“I was so worried about you! What if something had gone wrong?”

We’re currently in a carriage headed home, and Mama won’t stop fussing over me.

“Come on, Mama, it’s just school! I’ve gone to school before! Has anything bad ever happened?”

“No, but… Oh, I just couldn’t help but worry! It’s your first day at a new school? What if you got picked on?”

“I didn’t get picked on, Mama. Actually, I made a new friend today,” I tell her.

“Oh? Do tell. What’s she like?” Mama asks.

“She’s a kobold named Kirby. She’s really clever, too. Actually, there’s something I need to tell everyone when we get home,” I respond. My stomach hops at my admission.

“How about at dinner, then? We’re having your brother’s and sister’s families over for dinner tonight,” Mama tells me.

We chat a bit more as the carriage winds its way to our home. We get off once we arrive, and Mama gives the Centaurs a tip. We then make our way inside, and I go to my room to work on my homework. After I finish, I decide to read my book until dinnertime, trying to stay as calm as possible.

There comes a knock at the door, and Mama calls, “Can you answer that, Lily? Dinner’s almost ready!”

Putting my blindfold back on, I get up and go to the door to open it. Outside stands Daffodil holding her baby Echidna, and her husband. Behind her, I see Andrew holding the hand of a young Manticore walking between him and Aunty Mabel. I know she’s actually my sis-in-law, but she’s also seventeen years older than me.

The Elapidas wait for the O'Brins to get to the door, then we all greet each other and go inside. This isn’t the first time I’ve met Riley, my Manticore niece, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen Daffodil’s family.

“This is our daughter, Clover,” Daffodil says as we settle into the living room. Andrew leaves Riley with Mabel in order to help Mama in the kitchen.

“Hey, Clover. Aren’t you cute?” I say, tapping her nose.

We talk about our lives for a while, asking each other how our summers were. Katrina joins us at some point, and then Mama calls us all into the dining room.

“Boar roast with potatoes today. Hope you enjoy!” Mama says as she brings over the large dish.

Andrew and Mama put some Demon Realm boar and potatoes on each plate, then sit down, and everyone starts eating. Inside, my stomach is practicing backflips. After a couple bites, I decide to rip off the metaphorical bandage.

“So… I have something to tell everybody today,” I say, causing every head to turn in my direction. “A friend made me realize that it’s time I tell you, and… it’s not like I really wanted to hide it from you guys in the first place.”

Mama’s look turns concerned. “Hey, it’s alright, everyone has secrets. I’m just glad you feel comfortable enough to tell us.”

“Thanks, Mama. So what I wanted to tell you guys is that I’m… a reincarnator. I have memories of my previous life. But! I still love you guys, and you’re family to me.”

There are a few shocked looks, and my nieces just looked befuddled, but Katrina wears a more thoughtful look.

“So that’s why, huh?” she remarks.

“Why what?” I ask her.

“How you seem so smart sometimes. The only subject you weren’t ridiculously good at in elementary school was history. Are we speaking the same language as your first life?” Katrina ponders.

“Surprisingly, yes. When I realized I was reincarnated, I expected to have to learn another language. I was a bit surprised when I could understand what everyone was saying from the very beginning.”

“So that’s how you managed to start speaking so young,” Mama says. “You actually helped Melody learn to talk too, remember? I wonder how the Drakes are doing these days.”

“Yeah, I remember,” I say. “I still miss Melody a bit sometimes. Also I just love being able to teach others new things; I was even a teacher in my last life.”

“Well that certainly seems to suit you,” Mama says. “You always loved explaining things to your friends.”

There is a lull in the conversation as everyone takes a bite of their pork roast or potatoes. Daffodil is the next to speak up.

“So, your previous life was in a different world, right?” she asks.

“Yep.”

“What was it like?”

“Well, the biggest difference was that there was no magic,” I state, drawing everyone’s attention. “Instead, we used electricity to power our technology.”

“What’s lectrisatee?” Riley asks.

“Electricity is what Raijus and Thunderbirds have,” I tell her. “It sparkles and makes your muscles twitch.”

“Anyway,” I continue, “we had super advanced technology, too; like horseless metal carriages that could go really fast, or video crystals that you could do math or play games on, and they’re a bit less fragile, too. We also had really tall buildings called skyscrapers, where thousands of people would live or work. Entire cities made up of skyscrapers, even.”

Everyone looks at me with wide eyes. Mama is the first to return to eating, chewing on her thoughts along with the roast. The others soon follow suit, taking their time to think about what I told them.

My older niece still looks at me, though. Clover just focuses on Daffodil feeding her, but Riley looks at me with sparkling eyes. “I wanna build a skyscraper when I grow up!” she declares. Then she cocks her head. “How do I do that?”

“Well, I don’t know much, but I know that you need something stronger and lighter than bricks if you want to build anything taller than ten floors,” I say. “They were often made with steel and glass in my old world. But you also have to be careful about how you build it, too.”

“How about the metal carriages? How much do you know about them?” Katrina asks before stuffing another bite of pulled pork in her mouth.

“If I tried to describe everything I knew about cars,” I say, emphasizing the word, “we’d be talking about that for the next hour, probably . Diagrams would help more at that point.” I pause. “Maybe I’ll draw one sometime and give it to a Gremlin to figure out the pieces I’m missing.”

“Ever since I first held you, I knew you were special,” Mama says.

“Mama, every mom thinks their kids are special,” I respond.

“Yes, and every mom is right,” she rebuts.

I roll my eyes, not that anyone would see that. “I know, Mama.”

The rest of dinner continues in a similar, but slightly more relaxed, manner. I answer a few more questions, and we all enjoy the roast and potatoes. Everyone but the nieces help clean up, and then Andrew, Daffodil, and their families go home.

As I go to sleep that night, a simple thought crosses my mind.

I hope I can have fun tomorrow.