Visions of Fate

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - A GLIMMER OF HOPE

' Learn to embrace your visions. But remember, you can never alter the future.' I read and re-read the notes on granny's paper, yet they didn't seem to hold less questions in them.

Grandma must have also seen visions, I was just so sure. She must have also known that I would inherit it too, she was clearly advising me to embrace them. Meaning she wanted me to accept and understand these visions.

But how could I accept and understand something that I wasn't even sure of? Something I might have thought to be a disease if not for granny's promise. The same vision that could come at anytime without my consent, leaving me in pain whenever it occurred. Heck, it might come in five, ten minutes from now and the next place I might find myself would be in the deepest part of the ocean where I'd probably drown or get eaten by unknown sea creatures with no one to save me.

But that was wrong, because I was as real as a ghost in my visions. I could see everyone, the same way it would occur in real life, like I wasn't even there. But, I was.

Suddenly it hit me. If grandma could see visions and had passed it on to me, does that mean that Mom and Dad could see visions, too? I considered walking up to Mom's room and telling her all about it to pry more information from her. But that was a big risk to take. And, if they could see visions too, why would grandma tell me to hide the notes from them? Why wouldn't she want them to know about my visions?

In the end, I concluded that seeing Mom about it wasn't the best idea. Instead I reached out for the box again in my dimly lit room, hoping to come across something that would serve as an answer to my questions, even though I was already aware that there couldn't be any. I just had to keep my hopes up.

The first thing my hand made contact with was the hard piece of paper that highly resembled a pirate's map. I crawled off my bed and brought it up to the moonlight creaking from my window for a better view.

The withering paper just held hand drawn pictures of stars that were linked by a thin line, as if it is was a map showing directions through universal support. At the the end of the map was a gate that was made overly emphasized by the huge lock that sat on it. But what could all these mean?

Behind the chipped paper, I caught sight of a glowing star in front of me, and I briefly wondered if it was actually a star or a satellite dish like Mom always said—wait a minute.

I held the paper closer to the sky and watched as, like a piece of puzzle, the paper nearly aligned with the stars in the sky, the professionally sketched moon settling barely an inch away from the real one. The stars continued to go on even passed the stars in front of me, each one connecting itself on the aged paper.

I flung the lifeless object on my bed and rushed to grab my phone on my nightstand as an idea struck me. Without wasting much time, I went to my contact list and hit Ethan's name, pacing impatiently as it rung out.

"Hey babe, what's up?" Ethan answered on the third ring. The clanking of keys was heard in the background so I could tell he was most likely busy on his computer, but I didn't care. I needed him too much at this point.

"Ethan, I think I just put one piece of our puzzle in its place."

The clanking of keys halted. "What do you mean?"

"You remember that box my grandma left me, right?"

"Yeah?" He sounded slightly cautious about where I was heading and I couldn't blame him, I would too if I were him.

"Well I was just examining that piece of paper, the one with the connected stars in it."

"And?" He sounded curious now.

"This might sound crazy, but I think it's some type of map. I mean what if it's the answer we've been looking for? What if it's the answer we've been searching for-"

"Emily," Ethan cut me off with a firm tone that took me by surprise. "Have you tried resting for once?" I opened my mouth for something to say, but I found myself too speechless to talk. "You've been going about with these visions, and then the cheating crises. Have you tried relaxing and enjoying your new life for once."

"But-"

"But nothing," he cut me off. "Just try relaxing for a while, Emily. I'm sure this problem will have a way of fixing itself," there was static behind the line before I heard his voice again. "Look I have to go now, I'll speak to you later. Love you." He added, and without waiting for a reply, abruptly ended the call, leaving me stunned and speechless in the dark.

But as taken aback I was, that feeling still sparked inside me, the feeling that urged me to my instincts. And unlucky for Ethan, I had learned to put my instincts before anything else. Including my comfort.

So I grabbed the paper and lined it with the starts in the sky. Stars that smiled down at me, luring me deep with their hypnotizing shimmer. And little did Ethan know, I was so ready to be hypnotized.

Because that was the only way I could get to the root of these mysteries. And I was set to uproot my answers, with or without Ethan's help.