Young Writers Society

"So Ayana, looks like you might be the best seer in our class." Leonora said as the two students paced against the wind to their shift at the Red Griffin Pub.

"What do you mean?" Ayana said.

"Haven't you heard? Your old boyfriend's going to be in town for awhile. One of your visions might come true!" Leonora spun around as she spoke, sending her red skirt swishing out around her.

"Calvin?" Ayana's eyes grew wide and she blushed. "He...he was never my boyfriend. We were just friends. Then he had to leave for vet school." She brushed at her jeans.

"Just friends. Uh-huh, sure. Anyway, his grandma left the hatchery in quite a state, so he's sticking around to help his family sort it out." Leonora walked faster to match her friend's pace. "We should totally get together with him! Didn't you say in all the visions the two of you were together?"

Ayana pulled her coat closer around her, partially from being cold and partially from nervousness. "That can't happen. I can't be right about that."

"What do you mean? Isn't this a good thing?" Leonora looked at her quizzically, flipping her brown hair over her shoulder.Leonora was a good friend, but sometimes she just didn't get it. She'd just turned twenty and she was still such a romantic.

"Come on, Lee. You know how we can see a million different variations of the same day?" Ayana said. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail. It was hard to talk with her hair constantly blowing around her face so she made a habit of keeping hair ties in her purse.

"Well, you can. I can only see two or three at best. But then, I'm not half as talented as you." Leonora gave her a playful punch.

"Yeah, well anyway...I can't go see Calvin. I can't take that chance. Couldn't even go to his grandmother's funeral. Not after what I've seen..." She shook her head, not wanting to continue. They had just reached the pub, giving her an excuse to cut off the conversation. The pub's wooden door slammed behind them. It was a lot lighter then it looked so that happened a lot.

The first two hours of Ayana's shift were busy, providing a welcome distraction from the visions she'd had. She'd had a talent for divination since her early days of school, being able to see not just the myriad possibilities but the little details that one could use to steer their futures toward the desired path. After a couple more years honing her craft, she'd have her official Seer license and make a living guiding other people's futures. She lost herself in the monotony of working the tables, in the hysteria of someone making a fuss over a stupid mistake, and everything in between.

She was bringing a platter of food to a large table when the familiar headaches started. Her hands were shaking as she handed out the dishes as quickly as possible before retreating to the back room. She had just made it when the world went black.

First, his screams. Then the cry of the Rogue Griffin. Generations of his family had worked to tame the beasts, but sometimes one would channel their wild roots and attack a human. She opened her eyes knowing exactly what she would see. A flurry of feathers. His navy blue shirt, stained with blood. She ran to him, squeezing his hand as she struggled to recall even a simple healing spell. She'd barely passed those classes years ago. She looked around, hoping that someone would be around to help them, anyone. She could call the Healing Mage Service, but it would be too late.

"Oh Calvin, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..." she whispered...

A bag of ice on her head brought her back to reality. Easiest way to snap a Seer out of a vision. Leonora's dark eyes stared back at her. She lead her to a bench on the far wall. They sat there in silence for a moment, Leonora holding her hands.

"You okay, Ayana? Seems like you had quite a vision there."

Ayana took a few deep breaths before answering. "Lee, this is what I was talking about. I just saw Calvin die. Again."

"What? You never told me about seeing that."

"Well, there have been some good ones..." She smiled as she thought of the one where she was walking through a garden with him, hand in hand. "But I've been having too many of the bad ones lately. Sometimes it's a Rogue Griffin, sometimes lightning, sometimes I'm with him and his heart just...stops. And I can't save him. Other times it's you, or his mother, and sometimes it's not a death it's just someone loses their job or gets kicked out of school. I just..." Ayana looked at the floor.

"So that's why you're avoiding him?" Leonora asked. Ayana nodded. "That's ridiculous, Ayana. You know that none of those visions are set in stone--that's Divination 101. And what if the risk is worth seeing him again? At least to find out if you guys have a future for real." She gave Ayana a gentle nudge and smiled at her. Ayana just looked the other way.

"Come on, cheer up." Leonora said, giving her a huge grin. Ayana forced a smile.

She stood and fixed her hair. "I have to get back to work now," She said and headed for the door. Leonora watched her go, unsure if she should try to make her take the day off or not. Ayana was right, though, they did need to get back to work. Leonora sighed and joined her.

---

He walked in. It was only a few days after her conversation with Leonora. She was cleaning tables after the lunch rush when she heard him talking to her boss. She tried not to listen to what they where saying.

She saw the hostess seat him. She wiped the same spot on the table for a third time without noticing. That was one of her tables. Crap.

