That was actually very moving. Kind of a cruel concept of reincarnation though. Wonder what religion is like in a world with such a big question as what happens after death is answered.

Knowing doesn't always make you happy. Take my religion, Christianity, for instance. It's very explicit on what happens to people after death, but does that make people happy? Not always.

*shrugs* Knowledge does not always lead to happiness. And knowing what's beyond death may not comfort anyone, if it doesn't lead to all out war.

Upsettingly, achingly beautiful idea.

You really have a knack for dialogue, too.

Lovely read!

Thank you, for all of the abovementioned points! I'm glad you liked it!

Ichimannen to nisennen mae kara aishiteru
Hassennen sugita koro kara motto koishikunatta
Ichioku to nisennen ato mo aishiteru
Kimi wo shitta sono hi kara boku no jigoku ni ongaku wa taenai

instafave! My favourite story in New Fables 2008 (not by much though. It's an awesome anthology). I've read it many times by now :)

Wow, that's just a really sweet story. Part of me wants to be all flowery and gush over it but I'm knee-deep in some edits at the moment (I was having some trouble focusing so I thought taking a break to sit down and read this would help get me in a creative mood again) and have been indirectly chided for using six words when one or two will do. So, long story short (Colonel Mustard: Too late), I'll say it's sweet and lovely and leave it at that.

Hey, no need to be self-conscious. I'm really happy that you liked the story!

My head hurted after the Last paragraph...but still, such a lovely story with such a lovely ending

Hey, sometimes you need to hurt heads in order to let the emotions sink in more.

Glad you liked the story!

*nods* Know what you mean. The stories i wrote once all had some kind of twist, as without it woulda been kind of boring ;)

Wow. That was touching... and a bit of a mindscrew. Imagine knowing you had a former life, and knowing that the life is still in progress...

Interesting...so the soul transcends time as well. That was so touching.

While I can't bring myself to believe in something like soul-mates, I definitely have had my soul touched by others in such deep and profound ways that denying the existence of a soul feels illogical to me. And that concluding paragraph was so satisfyig by proxy that I almost wish I /did/ believe in soul-mates so I had at least a chance to experience something that wonderful.

Your stories tend to bring out really strong emotional responses with me. I'm a bit easy as it is, but the way you get it out of me is so cathartic. It just feels good to be indulgently emotional now and then.

Thanks <3

Thank you so much for such a nice and well thought-out compliment! I'm really glad that my story was able to get such a strong emotional response. It's very flattering to hear that!

So I gave it another read after having foolishly been reading Tear Jerker pages on TVTropes for like two hours (protip: never do this). So yeah. I cried at work. Good thing no one ever comes to bother the intern after lunch time!

I feel much better now, though. It's good to have an emotional purge from time to time to keep the craziness at bay :3

A touching story, but I'll need to think about it for a little while longer.

Hey, I appreciate that anyone would want to stop and think about one of my stories afterwards!

this story got to me because I've had so many lifes that I remember

and I bet you made the story because you remember past lifes to.

I wanna cry after reading this story, but I still love it so much!

I finally took the time to read this one.

All I can say is: wow.

I'm glad you finally got around to reading it. I was very proud of this story when it got published, and I still think it's one of my stronger pieces.

Oh, I’m certainly not going to dispute that.

Oh my god, I loved this so hard, I don't even. I don't usually fav stories though I read them a lot, but holy hot damn this story hit all the right notes to make me cry and I can't even hate you because it's just so beautiful. T.T

(ATTENTION: This comment may contain mild spoilers! Please read the story first so as not to lessen its impact upon the reader! Thanks!)

Thank you for the wonderful story. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer, if only perhaps to give Jared more time to process his feelings and make the big decision. I know you told us it was five years, but... well, you know the old saying, right? "Show, don't tell." Still, it was a good story, and a reminder that sometimes we have to accept reality instead of fighting it. Even if that just means you get to trick reality later on when it's not looking. =P

If you rewrite this, I would recommend making it a bit longer, perhaps showing a bit more of Jared's struggles over the years before coming back to the beginning again, so we get more of a feel of what it's like for him to obsess over his lost love. I think it would also make the ending much more memorable and give it more of a punch. We need a little more time to fall in love with Jared and understand his situation. Don't be afraid to pad it out a little. It might help to show him going through the five stages of grief (perhaps ending with the last stage in the present time?) as the years go by, so that we get a sense of just how hard the loss hit him.

In any case, I hope you revisit this idea in the future. =) It's a fascinating concept, and I'd like to see more stories set in this universe. And it wouldn't hurt to flesh out the religious aspects a little as well, as no doubt people will have their own opinions on how to deal with reincarnation... including some who don't want to believe in it at all! People can be stubborn jerks sometimes.

Again, thanks for the good read. =) I hope to see more from you soon.