Chapter 1

The night before The Revelation, I had that dream again. The dream wasn't something clear, it was a blend of blurred pictures which, inexplicably, gave me chills and a feeling of anxiety. There were people screaming and running and then these pictures suddenly switched to others, with a group of very pale people walking confident on the street, with a building on fire behind them. I couldn't figure out what was all about and that was frustrating. I had that dream a few days ago before that night, but now the panic was more intense. But surprisingly, after I woke up, all the fear disappeared and I was strangely calm. In fact, everything was normal and calm that morning; nobody could had said that day was the end of the world we used to know.

The day started as always. I woke up at eight a.m. and took a hot shower, got dressed for school and went down to the kitchen. Me and my family- mom, dad and my little sister Melanie- lived in that kind of tight house between other tight houses in fabulous New York. My family was already there, eating. The radio was turned on and my parents were commenting the news. Nothing special or odd. I sat down at the table next to my sister Melanie- we all called her Mely. She was devouring a huge sandwich.

"I think the sandwich is going to eat you." I joked.

Mely gave me a big and warm smile. She was just seven years old and in second grade. Her brown hair was falling in waves on her shoulders. Too young and too innocent for what was coming.

"Good morning, Lara." she said shaking her little hand. "How did you sleep?"

Lara. This is me. A seventeen years old girl with black long hair, pale skin and brown, almost black, eyes.

"Fine." But it was a lie. The dream was still in my head, something unclear, like a fog. I turned at my mother. "Hello, mom. Breakfast?"

She smiled and pushed in front of me a plate.

"Eggs and bacon. Again." I muttered. "When are you going to do pancakes?"

"Tomorrow, okay?" Then she turned back to her conversation with dad.

Now they were talking about their jobs. Mom was very excited about her new project. Mom was a reporter. She worked for an important newspaper from New York, so to see her at tv or on the street, somewhere in the city where something interesting just happened, with Timothy, the cameraman, wasn't something unusual. My dad was a lawyer. Serious at work and funny at home.

"Girls, are you ready for school?" asked mom after I finished my breakfast. "Ok, then let's go."

Dad gave her a short kiss and Mely giggled. I gave Mely a sidelong glance.

"Don't laugh. Someday you'll have a boyfriend and he'll kiss you too, duck." I said caressing her hair.

I liked to call her 'duck' because her favorite toy since she was three years old was a yellow duck.

"I hope not too soon." joked dad.

I and Mely sat on the backseat of mom's car, a little blue BMW. We headed to school in a slow rhythm- usual for New York's traffic. I and Mely go to different schools-mine is just for high school grades- but they are close.

"It's a beautiful day." Remarked mom while waiting at the semaphore. She arranged her ponytail. "A good day for an explosive new."

I looked at the bright blue sky and agreed with her. There was no cloud, the sun was shinning, giving the day an optimistic feeling. But I didn't feel very optimistic. I told myself everything was going to be just fine, but a vague feeling of fear kept messing with my stomach, like there was going to happen something that nobody expects, but it was going to be…big.

I tried to throw away that unpleasant feeling and focus on what this day seemed to be: a beautiful day of September.

The first stop was Mely's school. She hugged me then rushed out the car. I looked at her while she happily greeted her friends. She was always happy and optimistic and found the best thing in everything that I was a little jelous of her bliss.

"She's so cute." said mom and the car continued its road.

"Yes, she is. Mom?"

"Yeah, darling?" asked mom a little distracted.

"What is that project or what is it you where talking about with dad?"

"Oh, just…" she waved her hand to show it wasn't very important, but she seemed a little flattered. "I'll be the reporter send by my newspaper at the opening of a gallery. One very important, this week-end. We'll all go."

"Sounds nice." I smiled. "I have a reason to buy a new dress."

"And shoes." said mom with a grin. "Maybe we can go today, after school to the mall, what do you say?"

"How can I refuse something like this?" I answered smiling.

But I still had that feeling of panic in my stomach, like a claw tightening my intestines. Everything will be alright, I said to myself. But soon I was going to learn that I should have trusted my feelings.

Mom left me in front of my high school. Seeing my friends made me feel more relaxed, and I scanned the school yard and finally I saw my best friend, Andi- short form for Andrea- and headed to her. She smiled at me, then pointed to the girl next to her, Isla- more exactly, to the girl's purple purse. Andi mouthed "Awesome" then came running to me.

"Hi, friend!" she said. "Saw that purse? Amazing!"

"Yeah, amazing." We started walk towards school. "You know Isla is a fashion icon."

Isla was that kind of popular girl always having the latest clothes and accessories.

Today, I was wearing a short- but not vulgarly short-, black skirt with pink dots, a dark pink t-shirt and short black boots. I also put a little gloss on my lips. It was a new lip-stick, and I wanted to try it. Andi was wearing jeans and a lot of shiny bracelets.

"I love Mondays." said Andi. "They are little new beginnings."

Yes, today was Monday, the last Monday from September. School had started for a while- almost a month. So it was, like I said, just an ordinary day- but not for too long.

Andi told me all her week-end adventures. She went with her family to some relatives from Indiana and had a great time. I stood home, read and watched cartoons with Mely.

"So," she said as we approached my classroom, "next hour we both have English, right?"

"Right."

"See you there!" she said and then caught up a classmate. "Wait for me, Matt!"

I giggled as she grabbed Matt's arm, throwing upon him a flood of greetings. Poor Matt.

I entered my Spanish classroom. The panic I felt before vanished. Being with my classmates, with my best friend, just relaxed me, because all seemed so normal. If everybody was behaving normal, why shouldn't I do the same?

With a relieved sigh, I settled next to Steve. Steve, with brown hair and warm brown eyes, nodded at me with a smile. I got on well with Steve, and last year I dated him two weeks. He was a nice guy, but our relationship wasn't something serious, just a short crush. We remained friends.

I gave him a large smile in return, then the teacher came in.