Status: DONE.
Claimed to Be Broken
Premonition
Premonition.
Sofia's shoulders were quivering violently. But her voice was surprisingly steady when she said, "I suppose he finally decided to let go of his promise."
I handed her a glassful of water, and she wolfed down the liquid in quite a short time. I noticed colours were now rising to her cheeks, and her lips had also a nice touch of red on them. For some reason, I felt relieved, sort of happy.
"Hey, how close were you with Lucas?" I queried, continuing. "I mean, I know you guys went out and all, but... I'm sorry for being so insensitive about this, but I have to ask you. How did Lucas die?"
The question echoed off the empty walls, ricocheting through the silence that roamed the kitchen place. Sofia's figure was frozen solid, and her fingers pressed against the glass I gave her, clenching it the same way she had clenched the rocks she threw at Lucas.
Then her lips parted and spoke in the lightest, most delicate tone I have ever heard— raw with underlying emotion, desperate, and somehow strong.
"It was because of what Nina predicted. Nina had premonitions, and they were never wrong."
Sofia told me her side of the story. And I saw it, watched it the way I had witnessed Lucas' past.
It was a bright, sun-filled summer in our town. Back then, I supposed the summers were much warmer and carried with it no breeze at all, only the pleasantness of the sun rays.
Grasses were slightly blotted with yellow stains, indicating how dry they were. And the sidewalk concrete was warm underfoot.
But as I looked around, I saw this dainty, peach house—quite pretty and adorable, really— and heard people bickering. I peeked through a small window and saw a younger version of Sofia again.
"I'm telling you, Sofia, I see nothing but a bad future of you with that boy." Nina was deaf, but she wasn't born deaf. She only needed people to perform sign language in front of her, so she could understand what they were saying. She could also lip-read very well.
"No, no, Nina, you don't understand." Sofia had a smile hanging onto her lips, one that meant she was so deeply in love. "Lucas means everything to me. I know it. I think I love him. I can't just let go of him just like that. Maybe your premonition's wrong."
Nina's face was stricken and so very grave. That girl meant business. "Sofia. Listen to me. You will never have a good future with that boy."
"I'll take my chances. He's a strong guy. He's the type that doesn't let anything in his way."
"That boy will die if you continue your relationship with him. Sofia, I just don't want you hurt. You've been protecting me since we were kids. Let me protect you now." Nina's hand flew to one of Sofia's dangling arms, and Nina squeezed tightly there.
Sofia stopped talking, and she blinked.
"Then what happened after that?" I pressed, murmuring, gazing intensely on Sofia's gray eyes.
Sofia, fumbling nervously with her hands, replied softly, "I don't think it's good to tell you. I'm not ready to tell you yet. I—I think I have to go." She ran for the front door, and she was almost outside, but she hesitated. "Please tell Lucas that... I'm glad he at least tried to wait for me."
When she was completely out of my property, I decided maybe I should take a walk outside as well. By that, I meant investigate.
A school building stood proudly in front of me, almost crumpling with age, but still rising with its obvious pride. I spotted a custodian hobbling past me, dragging with him a trash bin.
"Hey, mister!" I called out, not much of a friendly greeting. Throwing out the content of the trash bin into a big dump, his eyes met mine.
"What do you want?" he grumbled under his moustached lips.
"Can I go into the school? Like, just walk around and stuff?" I pointed at the entrance doorways with my finger and cocked my head to the side, in an attempt to look my most innocent.
The custodian scoffed. "I have a name, kid. Go ahead. That school's got nothin' to lose anyway. In case you're planning to steal things, the most valuable thing we have in there is the piano, and obviously you can't steal that. And if you see some blondie inside there, well, don't go crying to me, you hear?"
"Thank you." I added, "But I don't plan on stealing anything. I'm just here to... research."
"Well, whatever word suits your taste. But don't say I didn't warn you." He resumed his hobbling as I entered through the unlocked doorways.
When I reached the inside, nothing was special. Walls were scrapped; the marble floors were smooth and empty.
Then I pushed forward through a door that said: Music Room. Strolling leisurely inside, my eyes took in the shape of an old piano. Its ivory coated keys were mottled with yellow, and the wood underneath was showing shyly.