Malinda was walking toward her now. She busied herself with the cleaning, hoping the hostess would offer to take the table for her. The staff here were great about helping each other. It was the biggest reason she and Leonora worked there.

"You know that guy?" Malinda asked her. "He requested one of your tables."

Ayana dropped her washcloth. "No, I mean yeah. I know him. But you can't put him at my table." She glanced over at him. He was looking around the room, taking in the decor. Instead of turning around like any normal person he bent over the back of his chair to look at the far wall. That was definitely Calvin. "I, uhh," she couldn't think of an excuse "you see, um..."

"Okay, okay, don't freak out on me, Ayana. I'll tell him you're busy and ask Elana to get the table" Ayana thanked her and picked up her cloth from the floor. She got a fresh one and continued cleaning.Only a few minutes went by before a hand tapped her on the shoulder.

"Thought you could avoid me forever, huh?" His voice sounded so familiar, and yet so much steadier somehow. The voice brought back another vision, this time from the past. He had been helping her with Alchemy homework, as he had for years, when she looked at him and noticed his stubbled jawline, his blue eyes, even his scent, and she knew he wasn't a boy anymore. Back then, she wanted nothing more than to get closer, but now she couldn't.

Ayana turned around, struggling to find the right words to say. "Calvin! I'm so sorry about your grandmother." Even as she said it, she cursed herself for sounding so generic.

"You know, I kind of figured you would come to the funeral or send a card or something. What's going on, Ayana?" He looked really good in that navy blue shirt. Just like right before he gets attacked by the Rogue Griffin. Her heart began to beat faster.

"Calvin, I'm sorry but I can't be around you right now. I just can't." Ayana started to walk away, but Calvin stopped her again. She needed to get away from him. She needed to be able to think. She needed her heart to quit beating so fast.

"Come on, Ayana. You really think after years of being friends, I'd accept that? I know I could have ended things differently, but you have to let me talk to you." His eyes seemed to stare straight down into the shadowy places of her soul, just like they had when she asked him to dance at the Winter Formal in their last year of basic schooling. But just as friends, not getting too close, staying a safe distance apart. Now she needed to stay even further away. "I shouldn't have left things like that. I'm so sorry, Aya." He said.

"It's not that, Calvin. It's just...it's hard to explain. Now I have to get back to work, okay?" This time he let her go.

It was a long day, as usual. With classes in the morning then work in the afternoon and evening she was already exhausted. She was not looking forward to finishing the laundry once she got home.

Calvin was waiting just outside the tavern, his scruffy mahogany hair being battered about by the wind.She tried to just walk past him, pretending not to notice him, but he caught her by the elbow.

"Ayana, please. Just let me take you out to lunch, okay? I'd love to hear how divination school is going."

She hesitated. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with him completely. She remembered how funny he sounded before his accent had lessened, how he couldn't make complete sentences when he was tired, how they used to make up all kinds of silly inside jokes. All of her old feelings slammed into her at once. How much harm could one meal do?

A lot, if she remembered their last lunch together before he went off to vet school correctly. She'd finally decided to tell him how she felt, even though she'd never seen anything about it--not something she usually did. He'd said she was so beautiful, but he couldn't risk hurting her in a long distance relationship. He'd called after that, apologized, and they tried to stay in touch. However, as time went on, they slipped into their new adult worlds and talked less and less. But he was here now, for who knows how long. For just a little while he was with her again. Besides, no one said a single meal would cause a catastrophe. Right?

"Fine. I'm free Friday. Meet me here at 12. Oh, and don't wear navy." She smiled with a blush and continued on her way.

---

Ayana was waiting outside the pub fifteen minutes early. There was a slight breeze, the cool air biting at the back of her neck while the warmth of the sun played across her face, toying with her dark brown hair. Spring had always been her favorite season, but it was hard to enjoy with this burden resting on her shoulder.

"Hey Aya!" Leonora called from down the street. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk as she jogged up. Today she was wearing a yellow sundress. It almost clashed with her skin tone, but not quite enough for Ayana to say something. If Leonora liked it then that was good enough.

"Hey, thanks for coming." Ayana said.

"Sure thing, but don't you think it's a little weird? Me just dropping in on a date like this?" Leonora said, standing next to her.

"No, this isn't a date, just a meeting between friends. I"m sure he'd love to see you again." Even as she said it she knew Leonora wouldn't believe her. She'd worn her favorite dark green blouse. It was a special occasion.

"I barely knew him. The only time I ever saw him was when you invited us to the same events."

"But still..." Ayana blushed "I don't know if I can do this without some support."

Leonora gave her a playful punch. "You'll do fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about! What if another sign shows up?"

