Visions

People laughed and chatted lightly as I stared at the phone, oblivious to my growing apprehension. I stared at the footprint photo, and the image of the imposing brown wolf echoed in my mind. However, even considering the size of this wolf, I suspected that the paw in question did not belong to him. It appeared to be from an even larger animal.

Jeez, is it possible that there is an even bigger wolf in this forest?

Soon, legends about men turning into beasts and being exiled to the forest occurred to me. If these legends were true, then the stories about demonic creatures that fed on human blood could also be true.

I laugh to myself, amused by my own imagination. This can't be real. There must be a logical explanation for all of this.

I decide to search the internet for information about “Direwolves in the Legalville forest”.

To my surprise, the only results I find are reports from locals about encounters with giant creatures, legends and intriguing stories. I come across a blurry photo of a towering black wolf and a chill runs through me, for this wolf is at least twice the size of the brown wolf. In addition, I find photos of footprints identical to the ones I captured and videos of wolves chasing something through the trees, something similar to what followed me today.

These coincidences are all hard to ignore. Was it possible that all this was just a bad joke perpetrated by some bored person? Honestly, it just might be. The feeling of helplessness began to settle in, while the disturbing reality imposed itself before me.

Something inside me tells me that this is all true and that I made the worst mistake of my life walking into those woods.

My head starts to ache, and I feel everything spinning. “Please, not now!” I think uselessly.

I always have severe headaches and dizziness. They are usually accompanied by a strange sight that gives me nightmares for weeks. I feel the air miss in my lungs and my heart races. It's like I'm about to panic.

I look at the door of the house and see a pool of blood. “Not now, please”, I mentally ask for the visions to disappear. I grip the pendant on my necklace, and it burns my fingers, making me quickly drop it. Usually my pendant heats up during these visions and attacks, but never like this.

I see bloody footprints going towards the wall that goes towards the forest. I begin to smell blood strongly and hear Dad's terrified screams. I cover my ears with my hands and begin to recite the old chant my mother taught me when I was a child. He always makes those images go away. I close my eyes and sing with more conviction, but I feel like my body is floating. I open my eyes and realize I'm in the living room. I see my mother lying lifeless on the floor, her throat slashed and her eyes open and lifeless gray.

" No no! " I pull away and feel my back hit the wall. " It can not be!

A loud sound comes from the top of the stairs, and I can hear Sarah's screams. I grip my necklace tightly and begin the prayer Grandma had taught us when we were kids. I feel my eyes sting, and the stone in my necklace heats up, burning my hand. The smell of burning skin makes me nauseous, but that only makes me grip the necklace tighter. I close my eyes and whisper the final lines of the prayer.

" Are you OK, darling? " I hear Mom's sweet voice. I open my eyes and see her looking at me scared. Her hand touches my face. " Wow, you're hot and sweating cold. Your eyes are red, and you're pale.

I let go of my necklace and sigh in relief. Mom's eyes flicker, her gaze focused on my rock. I notice that it has changed color, it is dark and shiny pink. Gradually, it returns to its normal black hue.

Sometimes, during my visions or attacks, it changes color, but it has never turned dark pink. For some reason I feel like something is going to happen.

" Did you have another vision? " His eyes widen when he sees my burnt hand." Come on, I'll take care of it.

I walk into the living room and sit on the armchair. After a few minutes, my mother appears in the room with a first-aid kit. I hold out my hand and drift in my thoughts as my wound is cleaned.

" Okay, we're done." Mom says, bandaging my hand. She laughs at my confused expression." You've always had a high tolerance for pain, you don't even feel it when I bandage.

I smile shyly. Out of everyone in my family, I've always been the luckiest in terms of health. I never got sick, not even with a cold. I never broke a bone, and my wounds healed quickly. Sarah used to say I was a mutant, because even my pain tolerance was high.

"So, my daughter." Mom lets out a long sigh." Her stone glowed differently today. Did something happen?

I gape. My mother always denied that the sparkles of the stone had anything to do with my visions, and even said that this was something common, that it was nothing more than my anxiety.

