The Parting Glass

I can recall the day that changed me forever, all due to the odious curse which plagues my life, like it was yesterday. Every tiny detail etched into my memory with color and shading, tattooed onto my brain permanently. I've long since been able to cope with this ability that affects my life daily but Gideon thinks that writing everything down for you is a good idea. I have to agree, but before I can reveal my story to you, dear friend, I suppose I should explain who I am and what I can do.

I assume you already know that dreams are a complex, tricky concept. Your subconscious is reviewing all of the information you took in that day and your mind is taken places and you're able to do things that science has ruled out as impossible. It's quite impressive, how our minds work.

I always remember my dreams, always. Ever since I was a young child, I never forgot my dreams, they always seemed more vivid; when I woke up, the more important aspects of my dreams would stick to my mind like when Gideon forgot to use Pam when trying to bake chicken. Gideon is the only person who's ever understood my predicament, he's also the only person I've ever known to burn water while trying to make pasta.

Unlike the rest of humanity, my dreams seem to work in reverse. Instead of coping with the events of that day, I dream of the events that happen tomorrow. The first time I caught a glimpse of this ability was when I was in third grade. I had a dream that the heavens opened up and M&Ms came pouring down on the streets of London, fulfilling every child's dream. The next day, I was sitting on the bus going to school when a large boy in the fifth grade tripped and his packet of M&M's went flying, drops of colorful chocolate raining down on my head. 

At the time, of course, I believed it to be mere coincidence. However, similar events began to happen periodically on much broader scales, like when I dreamed of an alien invasion that destroyed an entire city foreshadowing the 9/11 attack in America which happened the next morning,  to small and petty events, like my M&M ordeal.  

Now, even after all of these years, I still don't know whether I predict coming events or if I cause them. However, the ability to alter the delicate balance of time and space frightens me to no end. Hence my reason for settling on the matter that I can foresee coming events.

Now that you know my background, you may have an easier time understanding the day I thought to be my last. I can distinctly picture the vivid dream I had the night before I awoke, drenched in a cold sweat and crying like a frightened child. I was running down a busy street, one that could only be found in a big city, and I was desperate to reach my unknown destination before it got too late. People who were too absorbed in their own lives pushed past me with agitation and callousness. I kept running with all the energy I could muster and when I felt like my cardio system was about to implode, something snapped in the structure of the building above me. Debris and stone collapsed on top of my worn-down frame, suffocating me and muffling the screams that tried to claw their way up my throat. I bolted upright in bed crying and trembling like a bedraggled, wet puppy. 

Gideon, startled by my sudden outburst in the dark, yelped and tumbled out of his bed spilling his sleep laden body onto the floor. 

"Jeezus, Felix! What-What's wrong?" he mumbled as he struggled to stand up. 

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die today. Oh God..." My words fell out of my mouth like a jigsaw puzzle, I couldn't think straight, nothing in my body seemed to be functioning. Gideon began turning on lights in our dorm room. He looked pale and ashen in the dim lamp light. "What are you talking about, man?"

"Something is gonna happen today... Something that will kill me... Oh God no, I'm gonna die."

"Shh, no no, calm down, just calm down, I need you to calmly explain what's going on. What happened to you?" he was now standing over my bed and gently shaking my shoulders.