Writing Prompts I Found

4: Rebirth

(This is a small story basically taking place in the world of my other story: World of Souls.

The characters found here have nothing to do with the story line, but might show up in the book. This is basically something I wrote real quick from an idea I had which inspired me to write the book itself. Here's a brief explanation of the universe if you know nothing about it:

In this world, a person is born one of two things. An OldSoul or a NewSoul.

A NewSoul is a child born without any pervious reincarnations. An OldSoul is a child who was born with one or more previous reincarnations.

An OldSoul is often born with the memories of their previous lives, often unlocked around the age of five. The child is to simply referred to by their surname until that time, where OldSouls will reveal the name they've carried with them throughout their many lives and NewSouls will be given names that they themselves will carry on through their future lives.)

The woman wailed as she struggled to birth her child. She was a NewSoul, this current life being the only one she's ever lived. And now she was about to become a mother. She writhed in the sheets of her bed, fisting the sheets as her midwife and the healer stood with her to assist with the birth. With another shriek of pain, a wail broke through the air. A baby boy was set on her chest, the midwife using a towel to wipe down what covered the babe. The mother stroked the head of her newborn, his soft, dark brown hair already beginning to curl against his scalp.

"What did the Mage say?" The healer asked, the cord already having been tied off and cut, the babe wrapped in the blanket his parents were gifted from family before his birth. "What are the chances?"

"She said many souls were following me during my pregnancy. So there's a high chance one of them stuck to him," the mother said, sitting up once the rest of the labor process was over and the midwife had checked over the child. "Show him to his father."

The infant was brought outside the bedroom where his father was pacing. He turned, eyes brightening at the sight of his newborn son. He eagerly accepted to babe into his arms, stroking the boy's plump cheek with his finger. The boy had the fair skin of his mother but the dark hair of his father. And, as the father quickly discovered, he had the almost inky black eyes of his father as well.

"Little Nash," the man cooed, watching as his son managed to pull his hand from the swaddle and flex his small fingers. "You might just be an old friend returning to say hello. But I would like to be the one to give you a proper name."

The healer smiled as he watched the father and son from the doorway of the bedroom. He really did love his job sometimes.