this old grandfather was, Owen's grandfather, the old grandfather who always gave him the food he placed in his kitchen.

There were actually only a few people in Oshley village who wanted nothing to do with Reynard, while there were many of them who wanted to help Reynard. Who would let a 7-year-old child live alone in this harsh world? They were truly without conscience if they ignored him.

It's just that Reynard Fillmore's previous mentality wasn't strong enough to face the fact that he lived alone which made him stay away from the villagers. He would run away when anyone approached him, and his friends were no exception.

Not only did Owen's grandfather provide food for him, there were a few more people who sometimes gave him snacks and clothes. But Reynard never ate them or wore the clothes they gave him.

There was no specific reason why he became like that, but it was clear that he was mentally disturbed after the death of his parents. In the end he starved to death, even though many people cared for him.

"Grandpa Owen?" Reynard unconsciously called Owen's grandfather directly by name, something Reynard had never done before after the death of his parents.