While this creature carried me, he brought me close to his abdominal area and tucked me into a pouch; yes, he had a pouch attached to his body like a kangaroo's. This planet is super strange.

  He carried me with him for a few hours, but everything is dark; suddenly, just by thinking it, my soul left my body again. While he swung from branch to branch, my astral projection moved with him. Something in my chest began to tremble with emotion, even though I don’t have a biological body. I delighted in the landscapes I could see from high up in the branches. That sky, between blue and pink, was dazzling.

  We moved on for a while longer until we reached what seemed to be this animal's home. It had a peaceful vibe even though it looked like a pigsty—thank goodness I don’t have a nose. Perhaps it’s normal for it to be like that since it’s a wild creature. It had a small bed of dry leaves, sticks piled in a corner, and some food reserves. All of it on top of a tree; I suppose it’s so those predators don’t come looking for him.

  I spent some time there; the being dropped me on the ground like I was trash, and I could only watch him come and go. Sometimes he returned with dead animals that he then ate raw without any kind of scruples.

  I’m going to name him Viktor—I don’t know why, but he reminded me of my old coworker—he started playing with me after leaving me abandoned in a corner for a few days. That made me remember the behavior otters have when they find their favorite stone. He would grab me with his little hands and rub me against his cheeks. It’s very cute! If my wife saw him, she would be fascinated, though I can no longer talk to her.

  I also noticed his strange behaviors; he did his business from the shelter and let it fall into the void—pretty disgusting if you ask me. He slept a lot; I don't know if it's out of laziness or because that’s how his species is. It’s worth noting that I never saw another of his kind; he was always alone. Could it be that they are solitary animals like tigers? Who knows.

  Several nights passed and the routine was the same, until one time he took me out for a walk. Perhaps this animal knew I had a conscience; most likely not, I think I’m overthinking it. He took me to the top of a tree and there I looked at how immense this forest was, how majestic this planet could be; it was super dense and giant. There was no trace of civilization, not even smoke, nothing. Only the green of the vegetation was visible, and the gray clouds coming in our direction bringing a storm. Nothing else.

  Viktor felt the storm, so he ran to his shelter to take cover from the rain. For a long time, the water didn't stop; it seemed like a flood or a tornado because of how strong it was. Thunder was heard in the distance; I saw him quite scared—even wild animals are afraid of those damn things—suddenly, a crack erupted in the air.

  CRACK!!

  It was the branch where the "house" was; I couldn't hear anything else, I only saw how we were going down; without realizing it, the tree where we were collapsed.

  While we fell, I slipped from his hands; as I watched him drift away in the water, I felt like everything was going with him, as if I were saying goodbye to a dear friend. I managed to visualize how the rivers of mud took him away while I stayed down there, buried.

  I thought: "this is what happens when I get attached to someone, they always leave or fate makes them leave." I felt like when you break up with someone.

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  Solitude claimed me again. This time, however, the darkness was absolute; the earth above me had become a heavy bandage that deprived me of that pink sky.

  —Well, I suppose these things happen —I said to calm myself, but I felt a pain in my chest, even though I didn't have a chest. Sadness is also experienced in the soul, or while being a measly stone.

  I don't know how much time must have passed, but the wild current caused by the rain unearthed me and I saw the light of day again. Viktor was no longer nearby. His departure hurt me quite a bit. Did he die or is he out there somewhere? Suffering and desperate, I don't know. It was like losing a family member, or maybe it was just the fear of being alone again in this world whose name I don’t even know. Perhaps the God of this place was upset with me.

  —Could it be that there really is a God here? —I asked myself— or are these just delusions I get in this stone body? What the hell was that voice that spoke to me?

  —Well, if there is a God, he’s surely an idiot, because he took Viktor away from me.

  Little time passed because the humidity is noticeable in the ground; I’m still lying here contemplating my loneliness, still with that sting that makes me want to cry; he was a simple animal, something like a pet, but I feel like I lost my best friend. Being like this is already doing me harm.

  After his death, nothing has changed; most likely he died, so I resigned myself. I’m still semi-buried in this mud, although the sun has managed to dry the earth a bit and small insects are starting to come out. There is no trace of what was Viktor's house; only ruins and dead branches buried in the earth are visible. "This is shit!" I cursed in my mind; I was frustrated, the days of fun had vanished because of that damn rain.

  This is the bad thing about being alone with my thoughts: I start brooding over things I shouldn't. Maybe there is a God and he brought me to this world to suffer for not having cherished my family when I had them. Maybe, deep down, I’m a bad person. Maybe, I should die again.

  —After that last thought, Samuel fell into something like a dream, a deep lethargy.

  —Hey... who is speaking? And why are you narrating my story, mysterious voice?

  A sensation of confusion washed over me. Where did I hear those words? But I didn't have time to investigate. For the first time in a long time, exhaustion overcame me.

  —Okay... I’m feeling sleepy... I’m... really... falling... asleep.

  I fell into a sleep that I don’t know how long it lasted, but it was glorious. For the first time since I woke up in this world, I experienced true rest. My mind stopped spinning about God, about Viktor, and about my past life. Simply, everything went black.

  [New incarnation found]

  A message appeared in my mind while I slept; the letters were an electric blue.

  [Soul ready for transfer]

  I couldn't even imagine what that was; it didn't give me time for anything. Upon waking, I felt my eyelids open. But, how was that possible? Why did I have eyes if just a moment ago I was a simple stone that couldn't even move?

  The wind whipped my... Fur? With a titanic effort, I moved what I believed to be a limb. As I lifted it, I froze: it was a hand. But not my office worker hand, but one full of hair and claws, like a monkey's. It was very similar to..... Viktor's? This was getting very weird. A scent of wet earth hit my nose.

  What the hell? I have a body, and I can feel again. I inspected my arm; it had small claws and fingers similar to those of a primate. I shook my entire being in an impulse and even threw myself to the ground; everything was new.

  I couldn't believe what was happening. Had I possessed the body of another? Or had the previous one transformed? I had no idea, but I could move. After what seemed like centuries of not being able to do so, I was finally free.

  I tried to sit up on the damp earth, feeling for the first time the touch of it under my claws. The world was no longer something I just watched pass by; now I was a part of it.

  I looked around and saw a rock stuck in the mud; I approached and grabbed it. Perhaps it was my previous body. Where did my new form come from? I remembered those letters from when I was asleep; it’s another "Incarnation," so it’s a new body.