"You just worry too much." Leonora said "Look here he comes! What's he wearing?"

Sure enough Calvin was coming down the street from the opposite direction. He was wearing a loud pink shirt paired with jeans. Ayana couldn't help but laugh.

They'd first become friends right after Calvin had moved to Arema. Originally he was from a smaller nation with a name she couldn't even remember, much less pronounce. Once he'd moved her she'd gotten a kick out of making up stupid traditions and watching him embarrass himself. One of which was that it was custom to always wear a color that starts with the same letter as the day of the week. The only "F" color he could think of was fuchsia. So for the first three months in his new school he wore pink every single Friday until one of his friends had the guts to ask him why. It was by far one of the funniest conversations she'd ever witnessed.

"Hey Ayana!" He beamed, the turned to Leonora "It's Lee Anne, right?" He offered his hand.

"Nope!" She teased, shaking hands with him.

"Lyn?" He said.

"Still, no, first guess was closer" She giggled at him.

"Leah?" He was genuinely perplexed now.

"Guh, it's Leonora. Just Lee's fine though."

"Oh, okay, sorry about that" His blush was made considerably worse by his shirt and the touch of red in his hair. "Let's go get something to eat. There's this cool Mylonian restaurant around the corner. Wanna go there?"

"Sure" Leonora said. Ayana just nodded and started walking. She'd just eaten there a week before, but it didn't really matter.

The walk there was quiet. Leonora would occasionally prod Ayana, but she just couldn't think of anything to say. Calvin seemed deep in thought. She'd never known his grandmother very well, but she knew how much she'd meant to Calvin. She had so many stories of their homeland, where the griffins she'd devoted her life to came from. Her devotion to the beasts had inspired Calvin to become a veterinarian for magical creatures. It must have been hard for her to leave her life behind and come here with Calvin and his parents.

On the outside the restaurant didn't really stand out. It was a dull gray building with two medium sized windows on either side of a brown door. "Dido's Mylonian Cuisine" was written in scrawling script above the door.

They ate lunch and chatted for a while, mostly small talk about school. Ayana looked around the tiny restaurant for a while. She'd seen this place, even before she'd eaten there last week. The brown paneling, the old-fashioned green tiles, the wilting daisies in the blue pot on the counter top, the overwhelming spiciness of Mylonian food. She tried desperately to remember where these flickers of visions came from, whether there was happiness or tragedy at the end of this scene, but all the fragments stayed mixed in her head. Focusing visions was the most difficult part of being a Seer, even for someone with a natural talent for it like herself. She had taken to writing them down in a journel, but she'd forgotten it at home. She'd have to double check that she hadn't caused something awful once she got home.

"Well, I'm going to go study for that palm reading test on Friday. See you guys later." Leonora winked at Ayana and headed toward the door. Ayana scowled and followed her.

She caught up with Leonora just as they reached the door. "Are you insane, Lee? You promised you'd stay with me. All the signs are here, but I can't tell how this is going to end." Ayana whispered so Calvin wouldn't hear them.

"Not even the greatest Seers who have ever lived could tell you the whole future. Too many possibilities. You know that, Aya. I don't think it's just your visions you're afraid of."

"Wow, Lee, you almost sounded wise there." Ayana laughed.

"I'm serious. Don't lose him this time." Leonora whispered, glancing in his direction. He was trying to wait patiently, but it was obvious how nervous he was. "Now, nothing interesting is going to happen if I stick around. Tell me about it tomorrow." Leonora winked and headed out the door.

"Thanks a lot" Ayana called after her. She returned to the table reluctantly.

"You haven't said much." Calvin said between bites "Well, that is other than stuff about the weather, school, and food. How have you been?" He waved his spoon around in the air while he spoke flicking a few little droplets of soup off.

"I've been fine." Ayana said, suddenly very interested in a painting. It was a landscape next to the see. The beach was a stark yellow, with tall trees that had huge leaves at the top. The ocean reflected the purples and oranges of the sunset. She didn't know where it was a painting of, but obviously not anywhere around here. She wondered what it would be like to sink her toes in the sand, Calvin by her side...No. She must not think such thoughts. Daydreaming about Calvin wouldn't bring anything good around.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He reached across the table and poked her. She rolled her eyes.Not the poke wars again.

"I just have a lot of things on my mind." Ayana said. "Outside of that it's all good."

"It's a vision, isn't it?" He looked her directly in the eyes, missed his bowl and planted his spoon on the blue table cloth. He quickly slipped into his bowl, hoping Ayana hadn't noticed. She always noticed.

She glanced away from him. She knew he could read her face anyway, but she couldn't bring herself to actually say yes.

