Visions of Fate

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - INTO THE SHADOWS

"So let me get this straight," I said, after the old lady went back to the stool in front of her gigantic pot. I had followed her, reluctantly slumping on the low stool, being pushed mainly by the information this strange lady forced me to swallow. "The Visionari were a group of people who worshipped the celestial bodies, like the stars and moon. Am I right?"

The old lady didn't even look up. She continued to stir her greenish substance, gazing down at it like it contained the secrets of the universe. I rubbed my hand up and down my face, feeling impatient, irritated, and I was most certain that dull ache behind my skull was a migraine.

"So these Visionari supposedly tapped into the secrets of the universe and somehow, they managed to bless themselves with powers?" The old lady hummed lowly into her pot, and I couldn't tell if it was meant to address me or the pot. I continued anyway. "Then, coincidentally, these voyagers came into the community and shared the village with them? What was it called, Cosmia?" I stared at the woman and at this point, I was pretty sure she was oblivious to my presence in her room. "Are you going to answer me?" I asked.

She replied by grabbing a plastic cup from the stack beside her. She poured some a spoonful of that green substance and handed it to me. "For your headache." I stared at her wrinkled face, noticing an equally wrinkled mole beside her nose.

Slowly, I took the cup from her grasp, making sure not to make contact with her hand, and stared at it. The green substance only glowed up at me. "Who are you?" I asked, a bit baffled by how she had predicted my discomfort. None of this made any sense. But then again, none of it made sense from the beginning.

"I am The Seer, my dear," she replied. "I see all and know all." I stared at the green cup, and I didn't know she was watching me until she spoke again. "Drink up, dear. The headache's only going to get worse."

I stared at the cup that glowed back at me, before downing the liquid in one go. It had a strangely deep taste, like a mixture of acid and gasoline. I clenched my stomach and resisted the urge to puke. I caught The Seer watching me and sat upright, ignoring the way my stomach twisted with the liquid. It didn't seem it like it much either.

"Am I a Visionari?" I asked quietly, brushing a non-existent curl behind my ear.

"You are not," The Seer replied, and I furrowed my brows. "You are something much more unique, one that will carry the weight of your kind upon your shoulders and finish this battle once and for all."

"I don't understand. I thought you said the Visionari already won this battle?"

"You listen with your brain and not with your mind," she replied. "The Visionari never won this battle, rather they escaped. They need you to restore their community and finally have the revenge they so desperately deserve," I stared at her wrinkled finger pointed at me, and almost gagged at how chapped her browned finger was.

"I don't understand," I shook my head, thankful that the headache had suddenly disappeared. "How am I the one supposed to help the Visionari?"

"It was clear from the moment the eye chose you, dear."

I clutched the left side of my chest, the exact spot the tattoo I tried to ignore had appeared. "How did you know about that?"

"Listen with your mind, dear. I am The Seer." Right. I guess it was stupid of me to ask. "And you are not a Visionari. Rather, you are someone more special. Someone that will live to establish the prophecy."

I scratched my head. This was all becoming too much for me. "Is that why I've been seeing visions so far? Because I'm called to lead the people?"

"No," she shook her head and I watched a crispy strand of hair fall on her forehead. "The Visionari can see into the future. As earlier mentioned, they can also heal the sick and sense human emotions."

"That was why you were able to sense my headache, wasn't it?" I asked. "You're a Visionari."

"I'm The Seer, my dear," she replied. "I see all and know all."

I shook my head in confusion. My head felt heavy, withstanding the fact that the headache had been cleared. "So why can't I sense human emotions and heal sicknesses too? How come I can only see visions?"

"The Visionari is a spirit that is like a human dear," she said to the pot and I briefly wondered if the entire liquid in it was purposed for headaches alone. "You feed and train it, and it will continue to grow in good health. Rather, you seem confused and a little skeptical. However, you aren't entirely at fault. Back when the Visionari lived together, their children were taught to embrace their visions at an early age. In your case, you had no one to guide you. That is why your Visionari hasn't lived up to its full capacity."

"So until I learn to embrace my visions," I quoted granny's letter. "I won't have full control of my powers?" The Seer nodded at this, and I felt proud to finally understand something she said. "What about the rest of the Visionari who fled to Ravenswood? Where are they?"

"Just like you, they are hiding. They live like other humans, hiding in that disguise, afraid to be open with their abilities. And just like them, the Vegants are still out there, blending in with the people. And just like a prey, if a Visionari is found, they will come out of their shadows and won't pity that Visionari at any cost."

"If you know so much about this, why can't you help out yourself?" I mean she did seem a bit old and frail, but I was sure she had other powers as well, since she didn't identify herself as a Visionari.

"I am The Seer," she simply said. "You are the one called to establish the prophecy. That eye on your chest should be your proof."

I blinked at her, tightening the grasp on my heart. I had so many questions, yet none at all. I was pretty sure I was just too confused to comprehend anything at this stage. "When can I establish this prophecy?"

She gave me a toothless grin. "As soon as you learn to embrace your vision."

"How can I embrace my vision?" I asked.

"By simply trusting your instincts, Emily," she replied. "Because your instinct is the voice of your Visionari."

I looked down and noticed granny's box at the foot of the stool. "What about granny's box? Do you know anything about the strange objects she handed over before her death?"

"I'm sorry dear, but I won't be answering that," she said. "Embrace your visions, Emily. And trust your instincts to find the answers."

I opened my mouth to ask another question, when I suddenly started to sway. My vision began to get blurry, so much that I began to see double of everything. My head felt too heavy, and suddenly I felt like I was suffocating as heat pierced through my lungs.

I glanced down at the empty cup. "What did you–" I didn't get to finish my sentence, because before I could, my vision blackened.