The Reincarnated

A young woman is embraced by her remote village as the reincarnated spirit of a soldier killed in war — until a professor obsessed with proving life after death shows up from America to test her claim. The unlikely pair put their futures on the line to push the boundaries of identity.

The village — rocked twice daily by Allied fighter-bombers — was quiet for now. This was the height of World War Two, and one Japanese soldier who was stationed in occupied Burma took advantage of the calm to fix himself a meal. He found a pile of firewood left behind by a Burmese villager; during the day, the townspeople hid in the thick forest only to return to their homes under the cover of night.

The solitary soldier dripped sweat. The infernal damp heat was unlike anything back home in Japan. Squinting through the salt sting, he started to prepare his meal. Then he heard it. Buzzing, faint as one of the relentless Burmese mosquitos, grew louder and became…