Chapter 2 — Genius in the Making
Cedrick was still trying to understand his new life.
Being born again was not as easy as he first imagined.
His mind still carried the memories of Bryan Fernandez, a fifty-eight-year-old factory worker who had spent most of his life working hard for his family.
But now, he had the body of a baby.
He could think, remember, and understand everything around him, but he could not speak whenever he wanted.
When he was hungry, he had to cry.
When he was sleepy, he had to sleep.
When he wanted to walk, his tiny legs could barely carry him.
At first, it frustrated him.
I used to work in a factory. I paid bills. I raised children. Now I can’t even reach the table.
Sometimes, Cedrick would stare at his tiny hands and quietly laugh inside.
What a strange life.
As the months passed, however, he slowly became used to his new body.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
And before he knew it, two years had passed.
Cedrick was growing quickly.
His parents, Norman and Alice Ferrer, were proud of their youngest son. They had already noticed that Cedrick was different from other children, but they initially thought it was simply because he was naturally curious.
Then he started talking.
And that was when things became strange.
Most children his age were still learning simple words and sentences.
Cedrick, however, could already understand long conversations.
One afternoon, Norman was sitting in the living room while reading a newspaper.
Cedrick walked toward him.
“Papa, what are you reading?”
Norman lowered the newspaper and looked at his son.
“The newspaper.”
Cedrick pointed at one of the pages.
“Why did the company lose money?”
Norman froze.
He looked at his wife.
Alice was standing nearby.
“What did you say, Cedrick?”
Cedrick repeated the question.
“Why did the company lose money?”
Norman laughed nervously.
“Where did you learn that?”
Cedrick shrugged.
“I heard you talking about it.”
Norman smiled.
He thought his son had simply remembered something from a conversation.
But that was only the beginning.
Cedrick started asking questions that surprised everyone.
He wanted to know how machines worked.
He asked why people needed money.
He wanted to understand why some businesses became successful while others failed.
He even asked questions about things that his parents thought were far too difficult for a two-year-old.
Sometimes, Norman would simply stare at him.
“You’re still a little boy,” he would say with a laugh.
Cedrick would smile.
But inside, he knew the truth.
He was not really a little boy.
He was Bryan.
A man who had already lived fifty-eight years.
He had seen poverty.
He had experienced love.
He had raised children.
He had worked until his body could no longer keep up.
And he had died.
Those memories had never disappeared.
In fact, they became even clearer as he grew older.
He remembered his old home.
He remembered his wife’s face.
He remembered Edgar and Sheila when they were young.
Most painful of all, he remembered the day his children discovered his body.
Sometimes, Cedrick would wake up crying.
Alice would immediately rush to his room.
“What happened, baby?”
Cedrick could never tell her.
How could he explain that he was crying because he remembered being buried?
Instead, he would simply hug his mother.
“I’m okay, Mama.”
Alice would smile and kiss his forehead.
“Don’t be afraid. Mama is here.”
Those words always made Cedrick feel something he had not felt for a long time.
He felt loved.
In his previous life, Bryan had spent many nights alone.
Now, he had a mother who held him whenever he was afraid.
For the first time, Cedrick wondered if perhaps his second life had been given to him for a reason.
But he still did not know what that reason was.
A Strange Gift
When Cedrick turned three, his parents decided to let him attend a nursery school as a seat-in student.
They did not expect anything unusual.
They simply wanted him to interact with other children and slowly get used to school.
On his first day, Alice walked him into the classroom.
There were colorful posters on the walls, small chairs, toys, and books.
Children were running around and laughing.
Cedrick looked at them quietly.
He felt strange.
He had attended school many decades earlier in his previous life.
Now he was back again.
Only this time, he was sitting on a tiny chair.
His teacher smiled at him.
“Hello, Cedrick. Can you tell us your name?”
Cedrick stood up.
“My name is Cedrick Ferrer.”
The teacher smiled.
“Very good. How old are you?”
“Three.”
The teacher clapped.
“Very good!”
Cedrick smiled politely and sat down.
At first, there was nothing unusual.
He looked like an ordinary child.
He did not disturb his classmates.
He did not shout.
He simply listened.
But during the first activity, the teacher noticed something.
She placed several letters on the table.
“Who knows this letter?”
A few children raised their hands.
Cedrick raised his hand too.
The teacher pointed at a letter.
“What letter is this?”
“A.”
She pointed at another.
“B.”
Then another.
“C.”
The teacher continued.
Cedrick answered every question.
Soon, she started asking him about numbers.
“What is two plus two?”
