October 2011
Thalia:
"I have to agree with Nate.What just happened?"Sasha asked,her tone surprisingly calm.
Nate stretched his hands ,his eyes bloodshot.
"We're doomed."he screamed.Hayley marched, then placed her arms around Nate as he continued to panic ,screamed, and trash like a wild animal.
Hayley stared at me dead in the eye and demanded,"speak."
"I-I disappeared, or I thought I did."I responded confused while I rubbed my thighs.The pins and needle sensation left me a bit, my thighs weighed like an achor.My chest still felt heavy, but I wasn't wet.But I was chilly and I still felt numb.
Was it real, or was it a hallucination.I ponded.
Sasha shook her head as I narrated my tale to her ---well, everyone.Nate nodded but forced a laugh as the other girls gawked at each other like I had grown two heads.
"That was not a hallucination."they chroused, but Nate rose two fingers as a thumbs up with his eyes looking the other way.
I scrunch my face deep in thought."How I don't get it?"I pressed.Sasha gaped at me and sighed with two fingers on her temple and took a deep breathe but Hayley stared at me with a concerned frown.But Nate looked like he could faint or Crack under pressure.I averted my gaze as I rubbed my neck in shame.
My fault.It's all my fault.I thought my eyes were glassy.
The cracks were there all along.They were slight at first but got deeper and more evident.Soon he'll Crack like a boiled egg.All because of me.
"Well, for one thing."Sasha replied.She propped her wrist on her neck and then rubbed my thigh."You're freezing.Your lips were blue, and oh.Your eyes turned freaking white."she shouted.
My hands fell to my sides.I still couldn't believe that it wasn't a hallucination."How could I be at two places at once ?"I defended.
"I don't know."Hayley sputtered , then her feet as she darted her eyes.Tears glistened on eyes."t-this is so not okay.Why on earth did I come here?This house is straight out creepy.I prayed. "She screamed in frustration.
"You're religious.''Nate questioned from the floor.He sprawled with his face plopped on the cold ditty floor.He shook with laughter.
"Of course I did.I'm buddhist."she shrieked.With widened eyes and threatening eyes, she pointed at Nate."And Nate's losing his shit and casually dying and Thalia.And Thalia.I don't even know what the hell happened.Got freaking possessed, and the house is freaking breathing."she screamed,her voice hitched and tears streaked down her eyes."I can't do this.You guys are on your own."she replied.She ran to my door and then glanced at us with a sniffle."Enjoy your horror movie shit."
"Wait !"Sasha screamed,trying to get up on her feet.My blackened fingers grasped around her wrist as her lips parted in shock.I looked at her with wide eyes.
"Let her go.She needs to process."I replied,surprised by my own action.Nate still lay on the floor as we both watched him.He was laughing and kicking his legs.My heart sank in my chest.
My legs were still numb, and my throat was sore.I rubbed the life back onto my limbs and cocooned myself with blankets and sulked.
Luckily,Sasha was an athlete.She lifted Nate then hoisted him onto her back with effort, then plopped him haphazardly on my bed.
"I think Nate's gone brain dead."I pointed out as he laughed and wiggled on my bed.
She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to cry."He's always brain dead, but now."She paused and sighed."I don't really know."she then rolled my seat, then sat on it, then encouraged me to tell my whatever the heck I saw.
"I think is a vision."she went on ,finger on her lip deep in thought."it might be a prediction or even an omen.But visions don't stimulate your senses.Wait ,they do, but they don't stay."she readjusted her head to the other, then continued."But the way you describe it.It was through your eyes, not someone but a warped version of your fate."she replied.I nodded as she held my fingers tight.She pursed her lips deep in thought, and then her gaze landed on Nate.
"Friday.You and me and Nate.Meet me at downtown Toronto,"she replied.
