Embers: The Light in Your Shadow

Seven

**2.5 Year Ago**

I met him in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: the town known for the civil war. I guess it was fitting...

No one would let me buy from them in my town, so I was forced to shop elsewhere. There were so many times I wanted to leave, but the Lord still had work for me to do. News spread about me in the neighboring towns, and I couldn't escape that stupid nickname.

Everyone made me cautious. No one could be trusted, but it was different with Preston Montgomery. My soul recognized him a few weeks prior to our initial encounter. He didn't listen to the naysayers; he protected me... at least, that's what he pretended to do.

We had been dating for 6 months, engaged for 1, and everything was perfect. The dreams stopped, and I tried to live a normal life, even in the face of my bullies.

I tried. I really did, but something didn't feel right. The night before our engagement party I had 2 dreams back to back. I couldn't remember what they were about, but I woke up that morning in a deep sadness and embarrassment. People were laughing at me. Their faces were blurred, but their spirits were familiar to me. Someone died in the second dream as well.

Those dreams shook me to the core. I didn't know what it meant, but I knew something bad was going to happen. My fiancé Preston asked me a question just as we were about to enter our engagement party. "Would you ever give up having dreams and warning people about the dangers upon their lives?" His question was selfish and almost mocking in a sense.

He looked at me staring at him like he was crazy. I had hoped he wasn't trying to start a fight moments before I met his family. He laughed, but I didn't find anything funny. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Lighten up, babe." The way he said "babe" made my stomach lurch.

As he opened the door, and the faces of his family turned around, my dream finally became clearer to me. "What's going on?" I backtracked, but he placed his hand on my back pushing me in rather forcefully.

I looked upon the faces of Katie and her entourage, Officer Johnson, Officer Rogers and half of the police force. But what toppled the cake was the moment my fiancé left my side to stand by Kelley Rogers. "Confused?" Preston asked me. I stood in the center of the room with all eyes on me. "Savannah, meet my family."

At the mention of that truth, my stomach sunk in despair. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"To you?" He scoffed. "How about the fact that you ruined an honest man's career?" It turns out he was related to Officer Johnson. That was his mother's 1st cousin.

"Did you even love me or was this all a ploy to avenge your corrupt family?" I cried. I actually cried in front of everyone, and it made them laugh.

"Oh sweetheart, don't cry. Why would he ever love a crazy girl like you?" Kelley chuckled just before she kissed Preston. "We got together a month after you did. Once we told him the truth, he was easy to convince."

I watched as he got on one knee and proposed to her in front of me. He dumped me for his side piece. Embarrassment flooded my being, and I took a couple of steps back. I took the ring off my finger and let it drop to the ground like trash. Another part of my dream became illuminated to me then as the chandelier became loose right above Officer Johnson.

"Get out of the way!" I warned him, but no one could hear me over their cheers of celebration. Preston looked at me briefly as tears rushed down my face.

"What is it, Crazy Sadie?" He called me that nickname and suddenly everybody started chanting it.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed at them. "IF YOU DON'T MOVE, YOU'LL DIE!" I pointed to Officer Johnson. They all continued to laugh, ignoring my warning. Johnson signaled to Preston, and he picked me up attempting to throw me out of, what was supposed to be, our engagement party. I screamed for Officer Johnson to move just as the chandelier fell on top of him.