Defying Destiny

- Asha - "It’s cool, right? It’s such a lovely sight," I said, laughing softly. I looked over at a woman walking with her head bowed down. I stroked Sushi’s head and let him fly over toward her. He would keep her company for now, since I needed to head to class. I stood up, brushed off the hem of my skirt, and made my way down to the rooftop railing. "Time to head back to class," I said to myself, stretching my arms. It had become a habit of mine to talk to myself, after all, there was no one else around to talk to properly here at school. "Where have you been off to again, Asha?" asked Mrs. Right, who had never once been wrong. Hahaha. Oh gosh, I’m really being so cheesy. "I’m sorry, Ma’am. "I fell asleep," I replied, scratching my head. She let out a sigh and pointed to my seat. Mrs. Right seemed to be getting grumpier day by day; she was always so serious, and students usually tried to avoid crossing her. I sat down and just stared into space, pretending to listen to her lesson. I couldn’t really blame her for being so bitter about life. Mr. Right had left her when he found out she would never be able to have children again. Truth be told, she already had a child before she met him, who turned out not to be the right person for her anyway. I still don’t understand why fate lets us meet people who end up not being meant for us. Sigh. Well, at least she’ll get to see her child soon. I smiled and looked out the window. That woman I was watching walk earlier. She was Mrs. Right’s daughter from her previous relationship. She was a transfer student, and would be joining her class for her last subject of the day. I let out a quiet laugh. It was going to be an interesting afternoon. "What are you laughing at, Asha?"MrsMrs. Right asked. I just shook my head. It’s okay if people think I’m crazy. I’m happy with what I’m seeing, after all. This is the only thing that makes me feel good, and I’m not going to hold back from it. "Maybe she won’t be able to adjust properly, Ma’am," Sica commented. I ignored her and focused on listening to Mrs. Right. I’m not crazy. I can see the future. I was only in Grade 1 when I first realized that. Flashback... "Dad, a man is coming later. Why does he have a gun?" I asked, as my parents exchanged glances. "Huh? What are you talking about, Asha?" Mom asked. I put down the spoon I was holding and pointed toward the front door. "A man is coming in there. He’s carrying a gun," I said again. I didn’t know where it came from; it just popped into my mind all of a sudden. "Hahaha… you really are a strange child. You’re just dreaming. Finish your food, and we have dessert after," my mother said, fixing my meal for me. "But Mom." I went silent when Dad spoke up. "Eat up, Asha," my father said, so I just nodded. I wanted to tell Dad that I was scared of what I had seen. I saw Mom and Dad bathe in their own blood. I finished my food quickly because I didn’t want Dad to get angry with me. He later drove me to school and went back home, saying he had forgotten something he needed for a meeting later. I wanted to stop him from leaving. "Asha..." I looked up at my teacher, who had suddenly hugged me. "Why are you crying, Teacher?" I asked, but she just shook her head and smiled at me. "Everything will turn out alright, Asha," she said. I nodded, even though I didn’t really understand what she meant. She must have been having problems, because she was crying as she looked down at me. ... School was over. No one had come to pick me up yet. I stayed by my teacher’s side as she locked up the classroom. "Teacher, didn’t Papa call?" I asked, which made her pause. She looked at me and smiled gently. "Come on," she said, taking my hand. I nodded and followed her. I didn’t understand where we were going, but we went to the house of Auntie Jina, who was Mama’s cousin. I just watched them as they talked to each other. Their voices were too soft for me to hear clearly. "Is there a problem?" I asked, but they didn’t answer me. After they finished talking, my teacher turned to face me. "Asha, you will stay here with your Auntie for now, okay?" she said, so I nodded. "Teacher. Did Mom and Dad get bathed in blood again?" I asked. She stepped back in shock and let go of my shoulder. "H-how? How did you know that, Asha?" she asked. She looked so nervous, in a way I couldn’t understand. "I saw it earlier, Teacher. Before I came to school. Did they get bathed in it again? Because isn’t blood sticky? Are they coming to pick me up now?" I didn’t know why I said those things. But then my teacher and Auntie Jina both started crying loudly. They were both crying right in front of me. What was happening? ... "I can’t take care of that monster child anymore!" Auntie Jina shouted. A monster? Was I the monster? "Don’t say that, Jina, she is your niece," my teacher said. She had come to get me because I hadn’t come home the day before, or the day before that, and even the one before that. I had been locked inside my room; Auntie said there was no key, so I had stayed there. "That child is a monster! She said my husband would lose his job, and he actually did lose it! And just now she told me she saw Diz get hit by a truck!" Auntie Jina cried out. It was true. I had seen my cousin, Diz, get hit by a truck right after I woke up, so I had told Auntie Jina when she brought me food from outside the small opening in the room. "Where is your child?" my teacher asked. She looked really panicked. "Outside… he’s on a date right now…” "Why didn’t you stop your son? You know, Asha always tells the truth." My teacher couldn’t finish her sentence when the phone rang. I just watched them from my hiding spot, peeking through the small opening where Auntie used to pass me food. "It has already happened," I whispered softly, and sat down. "No… no. Diz. My son!" She covered her ears. Auntie was crying so hard. I just stared blankly as I heard the door open. She slapped me. Hard. So very hard. I fell to the floor and looked up at her. "You are a monster! You are the one who killed my son!" she screamed. She grabbed me and pushed me hard against the wall. It hurt so much... "Stop it, Jina!" my teacher tried to stop her. "Take this child away, or I might end up hurting her! Get that monster away from me!" she shouted, throwing books from the table at me. My teacher blocked them. "The child is not at fault, Jina! She was just warning you," my teacher said. "Get out! You monster!" she yelled, pulling me out of the room. My teacher followed us. They were both crying, but why… Why couldn’t I cry too? ... End of Flashback Goodness gracious! The classroom was completely empty now. It seemed I had been asleep for quite a while. I stood up and stretched, then noticed Sushi perched on the windowsill. Sushi was a bird. He wasn’t human, and most of the time, no one around me really treated me like a normal person. "Oh Sushi, have you been there for long? Why didn’t you wake me up?" I asked him. Of course, all he did was chirp, "tweet tweet tweet". "I wonder what’s happening with Mrs. Right and her daughter now?" I said, walking out of the classroom. It was a shame I didn’t get to see exactly what happened. But things are always different when they actually take place in real life. I wonder how it all turned out? Do you think they’ll make up and be okay again? "I’m really excited about this, Sushi," I said with a smile as I walked out of the school gates. It was already getting dark. I’m sure Teacher Kilian is already worried about me. It would be hard to forget that feeling. I could already picture how panicked Teacher Kilian would look when she realized I had stopped at the street corner. "Sushi," I called out to him, as he suddenly took flight. "Don’t fly off like that so carelessly!" someone shouted, so I looked over toward the alleyway. "Tsk!" the man holding his side groaned. "This bullshit really is so arrogant and full of itself!" shouted another man holding a pipe, ready to swing it at him. "POLICE HERE, POLICE ARE HERE! THEY ARE RIGHT HERE!" I yelled, pretending to point out where the police were standing from where I was. The three rough-looking men turned to look at me, swore loudly, threw their pipes at the man, and ran away. "Just kidding. There’s no police. Hehe," I whispered softly, walking over to the man. "Are you still alive?" I asked him. He just gave me a sharp glare, then stood up, holding his side, and walked away. He was really so angry and hot-tempered. I just stood there, watching him walk away. "That guy… he doesn’t have any future at all."