"What about Hayley?"I demanded.
She took a deep breath and then replied,"she needs some time to recover.It was all too much for her.She'll be back."she replied,took a deep breath."I hope."
My gaze went to her."What about you ?"I asked."How are you handling this?"
She stared into my eyes, and her lips tugged into a smile."I'm barely handling it, but life is an adventure, and we aren't alone."Her eyes lit up."I always knew that."
I rested my back against the headboard deep in thought, but my eyes still couldn't resist the urge to stare at Nate, who was asleep. His chest rose and fell, and he snored softly.
Then she eyed me hard."She'll come around.What she had witnessed would take time."She answered ,a deep frown formed on her lips.
For the whole entire week,Hayely ignored me.It ran deep like a radar or twisted in like a dagger but with a deep breath and a smile from Nate.I managed my school life.
She stood next to James with a smile, and her skin flushed, and his mates looked around uncomfortably or glared at him.Their body was tense and the air around them.
Nate gaped at them with his lips curled into a sneer and a loud shove of his school bag."Oh God, make it stop."He yelled ,two fingers into his mouth with a fake gag.
Sasha rolled her eyes so hard it could roll into her head, and then she sighed.
"Nate .Please stop."she chided,her voice clipped.
With widened eyes and a dramatic turn."You see this as okay.'You look mature for your young.'And you see it as okay.H-He's grooming her ,you dumbass."He retorted.
She nudged his elbow hard and glared at him hard.
With gritted teeth,"They like each other.And I'm not a dumbass."She lit up and saw them."She's one of the boys."
Nate got back to his merry self, and according to him.He used sleeping pills and watched movie marathons.But at school ,she ignored me with teary eyes or disappeared into the thick crowd.
We stood in front of a shop located in Downtown Toronto.The road bustled with people all eager to do whatever and cars streaked by, and the CN stood proud over a great distance of apartments like a toothpick.
My eyes swiveled around in awe.I knew that Union Station was around the corner, and a large square was somewhere too, and somewhere else was a large square.
The excitement of rebelling from my dad was amazing.The urge to laugh and smile was growing deeply as I watched the sky scrapers with my friends.My heart soured when I looked beside me and so did my shoulders.Hayley refused to come.I couldn't blame her.She ignored me just like Nate did but the pain was felt like a dagger twisted deeply into my heart.
Nate placed his hands on my shoulder and smiled.The wind was deafening from the cars that streaked past.
"It would be okay."Nate said as Sasha stood beside him with her lips curled into a smile.
I nodded but turned my gaze towards the sidewalk. People's feet and bicycles ygat passed by.School closed an hour ago and we immediately met by the bike rack then set out not suspicious.
"You need to go out more."Sasha jokes ,her face kit up with a grin.I laughed and stared at her.I shuffled my feet and stared at the road."I can't.I don't have a social life ."
My heart pounded knowing that I reeled against my father, but I was completely exitched.A smile tugged my lips.
I grinned ,all teeth.
Nate looked around with a sheepishly grin.He stood in front of me and rubbed his neck awkwardly.
He took a deep breath and stared at me."You know there's an art gallery around here."
I nodded and lit up."Yeah ,the art museum of Ontario."
He smiled and stared at his dirty sneakers.
He eyed his untied shoelaces, and Sasha glanced at him with a small smile."Do you want to go there.I know you kinda like art a bit so I was thinking----"
"Yeah, I'll love too."I replied with a beam.
His excitement and nervousness caught me off guard at first but Sasha calmly led us down the steps into a small tiny shop.Nate looked at the signboard and I followed suit. The sign caught almost made me do a double take.

