Reincarnated Into a World of Willows 

“I wished I could have done more in my short life here on earth. Day after day it didn't matter because it was all just the same. I would get up, get ready, go to school, come home, eat, and then sleep. I never really had the desire to go out nor make an effort to get friends. I did, however, feel a pang of jealousy when looking across the lunchroom seeing rows and rows of people talking and having fun. I would sit by myself in that very corner eating the green-looking thing that was supposed to be chicken. During that time part of me wished I had that lifestyle of partying and being surrounded by friends 24/7 until the bell rang, and I was brought back to my reality. You might think I had amazing grades and was on the honor roll due to my situation but you’re dead wrong. I had just good enough grades to pass by. Like I said before, my life was very uneventful.”

“But I must have something that was very good about my life? Maybe looks? Maybe I was super-rich?”

“To tell you the truth I didn’t have any of those to offer. I was decent-looking. An average height for a guy and I just had the regular curly brown hair and eyes combo. I did try to dye my hair blonde to spice things up but ended with a bunch of dead hair and a buzz cut for the majority of the year. I wasn’t even rich. I was more middle class I would say.”

“If I’m being honest with you right now I thought I would die normally. Having lived my life working a 9 to 5 job and maybe even a wife and a couple of kids. Then I would have died at 87 in my sleep. For having a very uneventful life I would have never thought of being killed by a falling piano but here we are- by the way, where are we?”

God, or what I thought was god, gave me the weirdest look ever. We were in this very peaceful garden with all sorts of flowers and fruits. Looking down I could see that my hands were transparent. Every part of my body was transparent. My arms, my legs, even my face which I tried to touch before I spilled my whole life story. 

“We are in my garden,” God said.

“Nice place you have here God but I have a question. What should I do for the rest of my eternity?”

I gave them a puzzled look but I’m not even sure my new body had facial features. 

God sighed and sat right next to a statue of themself. The statue looked just like them, which was basically a person draped in a cloak. 

What a humble dude.

“Would you like to be reincarnated?”

“Ummm, sure I guess,” I shook my head up and down.

I really had nothing going for me because I was basically dead. 

God took both my hands in theirs. We stood like that for a while.

“Close your eyes dude, I can’t do this with you looking,” they said.

“My ba- AHHHHHH HOLY HELL,” I was falling down very fast.  

I could feel the wind fighting my hair. I felt the harsh air on my new body. 

The ground came sooner than I would like and my face landed in a pool of frigid water. 

I am engulfed in blueish gray liquid. I could feel the slimy scales of the little fish swimming around me trying to escape the foreign force that just invaded their home. Kicking my legs up I was able to break the barrier of the water. Forcing my eyes open was a pain since I knew they were going to sting but I had no other choice. 

I was greeted with a gray world much like the water I’m in. The dark clouds were hanging low. The only hint I had to know what time of day it was is in the dim outline of the sun hiding beneath the clouds. The distance wasn’t long from where I am and to the shore. Taking long strokes I was able to make it to solid land. 

The spiky rocks on the land were no better than the nippy water. It’s probably not the best option to stay here so I decided to walk a little further. The surroundings were gloomy. The bare willow trees draped over the entire area. The ground was mostly made out of mud and with mud came worms, many, many, many worms. I sometimes stepped on them by accident and felt bad because I just killed someone's wife, husband, father, mother, brother, sister, or even a great great great twice removed cousin. But I mostly felt bad because I didn’t want to dirty my new body. 

I got a chance to check my new self out during my long adventure to whoever knows where. My body is much smaller and thinner than it was back in my old life. My hair that was once brown and short was now long and silver. It made me shiver every time I felt it brush my back as it swayed from behind. My hands, much like my body, were small and thin. My white fingernails were really sharp, like holy cow. But they laid pretty with the rest of my pale figure so I couldn’t complain much. 

The first thing I’m going to do in this world is buying some nail clippers… actually I really need clothes since I’m bare naked. 

I was panicking when I first checked my body because I was missing my future children. It didn’t matter though since what I lost I gained in two soft stress balls that were on my chest. 

I’m a chick. 

By all means I’m not mad. I always felt like I would be a hot lady and just judging by my body I am one. I wish I had a mirror handy to look at my gorgeous face too. 

This is a bummer. 

I kept on walking. The forest didn’t seem like it had an end in sight. The path intertwined with sagging branches. It was like the forest was hiding a secret from me- a secret I had no attention to find out. Occasionally I would feel the presence of another staring at me but I decided to ignore it.

If I die again I’m going to ask God if they can put me in a nicer place. My man really left me in the middle of nowhere. I  ain’t Courage the Cowardly Dog dude.  

