Probing Visions 1

Chapter 8 (Part 4)

     Jean watches with disappointment as Professor Lenszcen hastily dismisses himself. As Jean's eyes linger on the professor's swift back, he cannot shake off the feeling of disappointment that clouds his mind. He slowly lowers his gaze, and a frown forms on his lips.

     As the night bites the land like a starving beast, Jean retreats to his dorm and settles into his bed in his pyjamas. For he hasn't received any answers, his mind begins bustling with endless questions and ponders about his mother. The urge to solve the mystery becomes overwhelming, and Jean knows he cannot sleep with such a burden in his mind.

     With his gaze locked on the ceiling, Jean enters into a long period of introspection. He begins asking himself what Professor Lenszcen's machine could tell him. The result is what he seeks, and he cannot wait to get his hands on it.

     Though he assumes he will not fall into slumber as the burden in his mind becomes too overwhelming, Jean slips into a profound sleep. In his sleep, darkness surrounds everything. Then, there comes the light, reclaiming its rule throughout the area. Jean's eyes flutter open, and he looks around, seeing himself standing somewhere familiar.

     Jean's feet press hard against the ground, and he can feel the soft grass against his heels. As he turns around on his heels, he sees his head-tilting school standing before him. Jean's jaw falls to the floor, and he cranes his neck to see the roof. As he levels his head, he spots someone familiar standing right ahead.

     As Jean looks before him, he sees the same lady with blonde hair, whom he assumes to be his mother. This time, he can see her young, velvety face. Her visage burns like the moon and stars, and her eyes shimmer like clay. As her head swivels to face Jean, they make eye contact, and Jean's breath catches in his throat.

     Jean and the woman he assumes to be his mother stare at each other in the eyes. Seeing her face for the first time causes Jean's heart to become as swift as a falcon on flight. He cannot bear the thought of seeing her, and seeing her young counterpart freezes Jean to his core.

     His eyes snapping open, Jean rouses from his sleep and bolts upright from his bed with a smile. Although he wakes up panting, his grin stretches widely, and he cannot control the bliss surging forth within him. Finally, he has seen the face of the woman whom he assumes to be his mother, and it has him breathless.

     Soon, as the first class of the day concludes, students leave the classroom while Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel linger, approaching Mrs Brownspotts at the front of the room. As Mrs Brownspotts erase the white chalk scribbled across the blackboard with a cloth, Jean strides towards her direction and clears his throat, immediately catching her attention. In response to Jean's voice, Mrs Brownspotts drops the cloth and turns to face Jean with a curious smile.

"Oh, yes, dear?" Mrs Brownspotts asked, folding her hands.

"Mrs Brownspotts? May I ask you something?" Jean asked politely, his bashful mind freezing him in place.

"Oh, sure, dear. Ask me anything!" Mrs Brownspotts nodded, placing her hand in front of her skirt.

"So, you told us it's okay, as the Professor in Philosophy, to ask you for advice. Is it the appropriate time to seek your advice, Ma'am?" Jean inquired timidly.

"You do see I'm not on any lecture, so of course! I'm available right now," she replied. "How may I help you?" she asked, squeezing her eyes as she tried to guess Jean's name.

"Jean," he said.

"Jean! How may I help?" Mrs Brownspotts asked.

Jean took a deep breath as he steadied himself. "I've been having visions. And I need advice on how to understand them, please."

"Oh, visions! Well, you see, I'm not an expert on visions. But! I can advise you to go to Professor Lenszcen, as he was your professor in Visions last year, wasn't he?" Mrs Brownspotts stated with a keen smile.

"He was," Jean nodded, taking in Mrs Brownspotts' words.

"Well then. He's available in the afternoon. You may talk to him if you're ready," Mrs Brownspotts stated. "But! Please... be kind when talking to him about visions... we all know well what happened between him and that subject..."

"Thank you very much, Mrs Brownspotts," Jean bowed before turning away from her.

Just as Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel were about to leave the classroom, Mrs Brownspotts called out to Jean. "Also! Jean! Dear!"

"Hm?" Jean paused and looked at Mrs Brownspotts.

"Remember. To understand something is to put your heart wholly into it. If you trust and believe in yourself, you will acquire what you seek. To understand is to look not into the mirror but into its reflection," Mrs Brownspotts advised.

Jean absorbed Mrs Brownspotts' words, his eyes dropping to the floor. As he comprehended her sentence, his mind boosted with wisdom, and a smile tugged at his lips, directed towards Mrs Brownspotts.