Chapter 1
The pain finally receded, like the pull of the tides towards the sea. Quintus shakily sat up and breathed a sigh of relief. Peering into the creek, illuminated by the waning sun, a large scar that spanned across his left side of his face could be seen reflected on the surface.
Tracing the ugly scar with his fingers, “Quintus Palma” frowned for a moment before bitterly laughing. The soft laughter went on for a few minutes before quieting down, in it laid the poignancy unfitting of an eight year old child.
An eight year old child he was no longer. Or more accurately, the soul and memories of Jasper Peregrine had awakened. Testing his fingers gingerly and then standing up unsteadily, he dragged his sore body and started rummaging around the ground.
At the same time he was looking for something, he carefully examined Quintus Palma’s memories as well as his own. Normal boy, born to a typical farming family, youngest of five, et cetera. Smirking to himself with apathetic eyes, he thought to himself, how many times has it been. Contrarily, Jasper Peregrine, reincarnated man, 25 when he died, had been searching for his murderer through his many lives.
It might not make much sense if the murderer had been human since he would be long dead by now. However, Gaius Rome was immortal. At least until someone killed him.
Which I plan to do, thought Jasper morbidly.
Having finally found the thing he was looking for, a sharp tipped rock which conveniently was large enough to be easily grasped with his tiny hands. Without hesitation he started goring his face, following the path of the scar perfectly. Soon, fresh blood dyed his shirt and his left eye stung from the bit of blood that went in. Not a sound was heard; it was as it he didn’t feel the pain. Not that it was true, but he was rather used to it by now.
It would be very strange for a scar to appear for no reason whatsoever. So every time, he would reopen the scar for people to see, just so they won’t be suspicious. In exchange though, they would probably be very alarmed at his current bloody state. Jasper sighed. He would have to act the part of Quintus Palma for the time being, doing as an 8 year old would, which is incredibly monotonous by his standards.
Bracing himself for the ruckus to come, he trudged back home. On the way he was considering whether to bawl or to sob to his current family. Quintus Palma had been somewhat of a crybaby although he was a very obedient child. So for better or worse, Jasper would at least have to act accordingly. At least, until he can slowly change Quintus’ image…
He had reached the yard, the chickens had been cooped and everyone was already inside. Coming back slightly late was not such a rare occurrence so nobody was worried as to where Quintus was. Inhaling a deep breath, Jasper went with the bawling route.
It would have been a rather comical sight if it had not been for the blood everywhere. Jasper’s play-acting was very believable, as even tears were streaming down his face. You don’t live multiple lives without learning some tricks. Immediately everyone froze and nearly forgot to breathe. The first to rush over was of course Miriam, the mother. Whisking him up onto a chair, she wiped the blood on his face to find the terrible gash, her eyebrows scrunched up into a frown. Raya was fidgeting, not quite sure what to do in this situation while the quick-witted Winnie brought a damp clean cloth. In such a small town, the doctor was only a few blocks away so no one bothers to keep first-aid kits at home.
“Oho, this is pretty horrible.” mumbled the town doctor. The first floor of his house served as his clinic and was exactly across the street. The people called him Doctor Hartwin, and in contrast to his profession, his body was big, burly and robust. With tanned skin which indicated his time spent outdoors, he did not conform with the stereotypical doctor image.
“It’s not too deep, so thankfully stitches won’t be needed. It just needs to be dressed properly.” he said. His skills were top notch and he could recognise most of the ailments which appeared in the town as well as treat them. Wondering how he got the cut, the doctor looked at him rather strangely and Quintus stared back. In the end Doctor Hartwin attributed it to chance, since childrens’ cuts and bruises were all too common in town, and he had gotten a few strange cases during the time he had been here.
Jasper having put on the fake-grimace as the cut was dressed, Raya, despite being eldest, was constantly fretting and rained non-stop questions to Quintus and the doctor: “Does it hurt?”, “Is your eye okay?”, “Is he going to be alright?” and “He’s going to be alright right?” So much so that even the doctor was getting exasperated by his chattering.
“I’m okay Raya.” Quintus replied, the Jasper within hoping that this will assuage his concerns. Despite shutting up his mouth, Raya continued to stare at Quintus with worry written all over his face, making Quintus feel rather uncomfortable. It was even worse than their mother’s.
And finally it was done. The Palmas expressed their utmost gratitude to Doctor Hartwin and went back home. Since they had left their home in a hurry, the food had gotten cold but thankfully the stove had been put out lest they find their house burned down. Miriam put the stew back on the fire to reheat and the rest sat down on the table with Raya’s eagle eyes watching Quintus’ every movement after he had insisted to walk back home. Camellia could only sigh and Winnie giggled as the two watched his antics. Eruft adopted the passive observer role as he just watched them and occasionally smirked.
Eventually they had dinner, after having sorted out the earlier delay. Quintus now sported two large padded bandages above and under his left eye. The bandage was skilfully tied, allowing his eye to see unhindered by it. When they finished, the sisters offered to share their beds with him that night and Raya quickly offered as well. Jasper was quite taken aback and could not decide whether to accept or decline when their father snorted out that men should not be such sissies, only to tell Quintus afterwards that he should come to his room if anything was wrong.
After a nonplussed moment shared by the siblings, they grinned and ushered Quintus to bed after saying goodnight to their parents. They knew that their father was a softie despite what he said earlier. They tucked him in, with Raya nagging on and on until he left, and then dispersed into their own beds. Soon silence permeated the house.
Jasper finally heaved a long sigh. That was at long last, over. Thinking how he would have to continue to “act his age,” Jasper was truly grumbling in his heart. Rolling over to his side, he observed the room which he had experienced through Quintus’ memories. A two-tier bunk bed where his sisters slept lay in front of him while his back faced the wall, wooden walls, a homey albeit rather damp smell. Pulling the blanket closer, Jasper eventually closed his eyes and fell asleep amid his own thoughts.
Rebirth Online World 