nothing ever lasts forever.

Chapter Four

I took a deep breath and subconsciously shifted my body closer to Kiriel, hoping for some comfort. Mr. Tomes started to read from the page, still maintaining heavy eye contact with me. As he continued reading further down the page, I feared that he'd call on me. Why? Because he knew I had foresight powers. 

"Zephyrus. Mind telling the class what its like to have foresight powers?" I fumbled with my book, realizing stupidly that I didn't really need it since I was living with these abilities. I cleared my throat nervously, preparing to speak about my experiences. "Sometimes I have sudden moments where I remember memories of events that will happen, sometimes these events don't end up happening and sometimes they do, sometimes it's just a feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that something will happen..sometimes I hear things from the future, although this is very rare..and sometimes I have prophetic dreams." I could sense all eyes were on me, and thousands of scenarios raged throughout my mind.

"Can you elaborate? Can you control your powers and forcefully see the future, or is it random? Do your powers sometimes get overwhelming and scary?"

I sighed, being overwhelmed with the questions. "I can't control my powers, and I'm not even sure it's possible. It's very random, and some days are more active than others. Most of the time my abilities are overwhelming and scary, don't get me wrong, it's cool and all to be able to see and predict the future..but it's a heavy burden. The dreams can be quite alarming, and hearing random voices is definitely up on the list of things I don't like. Another downside is dissociation and depersonalization. Dissociating is the disconnection between a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of who they are. Depersonalization is when you have a sense that things around you aren't real. Dissociation and depersonalization usually happen to me on the overwhelming days where I'm swamped with memories of the future." I finished my long monologue with a deep breath, trying to push away my nervous thoughts. 

As I locked eyes again with Mr. Tomes, the bell chimed, signaling that it was time for our next class. As I grabbed my stuff and stood, like everyone else, I was addressed again by the teacher. "Zephyrus, please stay here this period. We need to talk." 

I froze, eyes widened. Ohhh. He knows something. He knows about my dream. Does he know about my plan? I put down my stuff, sending a final 'help me' glance at my friends, and then the classroom was empty. Except for me, and Mr. Tomes. 

I pulled up my chair closer to his desk, and stared helplessly at the frankly terrifying teacher. He cleared his throat again. "Before I start talking, I'm just going to inform you that any type of lying will not be tolerated and I will know when you are lying. So keep that in mind during this conversation."

There was definitely something up. Either he knew something I didn't, or he knew something I knew. "I know you had a prophetic dream last night. Would you mind telling me about it?"

I had no choice but to tell him everything about my dream, and everytime I told a lie, even if it was a tiny white lie, he would kindly remind me to tell him the truth. After I had said everything I could about the dream, all he did was raise his head slightly. "Hm. If you see or hear anything else related to The Ashwood Forest, come let me know. You are dismissed." 

The rest of the day, the rest of the week even, I spent wide eyed and quiet, trying to figure out in my head how he knew I had had that dream. No one could've told him I had the dream, because I was the only one who knew about it. 

Now, I was debating whether I should carry out my plan and go into the forest. While this first plan only needed me to go explore the forest in the day, with recent events I'd grown weary about this decision. I was sitting in the common room of our dorm, staring idly at the fireplace where a dying fire lay. 

You only live once, right? So I decided that I should go. What's the worst that could happen?

I sighed and stood up from the couch to go make myself some tea. 

It was dark out, and I was alone in the common room, sipping my tea and writing out how I'd execute this plan of mine. Where was Kiriel? It had to be almost 7pm, and she still had not come back. She surely wasn't in the forest? No, she couldn't have been. She was a rule follower, and she loved to be safe. Probably just hanging out with Maryan or something..I went back to writing. 

First, I need to wake up extra early. Around 8 in the morning. Write out a note explaining to Kiriel that I'm out shopping and won't be back for a while. Pack a bag full of snacks, drinks, notebooks and a coat in case I get cold. Sneak out of the school with my bag, and enter the forest. Explore and look for anything weird or out of place. Write down my findings in my notebook. 

The door to the common room opened, and in came Kiriel. I closed my notebook quickly, looking up to her with a kind smile. As if I wasn't just planning to do something against the rules of the school. "Hey. Where were you?" I asked casually, silently breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay. "I was out with Illyrie and Maryan. Why do you ask?" Her voice turned suspicious, auburn eyes narrowed at why I asked. "Oh no reason. I was just bored and wondering where you were." 

She hummed in response. She knew something was up, but to my luck she didn't bring it up. "We could play a game to pass the time if you want?" Kiriel went over to a cabinet and started looking for a game for us to play. I wanted to, but respectfully, I had to decline. I told her I had to get up early to go shopping, and so I headed into our room and did my nightly routine to get ready for bed. 

With a sigh, I got into my bed and settled down. Excitement swirled in my stomach. Tomorrow I'd go exploring, and maybe I'd find out exactly what's hiding in The Forest. Rushing thoughts easily chased me into sleep, and before I knew it, I was unconscious. 

**Good and interesting things are coming. Im excited to write the finale (which probably won't be soon smh), I have it all planned out. Expect many more chapters to be released before the 9th of January! That's when I go back to school ;-;