I made up my mind yesterday, that I would die today. But the dream I had for the fourth time in my life, yesterday made me uneasy. Why now? Why at this point?

I once heard a quote by Maya Angelou. "Love recognizes no barriers." Quotes are normally inspirational in any case, but in my case, this quote was just plain wrong. False hope wasn't a thought I entertained. I had learnt my lesson and I wasn't making the same set of mistakes twice.

"Everyone, you've ever loved will die." I could still hear her voice as she spoke. It was soft, but crystal clear. It haunted me. Even as I watched them all die. It wasn't one of those fantasies I wished were realities.

This was one of those dreams that told you the truth as it would be. It was one of the 'gifts' the Coleman family had. Asides, exceptional hearing, sense of smell and eyesight, we could see things before they happened. We were just enhanced humans. For years I had believed the gene had skipped me, because my sister most definitely had it. I couldn't see the future, but I had warnings of bad things that would happen before they did.

The dark skinned woman in my dreams was like the harbinger of doom. She was always dressed painstakingly breathtaking in black from head to toe. But that beauty never hid the pain that would come after she left.

Her presence was a bad omen on its own. Then she would give me a warning. It wasn't too bad at first. It was just little things I could have avoided.

I never really believed, so I paid her little attention. Then it got bad, and she started warning me of death. My friends' brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, aunts and other people...

And then the worst came and it all went to hell. "Everyone, you've ever loved will die." She always spoke calmly, softly. She always had a knowing but sympathetic smile, as though she knew something I didn't and she felt bad for me in advance. It was frustrating, but I'd come to get used to her presence.

I ignored her warning the first year. Then my 12 year old sister died. It was a "car accident". I was only 15 when she died and
I couldn't ignore it anymore. I told my parents. They didn't believe me, then I told them everything that had been happening from the first time the woman appeared in my dreams to the last.

My parents were furious. They couldn't believe I'd hid such vital information from them for years. They spent the next year filled with spite me. I could have prevented the death of my sister, but I didn't.

For the next two years, I heard nothing. No dreams. The woman didn't show up again. I had eased into the changes that had happened. Then came the warning a second time. "Everyone, you've ever loved will die."

I told my parents again. I told them that it was the second time I had this dream. That the woman had never repeated herself before. They and my best friend, Chris were all I had left. I wanted them safe.

My parents didn't want to hear it. They threw me out. I had to take care of myself, by myself. At least I was 18. I still loved them, but there was nothing I could do for them anymore. I did whatever I could to stay alive, and when I had enough money, I went back to school, a public school within that year.

I worked hard for the money I had. It wasn't easy, but I made it work. I heard that my parents had died and I really didn't know what else to do. I went for the burial. I walked away from everything I ever knew that day.

I stayed away from people. Practically became a ghost. I didn't even talk to Chris anymore. Then I had that dream again, and then I heard Chris died. I was 20 already. And then it was decided. I wanted to die too. I had no one else. Nothing else. What was my use here?

Delilah Oluwole. Who didn't know her? She was pretty. With thick long afro, always done in different styles whenever she felt like it. She never spoke to anyone. Never had friends. She looked like she couldn't fit in if she tried, and at the same time she could.

I admired her from afar. It was best that way. I liked her very much alive. I would have loved to have a future with her but, you know, we never get what we want. I kept to myself and I made sure she was fine by herself. She didn't need anyone. She was a strong girl.

So why did she walk up to me today of all days and try to talk to me? Why was it so painful to lie to her that I wanted nothing to do with her. She was smart. The fact that she noticed my hearing. I had tried to get myself accustomed to loud music so I could pick up odd noises in loud areas. It hurt, but I believed it would be worth it.

Turning my back on her and walking away, seemed a really good idea at that moment, but I was regretting it now. She followed. I knew she did. I heard her follow me. Foolish girl that she was. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I couldn't find her anymore.

"Everyone, you've ever loved will die." The woman's voice echoed in my head again. Why now? I didn't even love her... Or did I? This couldn't happen. She didn't even know me, she just spoke to me for the first time today.

My hand clutched the book bag I had slung over my left shoulder even tighter. I needed to find her, and find her I would.