GIVE IT A TRY
1098 Words
Aklan
The first time my powers developed, I was 3 years old and the first person’s future I saw was Mother’s. I still remember it as clear as day. Mother was lying breathless on the ground in a pool of blood. Her blood.
As a child, I wailed thinking it was a bad dream but when I was 6 and got to understand my powers, I lived in anxiety everyday that one day Mother was going to die. The fact that I didn’t know when it would happen was enough to drive me crazy.
A year later, when I was 7, Mother and I went on a trip together. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life but then we got attacked. Scared that my nightmare about Mother’s death would come to pass that day, I had my first kill.
I didn’t feel bad about it. All that ran through my mind was that I protected Mother. I thought those nightmares would stop but they never did. I kept on seeing Mother’s death every time I looked at her. That was the first time I wished I didn’t have my power. I hated it and made a pact with Cali not to use our powers on Mother.
When father died, I became more scared to lose Mother so I told her about my vision about her death.
“Since when have you been seeing it?” Mother had asked.
“Since I was 3”
“Make a promise to me, Aklan”
“What is it, Mother?”
“Don’t tell your brothers what you just told me, okay?”
“Mot—”
“Promise me, Aklan Taylor!” Mother had yelled. She barely called me by my full name. if she ever did, that meant she was serious.
“I promise”
“I’ll tell you something, Aklan. Once you and your brothers get yourself a mate and claim the throne, I’ll look for a way to remove your powers. For now, you need them to be an alpha, do you understand?”
“Yes, Mother”
Ever since then, I’d tried to distract myself from the vision about Mother’s death by chasing girls and acting nonchalant all the time but it worked only for a moment. I was getting crazier the more I bottled it up.
When Kaia came along, I was doing fine using her as a distraction as she was the first person whose future I couldn’t see. Everything about her was like drawing a blank. That blank for a short moment made me forget the vision that had haunted me for many years.
But Cali chewing me out as if I was responsible for Kaia’s safety irritated me. Even if I could see a vison where she dies, why would I want to save her when I couldn’t even save my own Mother? The f*ck!
“Aklan, I just asked you a question” Cali repeats. “Is Mother going to die?”
“Everyone dies someday, Cali. I was just talking nonsense because I’m stressed. I’m calling it a night”
Brushing pass Cali, I approached Mother and Kaia. “Mother, I’m calling it a night. Let’s continue our conversation some other time”
“Sure”
My gaze falls on Kaia whom was still shaking visibly. I guess I should ask her how she was holding up as it would seem weird to Mother if I didn’t. “Are you alright? I heard Xendith walked in on you in the bathroom”
“I’m just shaken up. Thanks for asking”
“Try to sleep early. You know you have school tomorrow with Pliar”
“I will”
With that said, I made my way up to my bedroom. There, I find Xendith infront of my doorstep. I groaned. “Not tonight, Xendith”
“I just wanted to apologize for earlier” He says. “I overstepped my boundaries and for that, I’m sorry”
Weird. It was weird of Xendith to apologize out of nowhere, I nearly got goosebumps. “Since you’re in the mood of throwing apologies, why don’t you tender one to Kaia? You have the poor girl shaking in her boot after harassing her the way you did”
Xendith frowned. “It wasn’t intentional”
“Yeah, whatever” I was about to bypass Xendith and walk into my room when I noticed blood on Xendith’s arm. Alarmed, I asked. “Xendith, what happened to you?”
Why? How couldn’t I have seen this coming? I thought when the day comes that Mother takes my powers from me, I’d be happy but now it seemed like going a day without seeing something happen to my brothers made me anxious.
“Ah, this?” He says, referring to his bleeding arm. “It happened during the blackout. As I was trying to leave Kaia’s bathroom, the light fell on me”
Liar. “And you couldn’t out speed it?” Why did I even bother asking? “Ask Pliar to heal it for you if your ego doesn’t get in the way too much. I’m going to bed”
Just as I was about to turn on the door knob to my room, Xendith holds my wrist. “I couldn’t help overhearing what you and Cali were talking about. Mother isn’t going to die or anything, is she? If she was, you wouldn’t keep that a secret from us, right?”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“Because Mother would never tell us. She’s not the sort of person that would even write ‘I’m dying tomorrow’ plastered all over her forehead even if she was”
“I don’t know anything about Mother’s fate” I lie. “I don’t use my powers on her, remember?”
“Still—"
“Everyone dies, Xendith” I interrupt. “Caspian, Mother and I knew when Father was going to die but could we stop it?”
“We were still kids back then but now we have what it takes to protect Mother”
“Protect Mother?” I laughed so hard tears rolled down my cheeks. “The same you who couldn’t out speed a falling light in the dark wants to protect Mother?”
If I couldn’t do it; what makes you think you can, Xendith? But, maybe I should put my trust in Xendith just this once.
“Then, go for it” I challenged. “I’d like to see you try”
- Writer