Thrifts and Crystals.

Nate seemed to light up from this moment but took a step backward and blinked."Wait,what?"He murmured from one of the stairs.Then I actually observed the store.There was a dangling wooden signboard with a small lettering.

New age and thrift sold at the cheapest price.

Nate swiveled his head around while Sasha watched us with a small smile.The name itself would send my mother onto a frenzy and deep within me. I felt uneasy as I gripped a binder that Sasha all so weirdly advised me to bring. Nate and I exchanged a confused look as i clutched the binder tighter to my chest. With raised brow and heavy heart.

What game are you playing?I asked myself as we inspected further.Sasha ran her hands on her face with a sigh."C'mon guys.We don't have time.Stop buzzing around like bees."She warned.We exchanged glances again as she hunkered her lips and narrowed her eyes into slits."Hey,you have a time linit.you aren't supposed to be here ?"Behind the window was mannequins dressed in shawls and another in a long flowing dress that spilled on the floor and gems decorated into flowers were woven with fake plants.

Sasha opened the door with a gentle click of a bell and we entered into the store only to be overwhelmed by the strong smell of incense.Sasha inhaled the smell and grin and watched the store with a look of familiarity as Nate's eyes swivelled around.

The shop was a combination of a pawn shop,a thrift shop and a New Age one.It was long and thin.Dreamacatchers in all sizes dangled from above.Small ones and big ones.On the sleeves were random things like rows of gems,crystals and dried herbs in packets.Some were large and others were as small as marbles.Piled high onto a triangle were all types of books,fiction and nonfiction. Some were yellowed,loved and cracked and as I passed by.I noticed they talked about meditation and yoga.On the other side were old materials like watches,cards and even old fridge magnets.There were candles and books on other religions like Hinduism,Sikihsim,Toasim and buddhism. But the store felt crowded with junk spinkled in.It was hard to navigate and the dreamcatchers didn't help by blocking.There was a random bicycle and an old boombox in front.Shoved into the dark corners were arrays of old clothes all colour coordinated and mismatched boots.On top of the dressers were magician props that spilled from a box and next to it were prosthetics masks of Medusa and the minotaur and a zombie.And pasted haphazardly on the roof were galaxy blankets and planets and tied dyed.

"You're religious."Nate sputtered as he swivelled around the room.

"Spiritual."She retorted with a huff."No,never."

"What are you doing here?"I asked,my voice soft and confused as Nate turned to me with wide eyes and agape mouth.

"Relax."She reassured,a smile stretched on her face."I told you I had a plan,didn't I."

Nate stared at me with wide eyes and a frown. "Weirdos.''He muttered under his breath as he observed the store,my necklace and Sasha.I glared at him with hands on my waist.

"I heard that!"She snapped ,her voice clipped as she stood and leaned forward on the counter.

"Madame,I'm here. It's me."She called with a smile ,her tone cheerful.we stood behind her patiently.A giggle escaped Sasha when the beaded curtain gave way and a woman walked out.She almost took my breath away as her heels clicked on the wood.

"Well,hello there my darling."A cheery voice sang as she floated towards us.A tall lady dressed in a long golden dress with with a high collar paired with black boots..Her skin was brown with gorgeous long black hair that framed her oval face and went past her shoulders.She walked with such confidence and the air radiated with warmth.Sasha grinned even harder as the woman spread her arms wide and grinned.Sasaha ran towards her and wrapped her arms round the beautiful woman who leaned forward and embraced her.She removed her grip and stared at us.

Sasha's face was flushed red with a smile which was unlike her as she stood beside the woman.Her grin was warm and welcoming and hinted with an accent. "Are these incredible children your friends?"Sasha nodded.She swayed and her eyes landed on me.Her gaze became blank and her smile melted off her face.

"Yes,I told you about them."She replied then walked towards us."Thalia ,Miss Kamala.Nathaniel,Miss Kamala."Sasha introduced us to her, who nodded.She looked at her golden wrist watch and tsked to herself.

"C'mon lovelies."She said, then turned on her heels and stride as Sasha joined her."So what are we doing.Crystal ball,Tarot reading or palm."

Sasha shook her head as her ponytail swung."Nope,Tarot but it depends on you."THe lady nodded deep in thought as we passed the counter and passed through the beaded curtain.

Miss Kamala was obviously the shop's woner.Nate walked beside me, skin pasty and sweet nodded on his neck.I frowned at him and sighed.Poor Nate.Sasha explained to us that she had be a very spiritual person since she was twelve and was Miss Kamala's apprentices and mom figure in her life.She never labelled herself as religious thought and that was something individual than group.

"Others believe in a higher power but this is just me.I don't.''Sasha replied as we got ourselves comfty.The room was the size of a storage cabinet.The walls was draped with pink and orange silks and fabrics ,pillows and photos of Hindu gods.Warm orange and pink light bathed the room casting shadows and not surprising the room was thick with a strong herby smell.She gestured for us to sit on the pillows as we crowded around a table and she eased herself into a seat.Her silver rings glittered in the light and her clawed black nails.

