Rachel's Vision

I am standing at the top of the hill. The air is crisp, just the right weather to go on a night walk. I can see the whole village, quiet and resting. The lights from each house glow like the stars from the heavens. It was all over the place but still picturesque. I haven't been at this spot since I was a kid. I forgot how great the view is from here. I look at the clear night sky. It's been a while since I've seen the stars this bright. It is too mesmerizing, and it feels like it's saying something to me in a language I cannot understand.

I jolt back to reality when a pair of arms grab me. I am barely floating. It is raining hard. There is an orange, reddish glow somewhere near, but I can't see what it is. And screams. They are everywhere. The water is cold. And I can feel myself being drag by its current. The pair of arms are dragging me into the water. I am drowning. 

"Rachel!" my brother screams from a distance. I can only hear his voice. "Where are you?! Rachel!!"

I want to answer him but I can't. Someone is clinging to me, and we are now both gasping for air. Something hits my leg, and I scream in pain. I use all my strength to swim against the waves, but the arms keep dragging me underwater. Something hard keeps hitting my body. I am in so much pain. I am out of breath, and it hurts so much. I need to do it. I breathe water, and gosh, I never felt this peaceful before.

I wake up with a jolt. I sit up straight right away and put a hand on my heart. It feels like I just had a mini heart attack. 'It was just a dream,' I try to convince myself. But I am freaking out so bad. It felt real. Like it will happen, and I don't know where or when. I get up and look for my Mom in their bedroom.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asks me.

"I just had that dream again, Mom. Mom, I'm scared. It looks too real. And I-I," I can't find the right words, "I drowned, Mom. I died!"

"What?" she asks again, unable to grasp what I am trying to say.

"What's happening?" Dad asks sleepily.

"Nothing, she had that dream again," she answers.

"Oh, okay," he says and goes back to sleep.

"Is it that dream again?" I nod. "Oh, Rachel, it's just a dream. Don't let it get into your head."

I try to explain it again to her. "Mom, you don't understand. I am there. I saw it all happening."

"Shh.. I know, I know. I am here, okay? Nothing bad is going to happen to you and Karl, understand?"

I can't sleep anymore after that horrible dream. I leave the bedroom and stay in the kitchen. I try to put it off my mind the whole morning as I get ready to go to school. We were supposed to be up early, anyway. My brother and I study at a boarding school in Mainland. We spend most of the week there and only go home at weekends. My family lives far enough we have to take the ferry back and forth two times a week. And this part scares me the most now, ever since I started having this horrible dream of mine. Or was it just a dream?

My brother wakes up after two hours and starts to get ready too. I am all ready, just not wanting to go.

"What's up?" Karl asks me as we are eating breakfast.

I shrug. I am not in the mood to talk right now. Karl eyes Mom. She gives him a meaningful look, and then he nods. Everyone in my family knows about this particular nightmare. And they are not worried as I am. They never understand, of course. They have never heard Karl call my name helplessly nor seen how I will die a tragic death over and over again.

"It's not real, you know? I've been getting these scary dreams sometimes, too, and you know what? You have to let it go. Some of it looks real, though, but did it happen in real life? No. So just let it pass, Sis. Don't let it get in your head," he says.

I appreciate him saying this to make me feel at ease, really, but I can't let it go this time. I smile at him half-heartedly.

The weather outside sends chills down my spine the moment I stepped out of our house. The air feels weird to me. Like it carries some bad news with it. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. 'Nothing bad will happen,' I tell myself about our ferry ride.

I cling to my jacket tightly as I sit next to Karl while the ferry takes its usual route. There are more waves today than last Friday. I can't help but wonder where the accident will happen. I look out in the ocean, too, looking for signs, like a sudden chill or a weird guttural feeling, on certain parts that will somehow tell me, "This is where you'll meet your end.". 

I am oddly quiet this morning, and it bothers Karl. He tries to cheer me up the whole trip and even stops at a drive-thru on our way to school. I am a hyper person, so my friends also notice my unusual behavior right away. I have no choice but to tell them about that dream, too, at lunchtime.

"I get those dreams, too. It was never true," Kim says.

"It's just your subconscious mind showing you your deepest, darkest fears. Don't bother with it," Lee says.

"That's so weird. It looks like you've been reading too many books and watching too many movies these days," Ash says.

Hard as I try, I can never get it off my mind. There's a weird pit in my stomach that won't go away. A hollow feeling in my heart that I can't seem to shake off.

I tried to focus all week. I took all of my classes, hang out with my friends, and studied fine. And though there is no news about rainstorms, the weather isn't nice all week. The sun never showed at all due to the thick, gray clouds present all day long. The air's cold, too.

Today is Friday already. I spend most of my afternoon trying to finish my assignment, so I won't have to do it tomorrow. And to kill time. My gut tells me something grim is going to happen tonight. At 4:30, I cross the dorm circle looking for my brother. He is in his room, tidying up his dirty laundry in a bag. His roommate is playing games on their makeshift couch.

"Hey, Karl," I said to him when I am at their door.

"Hey, Rachel," his roommate said. I smile politely at him. He gives me a nod and continues his game.

"Hey," Karl says. He grabs all of the remaining clothes on the floor and puts them in the bag in one swift motion. He looks at me, a bit stressed, "Give me a sec, please. I'm just looking for this paper I've been working on this week. I might've misplaced it."

"It's okay, take your time," I say. "And hmm.. can we not go home tonight?"

"What?" he asks, bemused. "I have plans with the boys, first thing in the morning."

"It's just that... I am not sure if it's safe to travel tonight since the weather's not so nice and--- and..." I struggle to find the right words to say. What do I say? That we might die if we make the trip home tonight? Is there anything weirder to say?

"Huh? The weather's alright. It has been like this since Monday, and I don't think it will even rain tonight. Is that all you have to say?"

"Karl, listen to me, okay? I have a wicked feeling that's something's going to happen tonight," I say.

"Is this about--" he can't even finish his sentence, "Rachel, stop being weird, alright? A dream is a dream. I told you not to bother with it. We are going home tonight, and that's final."

"But--but--" I protest.

"Go grab your things," he says to me with sternness. And then, he goes to his desk and talks to his roommate. "Find my paper, will you? I'm sure as heck you borrowed it from me last night. Come on, man. I want it here in my desk on Monday."

My heart beats wild while I wait for my brother as he buys us tickets. I also have this urge to puke. My hands are trembling, and I keep bouncing my legs. Hearing the waves stresses me out. I want to stay in my dorm room, but then Karl's still going to go. It's either we both don't go, or we both will. I've seen it. We were together when it happened.

"Damn," he says as he gets in the car.

"What?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, they run out of tickets. Damn it. We can't make it home tonight." That is the best news I got this week.

After telling our parents that we can't make it home tonight, Karl treats me to dinner before we drive back to school. The rain finally poured. But the thought that we didn't go tonight made me sleep a little better.

The sky isn't clear, but I can feel the change in the weather. It's not cold or warm, just pleasant. I still have to wear my jacket, though, since it's still too early. Karl wants to catch the first ride today.

There's a commotion at the port when we arrive. News anchors and ambulances are everywhere. We get out of the car to gather up some news.

"What happened here?" Karl asks the lady next to us.

She shakes her head. "There has been an accident last night. They are still searching for missing people out there."

I gasped. Oh my God!

Karl looks at me, surprised. I am too.