Dwellings On The Past ~ (Lorraine's daughter)

Common ground

"I didn't know you had a vision that night." I say quietly. I'm surprised my mom can even hear me over the wind. She looks over at me while holding onto one of the ropes from the swing.  "When I get a vision it's all about me at that moment. About what I saw and what I felt during it and what I feel after. But you needed that moment for you. You need that, same as me, because having a vision is very exhausting." she says. It makes sense. "But I wanna tell you about that vision now because I think it's important for you."

I nod slowly and my mom begins to explain what she saw. It feels so vivid, the way she tells it. Almost like I was there. "I walked inside the house of family Atwell, but long before it belonged to them. It was a little more than sixteen years ago, to be exact. At that time you had just turned one." she says. I wonder how she knows when it took place. "I felt cold as soon as I stepped through the door of the villa. The furniture looked different from how it looks now. I looked around the house, first the living room and then the kitchen. I was wondering what this vision was about. Then I saw the basement door opening on its own. When I walked closer to it I could hear a child scream. In less than a second I figured it was you, when you were younger, of course. But to that time it was an older version of you. I ran down there as fast as I could and you were there, crying and screaming for me, for you mom." she takes in a deep breath. When I look over to her I can see she's struggling not to cry. "The worst part was, you couldn't see or hear me. I was only watching. You were around Julie's age in the vision. There was a bell laying in front of you. When I went to pick it up to look at it I saw myself. There was blood all over my stomach, but in the blink of an eye the image of myself was gone again. But then I looked at you and there was blood all over you. And you were still screaming for me, but I couldn't do anything. Then I heard your sister call for you, I didn't see her but she used the nickname only she has for you. And then I woke up." she says, finally looking at me.

"And I had that very same vision sixteen years ago, the night after you touched that bell. The one I saw in the vision. It was a warning back then and I'm pretty sure it's a warning again." she tells me.

"I never finished telling you about the vision I had while we drove here, did I?" I ask, I can feel my pulse rising. My mom shakes her head slightly, "No, you fell asleep before you had the chance to. Why?" she asks.

"I saw the same basement and I walked down there." I say and she nods. "You already told me that." she mentions. Her eyebrows are furrowed in worry.

"Down there I saw a child crying. There was a lot of blood and a woman in the little girl's lap. She was the source of that blood." I inform my mom. "Sounds an awful lot like your vision right? Except when I walked towards them I saw the face of the child, it looked like a demon."

"Trying to figure out what that means is probably not very difficult." my mom says while she stands up. "I have to wake up your dad so we can do an interview with the family about their situation." she informs me, already walking a few steps back. "Do you want to come with me or stay here for a bit?"

My gaze finds the little flowers, I'm surprised they even bloom at that time of the year. "I'll join you later, but I've one question before you go." I tell her, still slightly swinging back and forth. She smiles. "Anything, hon."

"You found out about Judy in a vision years before she was born?" I wonder. Because I know clairvoyance is a pretty powerful thing, but predicting the existence of your own child? That sounds like too much, even for me.

"I didn't find out about her because of it. I only knew that there was a little girl who knew you well enough to have a nickname for you. When Judy was born you were at the age you were in the vision as well. And then she started calling you Linn. That's when I figured it out." she explains. It makes sense.

While watching her walk inside the house through the open back door I continue you to swing back and forth. It's calming. Well, kind of. I tilt my head towards the sky. The rope attached to the wooden board I'm sitting on creaks every time it moves and the tree where it's tied down looks like it's at least fifty years old. Maybe more, I'm not quite sure. I don't know too much about trees.

I wrap my arms around my body. It's getting chilly and while the brown blouse I'm wearing is really pretty with its neckline, it doesn't help with the temperature that seems to keep going lower. When I look up at the sky again there are more clouds than before and I can watch them move.

The swing my mom sat on before starts to move all on its own. It's a bit creepy, but I know it's just the wind. Or maybe I hope it's only the wind. I jump down from the swing and walk by the pretty plants and wildflowers. The texture of the leaves and blossoms feels soft against my hands.

I quickly retract my hands when I hear someone call my name. My head turns towards the house, but there's no one outside on the terrace. I glance up to the balcony above it, it's attached to the room at the end of the stairs. It's really beautiful, there are plants and flowers all over it.

For a split second I think there might be someone standing in the middle of the balcony. But it's gone so quickly it might as well be my imagination. But who called my name then? It wasn't my mom or my dad, I can recognize their voices.

When I turn around to the swings I can see them both swinging in the wind. The sun disappears behind the clouds and it's a lot darker immediately. I wrap my arms around my body again, the temperature drops without the sunlight.

As I walk towards the back of the house towards the terrace, I hear fast steps from behind me. I quickly turn around and face the oldest daughter of the family. "Jennifer, right? What are you doing here?" I ask, holding my hand up in question. She smiles while walking up the few steps on the terrace.

"It's Jennifer Jane, actually." she clarifies. "But normally people call me JJ. Well, my parents regret calling me Jennifer Jane. They didn't say that, but I kinda know because they always introduce me as Jennifer to people. They think JJ sounds childish."

"Alright, JJ." I acknowledge. "What are you doing here?" I repeat my question from earlier. "Oh! Yeah, right." she laughs. "I'm here to get you. Mrs. Warren said she and Mr. Warren want to do an interview? They told me to get you." she explains. She talks faster and more than Judy which I thought to believe was impossible. JJ makes it possible.

I smile, placing my hand on the girl's shoulder. She's about Judy's height and probably around her age as well. "Let's go inside then, hm?" I suggest, removing my hand from her shoulder to wrap my arms around my chest once again.

JJ nods hastily while walking past me. "You were already walking inside, weren't you?" she questions, her blonde hair swinging as she walks. I chuckle while following her. "Yeah, but I'm glad for your guidance." I tell her.

I can see her smile to herself as we step inside the house. "This is mom's library." JJ shares when she sees me looking around the room. I've never been in here before, so it must be the room behind the kitchen and dining area.

"Having your own library is pretty cool, huh?" I say while walking closer to one of the shelves. It's made out of the old wood the furniture in my room is made of as well. JJ shrugs while she watches me. "I guess. Most of it was already here when we moved. I think it's a bit scary. And I'm afraid of the spiders here." she admits, looking around uncomfortably.

"Let's go to the others then. Shall we, JJ?" I ask, holding my hand out for her. A smile forms on her lips while she takes my hand. "I like you, Linda." she tells me. While she leads me towards the living room I think about the situation in the garden again. Maybe it was just her calling my name. Not everything has to be demonic after all. 

A/N: 
Sorry for not updating in a while! 
- Elle