"Seat please,"She said and nodded."You must sit."We were all comfortable and sank onto the soft room but Nate sprawled like a kid making a snow angel.A giggle escaped the woman's lips.I rested my arms on the table and like a moth to a flame she snathed my arm so fast then traced her long fingers on my palms with a smile and furrowed pencilled browsers her eyes went wide.I yanked my palm and hid it under my skirt and Sash agape at her horrified.Nate blinks multp[le times then sat upright.

"I didn't like that."I snapped ,my voice soft.

She recoiled and shuffled and puffed her pillows."Sorry ,I couldn't resist.My bad."She joked with a smile.I nodded grumpy and snapped my gaze towards Sasha.The woman took a deep breathe ,rested her arms on the silk covered table and intertwined her bejewelled fingers.She placed her hands under her table and carefully pulled out a large clear crystal ball and placed into on a pedestal.Then again and pulled out a wad of cards. "Drawings ?"She said with a raised brow.My heart hammered in my chest as the air got thinner and room for darker and colder.I leaned forward as she gestured with her eyes for my binder.With a deep breathe,i placed it on the sequined are and slowly removed it as the others crowded me.Seat formed on my brow as I removed my drawings.

I spread them on the table and pushed them towards the lady.Her brown eyes widened as she went through them."How long have you been drawing them?"She asked.

"For years."I answered as she nodded.A gasp escaped her lips as he flipped through them.There was another drawing of the boy.He sat in the snow with a flute and eyed the horizon.

"Whose this?"She inquired.

"I don't know. A deity. "I responded, my throat clogged. She nodded then I handed her another that almost took her breath away.

"I don't know really.'I whispered,averted my gaze towards the ground or the fairy lights that dotted the dommed clothes.

Her eyes widened when she saw a drawing of a girl getting killed by multiple wolves as a gasp escaped her lips."Wow."

"Well then,"she trailed off.She locked her gaze to me as she grabbed cards and spread them on the table upside them.''Pick anyone that sticks to you ,hot or cold."She instructed.

I took a deep breath,closed my eyes then spread my palms on it.I felt nothing at first then slowly one stuck to my fingers as her eyes lit and her lips tugged into a smile.Her gaze was strong and intense ,it unravelled a tight knot inside of me.

Miss Kamala sat a bit straight and watched the multiple drawings again with her thickly charoled lined eyes that felt so intense.She flipped over them carefully then eyed me hard as if she was trying to pinpoint whatever is going on.Like a viper ,her eyes bore into mine .Goosebumps rose on my flesh as I sat upright.My legs shook with anticipation as the hairs of my neck stood erect.

The drawings were my life that was displayed to the world to a stranger.A woman I've never met nor seen.My whole brain was carved out and exposed to this strange lady.My friends and this woman had seen my nightmares ,my soul ,my fears and my waking dreams open.

They were simple :Grotesque motifs and drawings of death.Wolvves,the boy and the icy tundra.Crimson splattered everywhere and drawings of the vanitas.

The anticipation grew even more as I became jittery.My heart hammered.Then she returned to the tarots lined in front of me then grabbed the card then turned it towards her direction which blocked my view.A soft gasp escaped her lips then tugged into a smirk.

I leaned forward ,lost and confused by her strange smile."Madame,"I asked ,my voice soft but my heart pounded like a jackhammer.

"Yes,,darling."She purred as she twisted the card between her fingers.Nate eyed me ,lips pursed and neck tilted.Sashaa sat patiently ,arms on her lap.She was patient.Her face was impassive but her gaze seemed to look beyond.She looked at my confused face and laughed.It was long and graceful."Death,darling.It means Death."She stated ,her voice nonchalant,.

I spluttered,"Death."She nodded like it was a walk in a park.So common.She continued to nod and for some dried herbs from under her desk and rolled it up with a smile.

She was smiling.

"Tea anyone ?"She asked ,eyes past each of us.

My shoulders tensed as Nate froze."Death,"I responded ,voice hoarse and dumbstruck.

She placed the card onto the desk.The sunset lights danced on its surface.My hands shook as I carefully turned the card over as a large shadow casted over me.A lump formed on my throat.