“Four.”
“What is five plus three?”
“Eight.”
The teacher smiled.
She thought the boy had memorized the answers.
Then she gave him a slightly harder question.
“What is ten minus four?”
“Six.”
The teacher stopped.
She looked at Cedrick.
“Who taught you this?”
“Myself.”
The teacher laughed.
“Who taught you how to count?”
Cedrick thought for a moment.
“My Papa.”
That answer made the teacher smile.
She continued the lesson.
But as the days passed, the teacher became more surprised.
Cedrick barely paid attention during some activities.
Sometimes, he would look outside the window.
Sometimes, he would play with a small toy while the teacher was explaining something.
Yet whenever a test was given, Cedrick would finish first.
And his answers were always correct.
Perfect score.
Every time.
The teacher began keeping his test papers.
She wanted to make sure she was not making a mistake.
But there was no mistake.
Cedrick was consistently getting perfect scores.
One afternoon, she called Alice.
“Mrs. Ferrer, may I speak with you?”
Alice became worried.
“Is Cedrick having trouble in school?”
The teacher shook her head.
“Actually, it’s the opposite.”
She handed Alice several test papers.
“Your son is extremely advanced for his age.”
Alice looked at the papers.
Every answer was correct.
“But he’s only three,” she said.
“I know.”
The teacher smiled.
“That’s why I’m surprised.”
Alice went home that afternoon thinking about what the teacher had said.
When Norman arrived that evening, she showed him the test papers.
He looked at them carefully.
“Perfect?”
“All of them.”
Norman laughed.
“Maybe we have a genius.”
Alice smiled.
“I think so.”
From the corner of the room, Cedrick listened to them.
He smiled too.
But inside, he knew there was more to it.
He was not a genius because of some mysterious gift.
He simply had something no other child his age possessed.
Experience.
He knew things because he had already lived a lifetime.
He understood money because Bryan had struggled with it.
He understood work because Bryan had spent decades working.
He understood people because Bryan had spent years watching them.
He knew the pain of losing someone.
He knew what loneliness felt like.
And he knew how quickly life could disappear.
But Cedrick also realized something important.
He could not reveal everything.
If he told people about his previous life, they would think he was strange.
Maybe they would be afraid of him.
Maybe they would take him to doctors.
Maybe his parents would never look at him the same way again.
So Cedrick made a decision.
He would keep his secret.
He would act like an ordinary child.
At least for now.
The Question
One night, Norman entered Cedrick’s room.
His son was sitting on the bed, looking at a children’s book.
“Cedrick, you’re still awake?”
Cedrick looked up.
“Yes, Papa.”
Norman sat beside him.
“What are you reading?”
“A story.”
“Do you understand it?”
Cedrick nodded.
“Yes.”
Norman smiled.
“You’re really smart.”
Cedrick smiled back.
Then Norman asked something unexpected.
“Son, what do you want to become when you grow up?”
Cedrick became quiet.
For a moment, memories of his previous life returned.
The factory.
The long hours.
The traffic.
The empty house.
The beer bottles.
His wife’s photograph.
His children crying beside his coffin.
Cedrick looked at his father.
“I want to help people.”
Norman smiled.
“That’s a good dream.”
Cedrick looked down at the book.
But inside his mind, he added another thought.
I want to make sure I never live that life again.
He closed the book.
Then suddenly, he felt a strange chill.
The room became unusually cold.
Cedrick looked toward the bedroom window.
It was closed.
There was no wind.
Yet the curtain slowly moved.
Cedrick stared at it.
For a few seconds, he felt as if someone was standing outside.
Watching him.
He looked again.
Nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Norman asked.
Cedrick shook his head.
“Nothing, Papa.”
Norman turned off the light and kissed his forehead.
“Good night, Cedrick.”
“Good night, Papa.”
The door closed.
Cedrick remained awake.
He stared into the darkness.
Then he heard something.
A very faint whisper.
“Bryan…”
Cedrick’s eyes widened.
His heart began beating faster.
He slowly sat up.
Nobody was in the room.
Then the whisper came again.
“Bryan…”
Cedrick pulled the blanket closer to his body.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it before.
But it was impossible.
Because the person who used to call him Bryan…
had been dead for fifteen years.
Cedrick stared into the darkness.
And for the first time since his reincarnation, he began to wonder if he had truly left his old life behind.
Because perhaps he was not the only one who remembered.
Next Chapter on Tuesday
CHAPTER 1 – The Man Who Died Twice
Chapter 3 – The Math Wizard Turns into DelinquentÂ