Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-34269289-20180111161100

I used to have a childhood friend whom I found to be a little strange. She would have her ‘moments’ when she seemingly would just stare into space and would be rendered completely unresponsive for a time. When she did finally snap out of her trance, she would mention seeing something in the future. Back then, I didn’t understand what she meant and really the kind of things she saw were nonsensical and didn’t really matter. That all changed when we got older. We were in our teen years and seniors in high school. It was the end of school and we were walking home when she had one of her ‘moments’. It happened so suddenly too, catching me off guard. “Janice? You okay?” She said nothing. I tried to shake her out of her trance, but to no avail. When she ‘returned to reality’, she looked down momentarily. Then, with a tone cold as ice, she said, “I have seen the future. You will die. It will hit you without warning, and your death will be slow.” I was shocked at what she said and the way she said it. I took a few steps back, feeling like the ground just caved in underneath me.

“Janice, surely you’re joking.”

“It’s not a joke Tristain. I’ve seen it. Have I ever been wrong before?”

No. She hasn’t been wrong before. But I couldn’t believe what she said. Surely this had to have been false. I refused to accept what she said and I began to cross the street on my way home. That’s when it hit.

Crash.

It hit like a sledgehammer. I didn’t see what hit me. The sound of glass breaking rang in my ear as my world seemed to spin endlessly. Everything was a blur, and when I finally could see, I was lying on the road. I could barely see a red liquid surround me. Ahead of me, Janice stood still. Silent. Then someone walked past her, and she was gone. She had vanished, almost as if she was never there. Confused but disoriented, I called out to her in case she was still there. Soon a crowd surrounded me. With all the strength I could muster, I reached out to where she once was, before everything faded to black.

I woke in a hospital. My family and friends were at my bedside. My mom, dad, little brother, and my friends Tyler and Sean were all here with me. When my friend Tyler saw I had regained consciousness, he alerted everyone else. They were relieved to see I was alive and my mom wrapped her arms around me. She cried tears of happiness and relief before looking me in the eye. “Tristain, thank God you’re okay. What happened?”

“Janice and I were walking home from school. Janice...she just stopped all of a sudden and said that I would die. I wouldn’t expect it to happen, and that I’d die slowly.”

“Janice?” Everyone looked at each other, puzzled. “Who’s Janice?” I was taken aback by what my mother asked. I shook my head in disbelief. What’s going on?

“Janice, my friend that I’ve had my whole life.” They now looked at each other with concern. It was almost as if they thought I was crazy. Sean shrugged and looked at Tyler, who shook his head. My dad looked at me and spoke softly. “Tristain, Janice has been dead for 10 years.” 