Death.It meant Death.Not a word ,a noun but it was a personification of death.The tarot looked modern and had two faces of the same coin yet meant the same thing.Death.The grim reaper.The collector.The first side had a skeletal being with his infamous scythe stood there and another a skeleton on a horse.

I eyed her and my voice hitched but my heart seemed calm. Strange calmness washed over me.

Death.

I was going to die .Why didn't I see the signs ?It flashed like a beacon.It was loud,My nightmares were not my predictions but my inevitable reality.

"Death,"Nate screamed in disbelief.He gpt to his feet and gawked with wide eyes."What is this ?Is this some kind of joke ?"Veins popped from his neck then he exploded into loud and fanatic laughter then he slammed his hands onto the table.A shadow fell over me ,a chill that was neither strange nor comforting.I weirdly accepted it.

"You gotta be kidding right.Please tell me you're kidding?"Nate blurted angrily towards the lady who sat unbothered, then he directed his gaze to me."C'mon guys.Do you seriously buy this.She's a fortune teller for god's sake."He gawked at my strange expression."Oh my God ,no.You can't buy this."No one laughed but instead the room seemed buzzed with electricity.

"I-I don't get ?"I said ,my emotions were numb and my voice was light.

She nodded in understanding but her eyes were alarmed as she drummed her long ,thin fingers on the desk but she seemed uncomfortable.

"Miss Kamala is never wrong."Sasha spoke ,her voice was soft and misty and for the first time since we arrived,not looking at us but straight ahead of us.

Nate recoiled horrified."Don't tell us you believe in this crap?"

"Well,let me explain."The lady went on.

"This is pure and utterly bull and you know about it."He chimed and slammed his fist onto the table.

She raised a palm to shush him, and it did just that.His lips moved but no words slipped out."Death means several things ,my child.Several.It could mean a new beginning ,a loss of someone or even something you long or wish for.It doesn't really death but in this place it does.You have predicted your own.Your drawings and your nightmares all add up."She sent a pointed look at Nate who exposed his teeth like an annoyed chipmunk,

Her eyes landed on my arms and I was reluctant but then I agreed and she gestured to it.I stretched out my palm as she traced her fingers on it and watched intently."Interesting ,the lines in your palm end abrupt but then it regrows.The aura around you is confusing .Yes ,eventually."She replied but Nate stared at me as if I went instance with his jaw slacked.She furrowed her brows and traced on.

My heart hammered , I yanked my arm away and stood up ,trembling,.With turned away and bolted out of the shop ,my ears deaf to Nate's cries .My feet slapped on the pavement as I streaked by.The world was blurry with my tears and the cars that steak out.I heard nothing but my heart that hammered and the pants of my breathe.My legs burned with pain but ignored it and my feet that flew on the pavement.I couldn't think about a thing but Death.It's cold invisible fingers.

Nate :

The door slammed shut as all of us started dumbstruck.I was behind the door and I was this close to leaving but Sasaa grabbed my wrist tight as I turned to her,lost and confused.

"Thalia."I yelled.

"Just stop it.Just stop.She's gone."She screamed ,her teeth gritted.

I looked at her horrified."What the hell was this?"I screamed."What kind of joke is this?Don't tell me you believe it.You just scared her."

"No one can escape Fate.No me nor you or anyone."She stated ,she dropped my hands as I gaped at her.The woman stood in the doorway and watched us creepily.

I dropped my hands and gaped at her."Why ?Just why?"I questioned ,my voice hoarse and my heart pounded.My hands went to my pocket as I eagerly tried to call her ASAP.But she yanked my phone as I tried to wrestle it out.

Why just why ?

She turned her back away from me with my mom's cell.She looked over her shoulder and sighed."You don't get ,Nate.Do you ?Fate works differently."She sighed as her hair flipped."Thalia did something and now Faith is playing with her as she did to you."She defended.My feet went back on their own accord till I slammed onto an old row of loose fitting dresses.

"What the hell?"

"Let her run but she can never hide. "Sasha warned, her voicde low and menacing,a shadow reflected with her hands placed her hands  behind her back and her eyes seemed darker in the dark.A scream locked my throat as her smile gleamed in the darkness.

Her laughter echoed and sent shovers down  my spine.