All of a sudden, I heard music, and I saw him, Lucas Desbiens, pressing gently against those old tattered piano keys.
He was at his most peaceful here; I could tell from the ghostly smile on his face, how it was beautiful, pleasant and sweet.
He belonged here. He knew it as he was playing the piano so merrily. He kept going and going, until someone barged into the room and slammed the door noisily. Lucas perked his head up.
Then he nodded in acknowledgment. "Jerry," he breathed.
I recognized Jerry as the custodian I saw outside of this school. He didn't have a moustache back then, but I could still see the similarity. Jerry's face back then, though, had a dangerous set to them, something unfathomably malicious.
"Where's the pay for my house? Look, kid, I understand that you're living alone in my house, and that you're working sweat and blood to pay everything, but you need to pay me your rent."
"I already paid you for this month," Lucas replied, disinterested. "You stink of beer. Straighten up your life, you fucking bastard. I'm ashamed to even call you my step-dad." Lucas turned his back on Jerry, but Jerry was fast with his hands.
Jerry shoved a heavy fist against Lucas' shoulder and grumbled, "Kid, I'm not the nuisance in your life. It's the other way around. You're the nuisance in my life. Remember that. Your mom was a bitch for leaving you. Don't forget how much I hate you, you little..."
"Lucas?" Sofia marched into the music room. "Oh, hey, Lucas I..." Then there was like a small flash that shot through the room, as if time froze and hung there for a short while.
"Kid, hey, are you okay?" the custodian, otherwise known as Jerry, asked me. He held me by my thin shoulders with his stubby hands. "You look like you was just daydreamin' there."
I stumbled, pushing myself backwards, away from him. Then Jerry seemed to understand. "You saw him, didn't you, kid?" he queried quietly.
"Yes."
"Did he show you about me?"
"Yes."
"You know, I regret what I did back then."
"Oh, is that so?"
"I didn't mean for that to happen. Lucas was the best kid that I ever stumbled upon, and I was a fool for not realizing that."
"I understand, mister, but I have to go. Too much happened for today, and I hope you don't take that the wrong way. I'm not scared of you, or repulsed. I just, well, I need to rest."
"I understand, kid," Jerry said. "I understand."
Sofia's shoulders were quivering violently. But her voice was surprisingly steady when she said, "I suppose he finally decided to let go of his promise."
I handed her a glassful of water, and she wolfed down the liquid in quite a short time. I noticed colours were now rising to her cheeks, and her lips had also a nice touch of red on them. For some reason, I felt relieved, sort of happy.
"Hey, how close were you with Lucas?" I queried, continuing. "I mean, I know you guys went out and all, but... I'm sorry for being so insensitive about this, but I have to ask you. How did Lucas die?"
The question echoed off the empty walls, ricocheting through the silence that roamed the kitchen place. Sofia's figure was frozen solid, and her fingers pressed against the glass I gave her, clenching it the same way she had clenched the rocks she threw at Lucas.
Then her lips parted and spoke in the lightest, most delicate tone I have ever heard— raw with underlying emotion, desperate, and somehow strong.
"It was because of what Nina predicted. Nina had premonitions, and they were never wrong."
Sofia told me her side of the story. And I saw it, watched it the way I had witnessed Lucas' past.
It was a bright, sun-filled summer in our town. Back then, I supposed the summers were much warmer and carried with it no breeze at all, only the pleasantness of the sun rays.
Grasses were slightly blotted with yellow stains, indicating how dry they were. And the sidewalk concrete was warm underfoot.
But as I looked around, I saw this dainty, peach house—quite pretty and adorable, really— and heard people bickering. I peeked through a small window and saw a younger version of Sofia again.
"I'm telling you, Sofia, I see nothing but a bad future of you with that boy." Nina was deaf, but she wasn't born deaf. She only needed people to perform sign language in front of her, so she could understand what they were saying. She could also lip-read very well.
"No, no, Nina, you don't understand." Sofia had a smile hanging onto her lips, one that meant she was so deeply in love. "Lucas means everything to me. I know it. I think I love him. I can't just let go of him just like that. Maybe your premonition's wrong."
Nina's face was stricken and so very grave. That girl meant business. "Sofia. Listen to me. You will never have a good future with that boy."
