4. Vision and Curiosity

VALERIA

My head began to bang once I opened my eyes. I had slept off in a very awkward position so it also hurt to move my neck.

And as soon as I became fully aware of my surroundings, I recalled what I had discovered during the early hours of the morning, that the one that called himself Marcello was actually a werewolf. And what scared me the most was that he knew exactly where to find me.

I have to leave here immediately, I thought to myself as I scurried to my feet and shoved the few clothes that I had into my backpack. I rolled up my sleeping mat and buckled it into my backpack too.

I peeped outside and the sun was already out, but I was smart enough to have my tent under a tree with a canopy of thick leaves so the shade was enough for me to come out of the tent.

But as soon as my feet touched the soil, it felt as if everything had gone still, like time itself had paused. Then I began to hear voices from my left, when I looked, I saw myself standing with that boy— Marcello. But I did not look like I still felt the same hatred that I felt for him at the moment. I saw myself holding his hand but I just could not hear what I was saying to him no matter how hard I tried.

Then I heard another voice again. This time it was coming from in front of me. The voice was that of a woman's and each word echoed as she spoke.

I looked at her and she had on a translucent blue dress, she had nothing underneath and everything was visible to the eyes. Her hair was black and wavy, and her skin was pale and milky. What caught my attention the most was the colour of her eyes, they were grey like mine but they shined like a full moon.

"I am Selene." Was what she started with. "And I have come to tell you something."

"Which is?" I asked, even though I did not want to hear what it was. This whole thing felt weird. I was not sure if I was dreaming, or somehow in another realm. But I did not want to ignore her. She did not even look like somebody I could ignore.

"What you were looking at..." She gestured towards where I saw myself holding Marcello. "It was a glimpse of your future."

I frowned, confused. "I don't understand what you mean by that."

"Your destiny is here, that's why your powers are beginning to manifest." She said to me. "You have a lot to accomplish in this land."

"What destiny? What powers?" I was even more confused. "And what do I have to do with this land?"

"You're seeing a vision." She responded. "You have the ability to see glimpses of the future."

"So what I just saw is actually going to happen eventually?" I just wanted to get things clear. Because I did not even want to speak to him ever again. So holding his hand was really going to be farfetched.

"Yes." She nodded with a smile. "And you will remember this vision."

"I see..." I held back from expressing my doubt, but that was useless because she said,

"I know you do not believe any of this at the moment. But you should know that you cannot fight destiny, so I advise that you embrace it sooner than later."

And before I could say anything else, she dissipated. Really. She just separated into little blue specks and rose to the sky. She was gone just like that.

Then I blinked and I was conscious again. The only thing was that I felt really lightheaded and I dropped to the ground and closed my eyes until I was stable enough to open them again. Now, I could think properly and try to process everything that I had just seen.

And I knew that I was not just seeing things, I just knew. That certainty was within me. And I no longer felt the urgent desire to leave that place like when I had just woken up. Not because I was interested in this so-called destiny of mine, no. I was simply curious, it had gotten the best part of me. So I decided that I was going to stay a little while more and see how things were eventually going to play out.

*****

MARCELLO

The first thing I thought of once my eyes opened was to go and meet the seer. But I began to rethink that decision when I remembered where I was going to find him.

He stayed with my grandparents in a secluded part of town, where there were less than ten households. But that was not even the problem at all. My issue was that he was a little bit creepy. He stayed in their basement with very little lighting; and sometimes, he even had none on. He would just sit there for hours on hours, mumbling incoherent words himself, rarely opening his eyes.

Then he would only come out when he was absolutely famished and needed to eat. But once he gets satisfied, he would go back in the basement and continue where he left off. And till this day, I have no clue as to why my grandparents were even keeping the seer in their house, it was especially weird that it was in their basement. But from what they had explained to me before, it was because the seer himself had opted to stay in the basement when they offered to house him.

Nevertheless, I summoned some courage and dressed up, then I headed for my grandparents' house. It took a little over thirty minutes to get there, and I was freely let in because all the staff there could recognize me.

I did not find my grandparents inside though. Most likely, they were on their usual morning walk. That was good; at least there was nobody around to ask me questions about what I was about to do.

I found the basement door in the kitchen. And to my surprise, it was open ajar. Usually, it took a lot of strength to even push it open. Taking a deep breath, I stepped in, and the wooden stairs beneath my feet creaked at the impact of my weight.

The space was dimly lit, just as I had anticipated. And when I had fully descended from the flight of stairs, I immediately sighted him at the far right corner of the basement, seated with his back against the wall and his legs fully stretched out. He was shivering slightly and his eyes were rolling to the back of his head, so I was only seeing the sclera of his eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, his eyes shot open and his gaze landed on me. I held my breath immediately, not wanting to make any sudden movements.

"Marcello?" He called out to me.

"Y—yes?" I found myself stuttering.

"I know why you're here today." He smiled, a downturned smile. "Come closer."

I obeyed, walking to him slowly. But I still made sure to keep a healthy distance between us.

He stared at me in silence for a moment before he started speaking. "You'll know what the prophecy entails soon enough, as the time for it to prevail is very near." He coughed and cleared his throat. "What will happen will happen no matter what anybody does, so be at peace. And I want you to know that you already have your helper with you, there's no cause for worry."

It was no surprise that he knew exactly why I was here without me having to say a word, but I was still very confused. I came here seeking clear answers, but it was very obvious that I was not going to get that.

Still, I asked him, "who is this helper you speak of?"

"Leave." He said to me without answering my question.

I knew better than to press the seer for answers to I did so without any hesitation.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the proper lighting in the kitchen. And once I could see clearly, I saw my grandfather standing at the door, leaning on the threshold with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Good morni—"

"What did you go down there for?" He did not even let me finish my greeting.

"I... went to ask the seer something."

"Which is?"

I deliberated whether or not to tell him for a moment. On one hand, there was a chance that he was going to get really mad at me because he never wanted me and Bran anywhere near the seer alone; on the other hand, he could have had an idea on what the prophecy was and may have been able to give me more information.

i decided to believe in the latter so I told him the truth.

"Mother was talking about some prophecy yesterday after an earthquake disrupted Bran's coronation but neither she nor Father is saying anything about what the prophecy is." I explained. "I went to the seer to find out if he knew about it."

"And what did he tell you?"

"To not worry about it."

"Better." My grandfather exhaled. "Do as he says, don't worry about it. And I do not want to see you go there again. Now, come and join me and your grandmother for breakfast."

I nodded and followed him out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Grandma was quite surprised to see me. Her face lit up as soon as she laid eyes on me and she asked,

"What are you doing here this early?"

"Um..." I cleared my throat, avoiding my grandfather's face. "I just really missed you guys so I came down here."

Technically, I was not even lying. I actually missed them. Me coming here to also see the seer was killing two birds with one stone.

"Indeed." Grandpa said sarcastically, chuckling.

I did not get the answers that I had come looking for so I did not even have it in me to eat anything. Thankfully, none of my grandparents noticed. Or maybe they did and chose not to speak of it.

After breakfast, I spent only a few minutes with them and left their house, telling them that I had things to handle at home.

And all the way back home, I was thinking only one thing: who is the helper that the seer spoke of?