A Glimpse Into the Future
"Something about the sight of a carriage about to claim her life was no longer scary. Why would you be scared of something that you knew wouldn't hurt you?'
A young girl, around the age of seven, skipped happily down the sidewalk. Hand in hand with a man in his early thirties. "Petra," the called while looking down at his daughter with a smile, "everyone inside Wall Rose will think it's raining if you keep splashing in the puddles like that. Plus, you'll get a cold." The young girl in question looked up at the sound of her name. "It's fine daddy," the lively girl stated with a faint giggle, "I heard the lady owning the flower shop near our house complaining about there not being enough rain lately." The man replied by letting out a short laugh, rolling in his eyes in amusement. She clearly knew the flower shop wasn't open this time of year. 'She's growing up to fast for my liking,' he thought silently before returning his hazel gaze to the road ahead of him, 'Chantal would be proud.' The feeling of Petra's hand escaping from his own brought Alain's thought process to a stop. It was his daughter's seventh birthday today, and he wasn't about to ruin Petra's cheery mood by thinking of her late mother anyways.
The December air sent a nipping chill down Petra's spine as she ran a few feet ahead of her father. She pulled her scarf higher up her neck in a weak attempt to trap more body heat in her jacket. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to jump in slushy puddles of snow….A sudden sparkle of light in the corner of her eye drew Petra's attention from her thoughts. It wasn't the window display off to her right that drew her attention; it was the jewelry that was inside of it. A necklace with a simple silver chain lay on a lavender pillow. The chain was attached to tiny white diamonds connected to each other in a shape of a teardrop. One orange diamond, bigger than the rest, was in the middle of the teardrop in its own water drop cut. Petra couldn't help but stare at the necklace. Maybe it was how the color of the middle diamond was so familiar to her hair that made her adore it. Even so, she knew that her dad wasn't the richest man in the world, so she didn't expect much for her birthday, but that doesn't mean the bright eyed girl didn't enjoy looking at all the fancy items for sale in the shops around town. Just as quickly as she stopped to gaze as the necklace, Petra took off running down the sidewalk again. Her breath created puffs of fog behind her as she ran along, glancing over her shoulder every once in a while to check if her father was still following her. Bright copper hair danced wildly in the night air before coming to a gentle rest at Petra's shoulder blades. "Hey dad," she whispered, vibrant amber eyes staring down an eerie alleyway, "do…you hear that?" Alain finally caught up to his daughter, panting slightly, finding her staring down into the alley's dreary ambience. The faint sound of scuffling echoed off the alley's walls. "Sweetie, it's probably just a stray animal. Let's keep walking," Alain said dismissively before trying to turn his daughter away from the alley's shadows. Petra shrugged his hand off her shoulder. Her nose was cutely scrunched up with her eyebrows furrowed. She was thinking about something. Suddenly, a young scrawny cat jumped out a crate near the Petra. It looked up at the pair of humans with a flick of the tail. "Dad, look! It's just a cat. If I catch it, can I keep it?" the seven year old asked excitedly. Alain let out a defeated sigh, "Yes, but only because it's you're birthday." There was no stopping this girl once she had an idea in her head. Stubborn: just like her mother. The cat darted in-between Petra's legs, followed by an excited yelp from the girl. The young girl gave chase to the feline, her father reluctantly following. But something about this scene was all too familiar for Petra…Oddly enough; she knew exactly where the cat would end up and turned running into the street. The cat didn't know what was happening until it was too late. Holding out her arms, the alley cat basically jumped into Petra's embrace. Her laughs of victory were soon replaced by screams of terror as a runaway carriage blindly turned the street corner and was barreling towards her. Petra was frozen in place, her hold on the cat tightening. Her screams only lasted for a second or so before dying off. Something about the sight of a carriage about to claim her life was no longer scary. Why would you be scared of something that you knew wouldn't hurt you? This though traveled through Petra's mind until the panicked yells of her father broke her from her thoughts. The next thing her mind registered was the feeling of damp concrete slamming into her back, the sounds of heart wrenching screams, and echoes of snapping bones.
After a while, the honey-eyed girl regained her bearings and sat up from the ground with a groan. Something squirmed in her arms. Glancing down, Petra found the alley cat still in her grasp. If the cat was here, where was her dad? "Petra…." a hoarse voice called. Instinctively looking in the direction where her name was called, Petra found her father. He dad laid there on the ground, surrounded by military policeman, looking up at her. His skin was paler than normal and his right shin was twisted in the most unnatural angle. She could see something white too. Bone perhaps? 'He must have pushed me out of the way,' she finally concluded as she noticed small shards of broken carriage wood scattered across the road. The sight usually would've scared any other kid her age, but strangely enough, Petra wasn't scared of surprised. Her blood simply turned cold from realization. The huge wave of Déjà vu she had from the very beginning finally disappeared and was replaced by guilt. Petra now knew why the carriage didn't scare her. She saw all of this before. The cat, her running, the necklace, and everything leading up to the carriage. It was all in her dreams the night before. Petra had a glimpse into the future, and she did absolutely nothing to change it.
Alright! So, this is my first fanfic. Please, please, please leave any comments regarding the story or if you have any tips on how I could improve my writing.
Since Petra means stone, I figured I'd make her parent's names mean the same thing. Kinda clever right? Alain and Chantal both mean stone or boulder in some way. This is most likely rated M just because I don't know how detailed I want to get with Levi and Petra later on.
Lots of Love from Different ^.^