"I'll take my chances. He's a strong guy. He's the type that doesn't let anything in his way."
"That boy will die if you continue your relationship with him. Sofia, I just don't want you hurt. You've been protecting me since we were kids. Let me protect you now." Nina's hand flew to one of Sofia's dangling arms, and Nina squeezed tightly there.
Sofia stopped talking, and she blinked.
"Then what happened after that?" I pressed, murmuring, gazing intensely on Sofia's gray eyes.
Sofia, fumbling nervously with her hands, replied softly, "I don't think it's good to tell you. I'm not ready to tell you yet. I—I think I have to go." She ran for the front door, and she was almost outside, but she hesitated. "Please tell Lucas that... I'm glad he at least tried to wait for me."
When she was completely out of my property, I decided maybe I should take a walk outside as well. By that, I meant investigate.
A school building stood proudly in front of me, almost crumpling with age, but still rising with its obvious pride. I spotted a custodian hobbling past me, dragging with him a trash bin.
"Hey, mister!" I called out, not much of a friendly greeting. Throwing out the content of the trash bin into a big dump, his eyes met mine.
"What do you want?" he grumbled under his moustached lips.
"Can I go into the school? Like, just walk around and stuff?" I pointed at the entrance doorways with my finger and cocked my head to the side, in an attempt to look my most innocent.
The custodian scoffed. "I have a name, kid. Go ahead. That school's got nothin' to lose anyway. In case you're planning to steal things, the most valuable thing we have in there is the piano, and obviously you can't steal that. And if you see some blondie inside there, well, don't go crying to me, you hear?"
"Thank you." I added, "But I don't plan on stealing anything. I'm just here to... research."
"Well, whatever word suits your taste. But don't say I didn't warn you." He resumed his hobbling as I entered through the unlocked doorways.
When I reached the inside, nothing was special. Walls were scrapped; the marble floors were smooth and empty.
Then I pushed forward through a door that said: Music Room. Strolling leisurely inside, my eyes took in the shape of an old piano. Its ivory coated keys were mottled with yellow, and the wood underneath was showing shyly.
All of a sudden, I heard music, and I saw him, Lucas Desbiens, pressing gently against those old tattered piano keys.
He was at his most peaceful here; I could tell from the ghostly smile on his face, how it was beautiful, pleasant and sweet.
He belonged here. He knew it as he was playing the piano so merrily. He kept going and going, until someone barged into the room and slammed the door noisily. Lucas perked his head up.
Then he nodded in acknowledgment. "Jerry," he breathed.
I recognized Jerry as the custodian I saw outside of this school. He didn't have a moustache back then, but I could still see the similarity. Jerry's face back then, though, had a dangerous set to them, something unfathomably malicious.
"Where's the pay for my house? Look, kid, I understand that you're living alone in my house, and that you're working sweat and blood to pay everything, but you need to pay me your rent."
"I already paid you for this month," Lucas replied, disinterested. "You stink of beer. Straighten up your life, you fucking bastard. I'm ashamed to even call you my step-dad." Lucas turned his back on Jerry, but Jerry was fast with his hands.
Jerry shoved a heavy fist against Lucas' shoulder and grumbled, "Kid, I'm not the nuisance in your life. It's the other way around. You're the nuisance in my life. Remember that. Your mom was a bitch for leaving you. Don't forget how much I hate you, you little..."
"Lucas?" Sofia marched into the music room. "Oh, hey, Lucas I..." Then there was like a small flash that shot through the room, as if time froze and hung there for a short while.
"Kid, hey, are you okay?" the custodian, otherwise known as Jerry, asked me. He held me by my thin shoulders with his stubby hands. "You look like you was just daydreamin' there."
I stumbled, pushing myself backwards, away from him. Then Jerry seemed to understand. "You saw him, didn't you, kid?" he queried quietly.
"Yes."
"Did he show you about me?"
"Yes."
"You know, I regret what I did back then."
"Oh, is that so?"
"I didn't mean for that to happen. Lucas was the best kid that I ever stumbled upon, and I was a fool for not realizing that."
"I understand, mister, but I have to go. Too much happened for today, and I hope you don't take that the wrong way. I'm not scared of you, or repulsed. I just, well, I need to rest."
"I understand, kid," Jerry said. "I understand."