AFTERLAND and The Cryptic Prophecy

05: The Flame Wrote a Warning

My friends and I had our tea while waiting for dad digging something in his secret box in his office. The secret box they kept hidden from me since I turned seven.

In my dad's office, sheltered a lot of ancient items and relics. He stored all the significant items and documents he found on his travels and explorations. His office gave me the reason to be enthusiastic about something I love.

It was also full of books and scrolls, which came from ancient times. That explained the old things-dad was an archeologist, not a scientist. However, he impressed me a lot in Science. He did great in putting on an act.

We tried to figure out our next action. My mom, Aunt Leona, and Uncle Ermund, who were all -Afterlings -Magiclings -who used to live in the world of Afterland, went missing, and we didn't know where to find them. I still had an odd feeling about the words they mentioned to me.

Dad told us he had an idea who was behind the disappearance of my mom and the others, but according to him, that person had no magic at all. It contradicted my description of the sound of thunder, the purple and green smoke, and the earthquake in my room.

"My dream last night must be a warning," Franco said.

"What dream?" asked my dad from his office.

"I dreamed about it all before it happened. The way my dad disappeared." He kept on stirring his tea and seemed he had no intention of drinking it.

"No, please, not my dad, I beg you," Diordin said. "Those are the words you said while you were sleeping in my car last night."

"Yes, I heard it too," I followed.

Franco sighed. "If I only knew."

"You should have told us about this earlier," I said.

"Apologies." He took another deep breath. "Dad said, I'm a Waterseer. A person who could see the glimpse of future. That's why I've been seeing things in my dreams since I was a child. Things that keep on happening in real life. I mean not exactly, partly alike, because dreams don't show me what they really want to tell me, they only give clues."

"You can predict the future, then?" I put down my tea on the table.

"Not exactly," he replied. "Just like water, I could see the reflection of the future, but not clear like a mirror."

I narrowed my eyes and said, "Wait! Is there an instance where Diordin and I appeared in your dream?"

Grinning like a perv, he said, "Of course, all the time!"

"What kind of dream?" I voiced with a rising tone, glaring at him, giving him a warning to be careful with his answer.

"Don't worry Charlie, I never dreamed about that kind of thing."

"I just want to be clear here, okay?" I rolled my eyes.

"Only decent things appear in my dreams. One of those was when we all failed our exam in psychology subject," he revealed.

"What?!" Diordin reacted.

"You called it decent and did not care to tell us?!" I protested.

"Ehm, I can't remember some of my dreams. Sometimes, I only remember it when it already happened," he defended.

"You have a special ability, but there seems to be a malfunction!" I said and took my cup of tea again.

"Wait Charlie? Why you didn't tell us you failed your exam?" Dad asked, still digging through his things.