Premonition,
The days turned to weeks and the weeks turned to months for Kate Woodward. The loneliness of her one bedroom house on the outskirts of California was too much for her. She had no one come over, no one to talk to. She lived a cautious life, looking around corners, double-checking that her doors were locked. Not that anyone had ever broke in. But she liked to feel safe, that was the one thing she knew she could handle.
For Kate everything felt too real, the things she saw when she rested her head on the pillow. She couldn’t get close to anyone without promotions flashing before her eyes. The future, the unfair, misfortunes that awaited these people Kate ran into. Kate loved the outdoors, but had enclosed herself in her house. She loved skipping stones at the pond with her sister Elizabeth. But time had even grown them apart.
On a train, in a bus. She’d see these innocent civilians lives, their deaths the troubles that awaited them. This is why she lived alone. This is why she kept to herself. Everyone was better of because of it.
Kate hated seeing these premonitions. There was nothing worse than falling in love with someone than seeing the life they would have, without you in it. Kate ordered everything and even had her food delivered. To stop the pain of these visions.
She decided to go outside for a walk, in the early morning. As she did some days, not many people were out and even if they were she’d just walk past them without acknowledging. Pretend she couldn’t hear their greetings or was on the phone.
Everyone thought she was cold, a mean person. But all her life she only wanted to help people. But she soon realised that telling people not to step foot out of their apartment on the morning of April 22, 2004 was not a general conversation.
It was good for Kate to get some fresh air, the morning dew had covered the grass and plants like a sheet of sparkling crystal. The smell was beautiful; it was one of Kate’s favourite things. As she was taking her walk along the park, she ran into a girl. Barely ten years old but sitting alone by the pond. She had one rock in her hand and was trying to find a good angle to skip it along the water. Just like Kate used to do at her age. The girl had long blonde hair, Kate couldn’t see her face.
Kate prayed not too see a premonition of this little girls life, the trouble that would await her or the brilliant life she would have. It wasn’t Kate’s place to set out her future and she definately didn’t want to watch her death like she was at a cinema, watching a movie that she could walk out on, gobbling down popcorn. Kate didn’t have this luxury. She saw what she saw and she couldn’t stop.
Kate walked past the girl but she stopped when a flash of black clouded or sight. She saw the girl running around playing with her sister. The girl’s parents were there than they weren’t and suddenly the girl was older and older, and everyone in her life was leaving her. The girl was older now but Kate couldn’t see her face, for some reason her face wasn’t visible in Kate’s vision. The woman was startled by something when a explosion caused her to fall to the ground. Kate opened her eyes again and everything had come back into focus.
The girl was still skipping stones, along the pond. Kate begun walking again when the girl turned around and said hello. Kate face had frozen and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing.
It was her, the girl was her. The light green eyes, the freckles covering her face, the voice that no one had gotten to hear for so long. The dress her mother had sewn her for her ninth birthday.
Suddenly there was a crash from behind her and explosion of dirt flying in the air there was fire burning around her while people were running over and screaming. Before Kate had time to cry out in pain she was lying on the ground blood dripping out. She moaned her last words until she could speak no more and the light drained from her eyes as they closed.
Not even Kate who saw it coming had the power to change it.
