The Gifts of Fate

Chapter 9

The book store was quiet. A few of the usual customers visited, but none bought anything. Toward lunchtime Shilpy found herself flicking through the Sydney Morning Herald looking for a distraction from the more immediate concerns over Dusk and the dreams.

Denise was right. It was becoming more and more difficult to control the visions from one day to the next. She needed to figure out how to get rid of them, once this situation was resolved.

The front page of the newspaper outlined the latest in the American political circus, followed by a story outlining the latest in the Australian political circus. It also promised a saucy celebrity scandal on page 5.

Each article held little of interest. Shilpy settled on a story about mindfulness, which seemed appropriate.

The truth was she was less interested in the content of the paper than by the newspaper itself. She didn't usually read the news, but today it was a useful anchor. Something that could keep her present. Shilpy's eyes kept flicking to the date printed in the header: Tuesday, 12 October. She knew where she was and when she was.

With each new vision, her grip on the here and now slipped further away. Had this already happened, is it about to happen, or was it happening right now?

She finished checking the lottery numbers, which amusingly include 12, 10, 20 and 17 - today's date. Shilpy slumped back into her chair wishing someone would buy something. Anything to distract her.

The day remains quiet, lunch passed through to one o'clock, and still, the bookstore found no customers.

If the visions continued, she would need to find some way to track where she was at any one particular point in time. Perhaps she could colour coordinate her clothes, or wear days of the week underwear.

Shilpy's eyes grew heavy, but she dreaded going to sleep. For the past few nights, she'd laid awake praying she wouldn't have another dream. She was becoming scarily intimate with each of the cracks in the ceiling above the bed.

Another student entered the store a little after 2 pm. She browsed through several books but didn't buy anything. Shilpy sighed with exasperation and returned to the uncomfortable chair behind the desk. She was just about to make a coffee when a familiar surge rushed through her mind.

Shilpy gripped the desk until her knuckles turn white. Stay present; please stay present. Then everything slipped away, and she was somewhere else -

#

The alleyway was long and well lit. The cool air chilled her bare arms. Shilpy spun in a slow circle, before recognizing that she stood on Lincoln road, three blocks from their flat. The distant drone of cars from the nearby King st, the main road which runs through Newtown floated over the buildings.

In the distance, she could hear shouting, barking and what sounded like gunfire. She perked her head up trying to sense where the noise is coming from. The sounds shifts to snarling followed by high pitched screaming from several women.

Two men were circling each other at the other end of the road. Wolf raised the Sword of Ponos towards Dusk. Dusk was unarmed. He moved back and forth in a shallow arc, his eyes on Wolf the whole time. Neither man saw Shilpy.

A figure appeared from the opposite end of the alley and sprinted toward both men. It's Hond. He was wearing a white singlet covered in red blood stains. Between his hands, he held a round ball, pulsing with a faint green light, wrapped in one of my old towels. He skids to a halt a few meters from Wolf; his eyes fixed on the two combatants.

Hond looked from Dusk to Wolf and then turned around. Like out of a horror movie the light behind him flickered. The alley erupted into loud barking from dozens of animals. The darkness appeared on the road behind Hond and starts to descend towards the men and Shilpy.