Chapter 23: Reincarnation
Anything is possible if you believe in it whereas everything is impossible if you don't believe in it.
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The old lady's expressions turned ugly. She wanted to curse Severus so badly. She shouted angrily at him, " Who in the world are you? Are you a robber or a con artist? What will you gain by tricking an old lady?"
Severus"...."
"No, it doesn't make sense. Even if you are a low-class con star, you shouldn't know the meaning of my verse. Tell me punk, who are you? And how do you know about the verse?" The old lady asked in desperation. The last thing in her life she didn't want to happen was her secret being revealed.
"I am not lying", Severus replied in frustration.
The old lady chuckled. "You want me to believe that you are the ex-general of Rivera kingdom. The infamous general, Severus. Huh…... Do you take me for a fool? The entire Rivera kingdom and the neighboring kingdom knows that the ex-general Severus was assassinated."
"Who are you trying to fool?"
The old lady asked smugly.
Severus didn't know how to explain himself to her so he kept quiet. He felt sad but didn't feel the need to express his sadness to her. He turned his head and surveyed her room. There he saw a wooden bookshelf in which several books were cramped. The shelf looked worn out and the books too were old too. Yellow pages and ripped covers. All in all, they looked spooky and ancient.
Severus wasn't interested in the spooky books, but one thing caught his eyes. Hidden in the last compartment with dusty books, there was a small booklet. Golden theme with 'CURSES AND WILLS' written with brown ink, gave it an aesthetic look. Even if it was with thrash, it shined like gold there.
Severus stood up and went in the direction of the bookshelf. He extended his hand and picked up that book.
The old lady's face lost color and with horror in her eyes, she screamed as she hastily tried to snatch the book from him but to no avail.
"What's this? A book on curses and wills". Severus spoke while flipping its pages.
"You…. u…. Don't you have manners? How can you touch other people's belongings? Give it back to me. Give back", The old lady pleaded desperately.
"Not only curses but...." Severus stopped in mid.
His expressions turned grave, and an intense light flickered inside his eyes. "This book is based on Necromancy spells. Wow, grandma, you were hiding a gem in this trash. What else are you hiding?'
"DOES IT CONCERN YOU? GIVE ME MY BOOK", she asked while barely holding her anger.
Severus laughed. "Really, is it your book? I can't see your name being written anywhere nor even your surname. There isn't any mark of possession. So why do you think I would believe you and give this book back to you?
The old lady didn't have any counters.
She sulked and in a raspy voice asked again," Monster. You are a monster. Tell me who are you? I don't want to die without knowing the name of that person who somehow got to know about my family secret"
"Family secret" Severus murmured.
"I told you that I am an ex-general of Rivera Kingdom, but you aren't believing me. What can I do? You believe in necromancy but don't believe in me. Sigh, Do I look that un-trustworthy? It's true that I died but I wasn't an assassination rather it was a betrayal."
Severus took a pause and stabled his emotions.
Severus looked straight in her eyes and asked her, "Do you know that reincarnation is the highest form of necromancy?"
The old lady looked flabbergasted but still nodded her head in acknowledgment.
On receiving her acknowledgment Severus smiled.
The old lady was confused when she saw him smiling but the next second, she gasped. Astonishment, bewilderment, and fear was seen on her face. She looked like she was seeing a living nightmare.
"You mean, you are reincarnated? That's impossible, utterly impossible. Even if I believe in reincarnation, you can't get reincarnated in such a short period of time, and that too in the same timeline. It's weird?"
Severus sighed," It is and I know it is weird. You don't have to scream weird, weird every time."