Visions of Fate

5. INK-SISTENT CHANGE

"Hey Ethan, it's Emily. Look I need you to call me back immediately you get this, it's urgent."

"Hi Ethan, it's Emily. Please pick up the phone or give me a call when you get this okay? I think there might be an emergency."

"Hi Ethan, it's me again. I need you to call me back ASAP, please."

"Ethan. Remember me? I'm your girlfriend who's going crazy right now over what may or may not concern you. Call me."

God, I think I was actually going crazy. I had tried Ethan's line over fifteen times in a span of less than thirty minutes and the only sign of hope I had was his voice coming from his voicemail. I was so certain his mailbox was overflowing  with hundreds of unread messages from me, but I couldn't care less.

It was about 11:15pm but I was so sure that Ethan hadn't been in bed yet. He wasn't one to slack off on a perfectly good evening, I should know, my late nights on the phone with him on its own spoke volumes. Though I was well aware of his weary state before he had left the house that afternoon. Meaning that he was most likely burnt out due to an exhausting day at work.

So, I left one more voicemail before releasing myself to the eager arms of slumber. Words couldn't surmount how mentally exhausted I was from the entire events that kept reoccurring in my life the last few weeks. The emotional rollercoaster I had to face, concerning every hope and fear in my life was enough to leave me nauseated.

I silently thanked the heavens that I had taken the decaf which worked its way into my system, before going to bed. Now all I had to do was get as much rest as possible, wake up with a positive and optimistic mind, and let the entire day play out in front of me.

So I laid myself to rest and let the darkness swallow me whole underneath my fluffy duvet. The darkness surrounding me was hypnotizing, luring me to sink deeper and deeper into it. So I continued sinking, being swallowed by this familiar world, until I was interrupted by a distinct ringing noise.

I tossed and turned, wishing the noise would go away, but it never did. The noise continued to ring through my brain until I jerked my eyes open suddenly. I found myself in my bed, clad in sweat and bright day light. I looked over at my nightstand, tracing the source of the noise, and spotted my phone playing out my favourite orchestra and buzzing with an incoming call.

Sitting up, I reached out to grab my phone. "My heart" was written at the top of the screen, over my favourite picture of Ethan smiling against the sun in a beach. The setting sun kissed his face tenderly as Ethan smiled back at it, clad in only a red swimming shorts, leaving his broad shoulders and perfectly carved abs on display.

I smiled down at his photo when my screen darkened all of a sudden, leaving a missed with a buzzing notification. A few moments later, the screen lit up again with Ethan's photo on display. This time I didn't hesitate to answer his call.

"Hey babe," Ethan's voice sounded much more energized than I felt. "I'm so sorry I missed so much of your calls, my day was pretty rough yesterday." And just like that, my bubble suddenly popped as reality began to sink in.

The vision. Mom. Mom's promise. Ethan. Ethan's dad and his car. All of these sank in one by one, and I released a haggard sigh and I felt the weight of reality slowly ripping off my comfort, piece by piece.

"Emily?" Ethan's voice rang through my left ear and I was immediately pulled back to the present.

"Yeah I'm still here I was just…" I trailed off releasing a groggy sigh. But then I got a whiff of my morning breath and immediately scrunched up my face. "Listen I think there might be an emergency."