"What happened?" He reached his hand across the table and placed it on top of hers.

They'd only held hands a few times in the past, but each time it had seemed so casual. Him helping her out of the car, trying to get her on a new roller coaster, or them picking on another friend about how clingy she was with her boyfriend. This carried so much more weight to it then any of those.

"There are a lot" She said. "If anything happens between us something terrible happens. That's why I didn't want to see you"

He gave a small laugh, but his eyes said he was serious. Those light blue eyes that reflected the light, in which all his past experiences played. Those eyes where never just a window to his soul, they'd always been a reflection of her own too. If she'd been gifted in art instead of divination that would've been her life's work, capturing those eyes in a painting.

"You know that you can't control the future" He squeezed her hand. "Even if I never see you again, you don't know that those things won't happen."

"Then what do you expect me to do!" Her voice grew louder with each word, her hands began to shake. She was scared, so, so, scared.

Calvin waited a second for her relax. "I don't think these visions are so that you can change the future. I think they're there to give us a chance to prove how much we love something. That the possible consequences are really worth what we have right now."

She stood up, looking directly into his eyes. Was he ready to accept his own death, simply to be with her? He didn't know that. He couldn't know that. What if it was Leonora? What if it was her?

"I need to go." Ayana whispered, pulling her hand from his. She walked calmly out of the restaurant. Calvin stood to watch her go. Once she was outside she ran.

---

The gray clouds should have dampened the day, but through the holes the sun's rays could be seen. It really was amazing, how much more beautiful they where when surrounded by gray.

Ayana walked solemnly toward Calvin's childhood home. She didn't know where he was staying, she hadn't bothered to ask. Even if he wasn't there his parents would tell her where he was.

On Friday it had been warm enough for her to wear her short sleeves but only two days later she was wearing her coat again. Chances were in a few more days she'd be wearing shorts. That's how it was here though, the heat refused to stick until summer when it turned to a heat that would send her sensitive little brother inside for fear of overexertion. She needed to visit him, it'd been a while.

His house was rather small, but it was well built, and that's what really matters. Ayana knew from experience what it was like to live in a drafty house in the middle of winter.

She knocked. He was wearing that blue shirt. Why does he like that stupid blue shirt so much? He leaned against the door frame. She let out her breath with a slight quaver.

"What's up?" He asked.

His smile was lopsided. In some ways Ayana had always known, but she'd never really noticed before. He smiled with his eyes too, though.

"Do you want to, um..." She hadn't thought that far ahead. In all honesty, she hadn't thought ahead at all. She wanted to find closure, but she had no idea how to do that.

"Go for a walk?" He finished for her.

She gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, that"

He closed the door and hopped down the front steps. When he looked over his shoulder at her his hair swished across his forehead. It was so bouncy.

She followed him. She had thought he meant to walk down the road toward town, but he turned and went around the house. Behind the house was the edge of a small forest.

Ayana brushed her hair behind her ear. She jogged a few paces to catch up with him, dislodging her hair. She tucked it back again.

The sun peeked out from the clouds just long enough to shine through the first spring leaves. She stopped dead in her tracks. Which vision was that? Was it the one where Calvin died by the griffin? Or maybe it was the one where her dad lost his job...

"Are you okay?" Calvin asked.

Ayana nodded. She couldn't make herself walk. She couldn't wish that fate on someone else just because of her own selfish desires. Why had she even come here in the first place? She was being so stupid.

He walked over and put his arms around her. "It's okay"

How could he know? He had no idea what she'd seen. He didn't understand the weight resting on her. He couldn't understand.

She sank into his embrace, shaking. "No, no it's not."

"Ayana, this isn't your job." He pulled back far enough to look her in the eyes.

She tried to tell him that yes, it was, but she couldn't make the words come out. She just stood there, looking into those blue eyes.

"I remember, right before I left for school, you told me about when you first started seeing." He pulled her in tightly again. "Your favorite teacher, what was her name, Miss Shayburn, she told you that a seer's job is to make sure that every moment is treasured." He ran his hand up and down her back. She could feel her fear beginning to ebb away."Things will happen as they happen. I like to believe that everything has a reason." He stroked her hair. Why was he being so touchy? "Seeing something terrible doesn't mean you need to prevent it, it means you need to make sure every moment leading up to it is lived out fully."

It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't holding her. She could have ignored him. She could have written it off as him making things up. How did he know that that was all it took to touch her soul? Of course he knew, he always had.

They stood there for a moment. Or maybe it was eternity.

"Thank you." she whispered. They pulled apart, their hands still linked.

They walked through the woods together. He didn't try to talk to her, only holding her hand when she tripped once. They were simply there together, and that was enough.