Yellowed

Chapter 1; Flavus Kree De San Juan

So, this is how dying feels like...

I cannot move. 

My body lay still, devoid of life. Just floating

I couldn't move, couldn't feel, couldn't even breathe. Darkness enveloped me in a suffocating embrace, and an icy coldness seeped into my bones. Yet, despite my lifeless state, my mind remained aware. In my mind's eye, I could see the figure of a stranger, gazing down at me from the bridge where I had fallen. I recognized his face, but I couldn't place it. I was dead, yet conscious - trapped in a limbo between life and the hereafter.

I was panting and sweating as if I had jogged a mile. The sun was shining brightly, and my clock was blaring for I don't know how long. 

I turned it off while having a huge yawn. It was already seven in the morning, and today was my first day at my new school. I had no problem at my previous university, but my father suddenly wanted me to transfer here. And his reasons? Well, that was a mystery for me. Even though I knew I would be late If I didn't stand up immediately, I still stared at the ceiling and thought of that dream.

I kept dreaming of it since I was a child, but unlike before, It was more vivid now. And I can remember it clearly. The way I slowly descend into the cold water and the way I gasp for air, but all I got was water rushing in my lungs. It makes me feel like it was true. The only difference is it's not.

Halfheartedly I started to prepare to go to university. 

"It might not be a bad idea after all," I tried to say.

The university is well known for its prestigious programs. I am taking Bachelor of Arts in History. Why did I take it? I actually don't have any reason. But what keeps me going and enrolling every semester is that I became drawn to learning about the past and how they affect the present and the future. More so, I learned that studying the past is not as complicated as living in the present or worrying about the future, so here I am. 

I was late for my first class because I was having trouble finding out where the parking lot of this university was. I asked some staff, and they seemed to contradict each other on where I could park. In the end, I just parked on a vacant lot on the far side of the building labeled as the D.V.A Building.

On my way to the information desk, I noticed some students were keenly looking at me. They were maybe wondering who am I. I enrolled two weeks past the first day of classes and now was also late for my first subject.  

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm Flavus Kree De San Juan, and I just transferred. May I know where this room is?" I asked the staff at the front desk and then showed her my schedule. 

"You're Mr. De San Juan?" she asked.

I just nod. Curious as to why it seems that they are expecting me. 

"The Dean is actually waiting for you. Just go to your left at the end of the hallway, and you'll find the office. He wants a word," I'm confused as to why the Dean wanted to talk to me when it is just my first day. 

I walked toward the end of the hallway and entered the office without knocking. I saw a rather young man I can't tell if he is a student or a staff. And opposite him was another older one. A huge marble nameplate on the table was hard not to notice. Anacleto Oda was etched scribbles in a fancy font and below the name is the word, Dean. 

Both of them looked at me, but it was not the Dean that caught my attention but the man sitting in front of him. I know, and I cannot be wrong. He is the man that I saw in that dream—the one who was staring at me while I was drowning. 

"Good morning Mr. De San Juan," the Dean said, but I didn't speak. I just nod and sit on the other chair. He introduced me to the man next to me.