He first became aware of existence inside a womb.

Within the warm, soft confines of the womb, he recognized others’ presence before his own existence, and through this recognition, he awakened to self-awareness. Those foreign entities swam through the amniotic fluid, bumping into each other here and there, occasionally colliding with him as they passed by.

It was a strange place. Sometimes extremely quiet, other times filled with distant humming voices. Voices that seemed to call to him. Voices as warm and affectionate as this womb.

Before long, the two beings swimming beside him grew larger. One moved extremely quickly and aggressively, while the other moved somewhat slower and more calmly—he preferred the slower one.

The slower being would occasionally swim toward him with gentle movements like the kind voice he sometimes heard, splashing and swimming beside him. Sometimes it would playfully bump foreheads with him, which he found partly annoying and partly amusing. So when he bumped his forehead back, the slower being would shake with what seemed like giggles.

Was it enjoyable? It probably was. He quite enjoyed those times. So when the days of being together as three ended and they were each formed into eggs, he must have felt extremely bored and dull. But that quiet and still time was also incredibly comfortable, making him reluctant to emerge from the egg.

At such times, somehow the egg placed quietly next to his would roll over and tap against his shell. Whether by chance or intention remained unclear, but each time this happened, he could sense that this egg contained the slower being. If asked how he knew, well, he could only say he knew it instinctively.

And then came the day they broke through the comfortable womb and went outside.

He had absolutely no desire to leave the egg. This place was extremely comfortable and unchanging. That was what he liked most about it. A quiet place with no changes. A place where everything happened according to his will. So even when the voice he occasionally heard from inside the womb asked with concern why he wasn’t coming out, he pretended not to hear and floated leisurely inside the egg.

Idiot. I’m not coming out. I like it here.

Saying this in an inaudible voice, he slept with perfect composure. Though he could feel the inside of the egg becoming slightly smaller than before, that was none of his concern. He intended to endure as long as possible.

That was the plan. It certainly was.

It happened on the night he had such thoughts. Judging by the silence of the two voices that usually murmured, he could tell everyone slept. He was alone, coiled inside the egg, enjoying the silence. That’s when he detected something sliding smoothly across the carpet. As he perked up to sense the presence, he felt a familiar entity outside the egg.

Tap, tap.

It was a sound he had heard before. As he raised his head attentively to sense the outside, he felt a body sliding smoothly and wrapping around the egg. Though he heard no sound, he could tell.

Why are you in there? Come out. Let’s play together. Let’s play together.

He thought he could hear laughter. He should have said that he liked it here and didn’t want to come out, but he couldn’t say that. Instead, he tapped his forehead gently against the shell from inside. The entity outside must have thought it was play, as it giggled and tapped back playfully.

How long did they play? As dawn deepened, the slower being yawned softly and smoothly wrapped around the egg once more.

See you tomorrow.

That seemed to be what it was saying.

*

The next day.

He waited a long time for that slower being, but nothing approached the egg. There was no bubbling laughter like yesterday, no playful tapping on the eggshell.

Why aren’t you coming? You said you would.

He resented the broken promise. While he curled up with his head down, feeling sulky about the unkept promise, it suddenly occurred to him that perhaps the being wasn’t refusing to come but was unable to. Yes, that must be the situation. Someone who had promised to meet again in such an affectionate voice would surely keep that promise. So he should go meet them instead.

So he flicked his tongue and looked around the inside of the egg. Though his eyes weren’t working properly yet, he could find the fragile part using smell and other senses. He butted that part with his forehead as hard as he could. Not even a crack formed. He gnawed at the shell with his soft teeth and then shook the crack with his forehead again.

As he got the hang of it, his speed increased. Crack. Crackle. As the sound of the shell breaking echoed, a flickering crimson light appeared. As he looked at that light and bit off a large piece, the egg completely broke, and his body spilled out. Something cool embraced him and then transferred him to another embrace.

“You must have been surprised.”

It was the voice he had often heard in the womb. As he lifted his head to see the face of the familiar voice, a sweet scent wafted from the embrace. He instinctively filled his stomach by biting at the milk with his soft teeth. He was extremely hungry. After filling his stomach for a while, he looked around to find the being he was searching for.

Where are you?

He called out, but no one who looked like him appeared. Then he spotted sleeping figures on what looked like a soft, elevated place. Though they looked different, they were definitely the ones who had rolled around and played with him in the womb. He crawled onto the bed and settled between his sister and brother. They looked different from what he knew.

Like the outside scenery, they had pitch-black hair and eyelashes, cheeks and lips redder than the light in the room. Faces like the white flowers decorated here and there.

But he could definitely tell. It was the being that had spoken to him and smiled at him.

I can tell even if you look different.

He said quite proudly, but the sleeping figure gave no response. Disappointed by the lack of reaction, he lay down dejectedly beside them, and sleep overcame him. His fathers settled on either side of him.

“Cyrus. From now on, you are Cyrus.”

A voice containing laughter spoke quietly, and he was named ‘Cyrus.’

This is the earliest imprint that ‘Cyrus’ remembers. The very memory that would devastate his life and later color it with joy.