This time, it seemed I’d been reincarnated into a European—or at least, someone who looked European. The people around me certainly had European features, and the language they spoke sounded a little like English. I wasn’t sure if they were the kind of Europeans I knew from my own world.
But this wasn’t a good thing. The stench of human and animal waste, garbage, and urine hit me all at once. It was enough to tell me how filthy and chaotic life was at the bottom of society. Even if I’d been reincarnated as a European, this definitely wasn’t the modern world I’d come from in my previous life.
Jayard was still arguing with Mackduff, hoping he could persuade him not to abandon me. But Mackduff had a short temper. He was cruel and violent, and he especially hated anyone daring to defy him.
Even Jayard, the child who’d earned him the most money, was no exception. As the argument heated up, Mackduff suddenly swung a slap across Jayard’s face, knocking him to the ground.
“Enough! You want to keep her? Who’s going to feed her? You expect me to buy her medicine, too? And if she dies, I’ll have to go dump the body? You lot, hurry up and throw her somewhere far away! I don’t keep useless people around!” Jayard shouted.
Many of the children looked at him with anger and grief, or at me with pity. None of them came forward to carry me away. It seemed the original owner had been quite popular among the orphans.
Or maybe seeing me like this had made them imagine what would happen if one of them got sick someday. Would Mackduff abandon them without a second thought, too, leaving them to lie in the mud and wait to die just like me? The thought was heartbreaking.
Not a single person listened to Mackduff. That only made him angrier. He thought they were deliberately challenging what little authority he had, so he pulled off his belt and prepared to beat them.
Just then, Jayard, who’d been knocked to the ground, got back up and said, “Boss, I’ll do it.”
All the children stared at him in disbelief. I was surprised, too. In my memories, Jayard had always doted on Parula. And now he was volunteering to throw me out.
“You?” Even Mackduff was taken aback. “Hmph! What are you up to now? Changed your mind? Don’t you dare bring her back to me!”
“Don’t hit them. Let me do it. You’re not going to keep her anyway. Better I do it myself than let those people throw her out roughly…” Jayard stumbled over his words. He seemed deeply shaken, his voice thick with tears and anger.
“Hmph!” Mackduff snorted and turned away, apparently accepting the offer. As long as someone carried out his orders, that was all that mattered. Jayard was still the most useful person to him, so he could grant him this little wish.
Jayard came over and carefully lifted me out of the mud and filthy water. His touch was so gentle that he didn’t seem like someone who’d volunteered to abandon me at all.
My feelings about Jayard were strange. On one hand, he was a stranger I’d only just met. On the other, the memories in my mind made him feel incredibly familiar. That closeness was almost instinctive. When he picked me up, even the aches and discomfort of my illness eased considerably.
“Cough, cough… Thank… you. Don’t worry about me. Um… just leave me somewhere.” It was the first time I’d spoken since arriving in this world, and I spoke in a language I didn’t recognize.
My voice was hoarse, probably because I was sick. But I could just make out that this body’s voice must once have been as clear and sweet as a songbird’s.
Maybe it was because I’d crossed into another world, but the original owner’s memories were scattered fragments in my mind. I could barely recall anything clearly. Sometimes, something in front of me would bring a memory back—for instance, seeing him made me remember that he was Jayard.
I’d been able to understand the language just fine, but I couldn’t speak it. Only after listening to it for so long did I slowly remember how to form the words. Even then, my speech came in fits and starts. There were plenty of words I didn’t know how to say, and I had to struggle to remember them before I could piece a sentence together.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t convince him to let you stay,” Jayard said quietly, looking guilty. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that the girl he truly cared about was already dead.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” I tried to smile at him. I’d come here from another world, so I had no attachment to this so-called “home.” And I didn’t really care about dying, either. It wasn’t like I’d never died before.
Jayard was surprisingly strong. He was only sixteen or seventeen, yet he carried me bridal-style and strode along at a brisk pace. Or maybe this body was just that light?
He didn’t take me very far. He just went around the corner into a dead-end alley nearby. Buildings blocked it on both sides, making it a place where I could at least shelter from the wind and rain. It was just filthy and chaotic.
There were plenty of people here in ragged clothes, with wild hair and dirty faces. They were scattered through the alley, some lying down and others sitting. A few had blankets to lie on. Some didn’t even have clothes.
They were all homeless. I’d figured that out by now. The place I’d ended up in was probably a slum, and even among the people here, these homeless folks were at the very bottom.
Jayard glanced at the homeless people, who looked listless, like walking corpses. He still didn’t seem sure it was safe, so he went a little farther in and gently set me down in a corner. It was dark there, and no one would easily notice me tucked away in it.
Then Jayard went around gathering old newspapers, scraps of cloth, and things like that. He covered me with them, apparently trying to keep me warm. I didn’t have the strength to refuse his kindness.
“I’ll come back for you. Wait for me.” Before leaving, Jayard promised me this with firm conviction. I wasn’t exactly moved. What good would it do if he came back? Could he cure my illness?
After Jayard left, I lay helplessly in the corner by myself as the sky gradually darkened. Some of the homeless people dumped the garbage they’d collected into a bucket and lit it, huddling around the fire for warmth as they chatted. Their conversations were all about miserable lives and vulgar jokes.
I could feel the temperature around me dropping quickly. The difference between day and night here was huge, and I seemed to have a high fever, which made me feel even colder.
Only then did I realize how quietly kind Jayard had been. The scraps of paper and cloth he’d put over me had held in some of my body heat and kept the evening breeze off me. But that thin layer wasn’t nearly enough. I was still shivering with cold.
At the same time, my mind was so heavy that I could barely think. Only then did I finally grasp one thing: I was in a girl’s body now.
There were hardly any girls among these homeless people. Girls could usually still use their bodies to earn enough for one last chance at survival. The people left here were already the lowest of the low.
I couldn’t imagine what they might do if they found a little girl here who was completely unable to fight back. Something could happen that I simply wouldn’t be able to accept.