" This time was different. I... Well, I don't know how to explain it. " My voice comes out squeaky, and I close my eyes, trying to concentrate to avoid stuttering again. " It wasn't a simple vision, it was as if I were there, as if it were a version of the future. I can't explain it exactly, but it wasn't like the other times, when I feel like I'm in a dream. I felt like it was real, but somehow it felt like it was a version of the future. He understands?

To my complete surprise, she didn't question or make any comments like the other times. Mom sighed, rubbed the back of her neck, and finally looked into my eyes.

" And what did you see?

I remain silent for a few seconds, gathering the courage to tell him about this horrible thought. Before I can say anything, Anna's scream echoes through the room, and the little girl enters in tears, stretching her small arms towards me. I take her in her lap, and she buries her head in my shoulder. Dad walks into the room panting, his hair is messy and his clothes are smeared with paint.

" George! " my mother says, between laughs. " Looks like a clown's car hit you!

" The pogo pump had some problems and when I went to fix it… Well… " he points to his own body. " It exploded, and I fell on the table where the paints that the children are using in their paintings were.

I can't contain my laughter and I get a hard look from Dad, who ends up laughing when he hears the bizarre sound of my laugh.

" Anna was close and she was scared. - He says embarrassed. " I'm sorry, my daughter. I'm fine, no need to worry, my love.

Anna looks at him, her small eyes glistening with tears. Dad looks toward my hand and raises an eyebrow.

" Can you explain the reason for this gigantic bandage?

His harsh tone leaves me speechless. Dad was always a calm and playful man, but he hated to see me hurt, especially since I wasn't as careful as other people, due to my lack of pain.

Mum takes Anna in her arms and smiles at me. I feel my body relieve when I see that she took the lead of the situation.

" This time it was my fault. " she says in a shy voice. " Sarah was with the kids, so I decided to ask Violet to take care of some things in the kitchen. I just forgot to tell you that the platter was hot, and the poor thing ended up burning her hand.

Dad's expression softens, and he sighs. I could even understand that grumpy side of him. I was never careful and ended up getting into

very complicated situations, sometimes with real risk of death. But after Simon left... Well, I guess I was more careful.

" You should take a rest." He says, looking at me strangely. " You don't look well.

I smile sideways. Well, I really needed to lie down.

I thank you for your concern and go up to my room.

(...)

Lying in my bed, I feel my head spinning with so much information and theories. I couldn't stand to stay in bed any longer, I needed to do something.

Gathering courage, I decided it was time to go into the forest and investigate what was going on. I look at the full moon, and my body shivers. My father would disapprove of this idea, so I intended to do it in secret, to take advantage of the movement of the party to go unnoticed.

I leave the house and, without much difficulty, manage to jump over the wall. My attention is caught by something I hadn't noticed before: some green stones are leaning against our wall, alternating between a green stone, a red one, and one very similar to the pendant on my necklace. I pick up the stone similar to the one in my necklace and, with the light of the flashlight, I can see several differences in relation to my pendant. It was as if this stone was darker, older and rougher.

A howling sound makes my heart race, and without a second thought, I jump over the wall again. Maybe you should come back tomorrow.

I approach a table and sit down, I take the stone out of my pocket and look at it, trying to understand why it is there.

I feel that old feeling of being watched again. I look toward the fence and startle to see a tall man staring at me. His eyes are red, his skin is pale, his hair is red and his clothes are black. He watches me like an animal about to pounce on its prey. His smile, for some reason, bothers me deeply, it's like seeing a monster smile.

Children run, blocking my view of the fence. When I look back at the spot, he's gone. A feeling of despair invades my body, leaving me in a state of alert, as if something very bad was about to happen.

My thoughts race, and the feeling of desperation grows by the moment, as if I feel danger approaching, evil lurking.

I couldn't explain where this fear came from, but for some reason I knew it was rational and that something very serious was about to happen.

"Run away, Violet." A voice speaks in my head and I feel my body shiver.

" Heavens, I must be going crazy! " my voice comes out incredulously and I laugh." or it must be tiredness. I need to lie down.

I get up and walk into the house. I guess all this hustle has got me gisa. Children's screams, laughter, parents looking for their children. That kind of thing could have affected me and made me see things. I get a glass of water and look out the window at the trees in the garden swaying in the wind.