  By now my feet were covered in mud and it was starting to get on my calves. I needed to take a break. 

In the near distance, I saw a clean area that didn’t have any mud on it, only a patch of dry grass laying underneath a sagging tree branch that belonged to a cold willow. 

I walked to it quickly trying to feel something other than mud and dead worms between my toes. When I was on it my feet felt like it was in bliss. I sat on the patch letting my back rest against the base of the tree. 

I was absolutely and utterly exhausted. It wasn’t my body that was tired but rather my mind. 

“Not everyday you reincarnate into a very gloomy world,” I frowned.

I laid my eyes on a pond that sat a couple inches away from me. The small ripples of the water reacting to the breeze. But what I saw next I couldn’t believe. 

What looked like a horse head peaked out of the water staring into my soul.

I’m just tired, yeah that has to be it.

But I saw that damn horse again sticking out its head and I realized it had a seaweed like mane.

 “Alright dude, I’m coming,” I said to the horse while getting up.

The mud greeted me again with that awful feeling. I walked to where the horse resided. I peeked down at the water, and that’s when I could finally get a good look at myself. 

My white hair framed my face nicely. My eyes, however, were kind of creepy. They were just blood red. 

I touched my face with my pale fingers feeling my small facial features.

“Not bad at all,” I smirked to myself.

I was so distracted that I didn’t notice the head of the horse looking at me.

It’s seaweed mane dripped with droplets of water. The horse’s eyes were cloudy. The body was just plain white.

It turned around and beckoned me to get on. I hesitated for a bit but soon felt myself climbing into the pond. It was deeper and much colder than I thought it would be expected. I put my hands on the horse's back and lifted myself up. Now settled on the horse’s back I grabbed its mane lightly.

You only live once or twice I guess.

The next thing I knew I was under the water. The horse was bringing me down further and further. I struggled against the water and the horse-,desperately trying to escape. Splashing everywhere and turning and twisting; it was no use. I was dead again.

Damn 

I closed my eyes expecting my fate when I felt a presence in the water. Then it disappeared. My body was set free and I was still alive. I opened my eyes just a little to see a pool of black blood and the head of the horse floating; separated from its body.

Fearing the same for me, I kicked as hard as I could upward. I broke the surface coughing when I felt someone grab my upper arm. They laid me gently on the solid land. I never thought I would be so happy to be on the mud. 

“Are you ok?” 

I opened my eyes to see who my mysterious savior was.

His jet black long hair pulled back with a red ribbon however little wisps managed to escape. The long cloak surrounded his body, thick and velvety like a curtain. In his very pale hand he held a long silver sword splattered with the same black blood I saw in the water. The sword was kind of facing me now that I really looked at it.

This dude isn’t sure of me.

I got up brushing myself off. His cautious, topaz eyes followed.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I looked at him.

His eyes widened when he noticed that I’m not wearing anything. He turned around, took off his cloak and threw it backwards at me.

“Put it on,” he said.

I did as he commanded. His cloak was soft and warm. I was engulfed in the smell of peppermint. It was truly a bummer when the cloak got mud on the ends since I wasn’t half as tall as this dude. 

“Alright I’m done,” I said.

He turned around his face full of a light shade of pink. He placed his sword in a holder that was on his back. His cloak was hiding a white poet shirt with black pants and brown leather boots. A beautifully engraved golden locket necklace wrapped around his neck. 

He looks like a pirate.

“What was back there?”

 I pointed to the lake. 

“That was a kelpie, a horse spirit, if you get on them, they drown you,” he eyed me curiously.

“Uhhhh, so where are we?”

“What do you mean? Do you seriously not know where you are?” 

“Yup,”  I nodded my head. 

He looked at me dumbfounded then cleared his throat, “We’re in the Forest of Dread, the most dangerous part of Grim. It’s infamous for spirits no one dares to come here- except you that is,” he inched closer to me as he spoke.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, dude,” I gave him a puzzled look.

He was looking down on me now. 

This dude doesn’t know personal space?

“You’re not from here are you, judging by the way you look,” he looked at me up and down.

“What do you mean by that buddy?”  

I thought I looked hot.

He grabbed my chin and twisted up softly to the right.

“What 's your problem, dude!”

“You don’t have the mark given to everyone in Grim,” he said, as he let my chin go and unbuttoned his collar. He showed me his bare neck. It looked like someone branded it with a tiny skull.

“Woah, that’s cool,” I reached my hand out to touch it but he stepped back. 

“Who even are you?”

I looked around trying to find anything that I could go by. That's when I saw the willows. 

“My name is Willow, ” I smiled, sticking out my hand.