Sarah Williams did not believe in coincidences. That was why, instead of ignoring all of the signs, she grew suspicious of them. At first, they were just little things. Ordinary things, like one of her students giving her a fruit, but in lieu of the stereotypical apple, it was a peach. Nothing suspicious about that. Still, Sarah was certain that her distrust toward the sweet and succulent fruit had been evident through her hesitation. Nevertheless, she had accepted it with a forced smile as not to hurt the little girl's feelings. The peach was then tossed into the nearest waste bin.
But peaches were the least of her issues. Sometimes when she looked at her watch or any other clock, she could swear that there were thirteen numbers on its face and every now and then she would see a pair of distinctly mismatched eyes looking back at her through a mirror or just about any reflective surface, really. She would never forget those eyes. Would never forget him, even though she thought about him less and less with each passing year. He was almost as good as gone when all of a sudden he was there again to haunt her. She tried telling herself that it was her own subconscious playing tricks. That she was just paranoid. Or maybe she was going insane? After thirteen years of living a perfectly normal life, perhaps this was her inevitable doom? A terrible fate which she could not escape. She would probably end up becoming a crazy old woman, only ever speaking of goblins and other faerie creatures.
It didn't take long for her boyfriend to grow worried. Apparently, her attempts at hiding things from him were poor. Darren always knew when something was amiss. She simply blamed it on work and hoped that he would believe her. There was no way she could tell, but at least he had decided not to ask too many questions. Sarah appreciated that. Darren was a nice man. They had met a couple of years ago at a mutual friend's wedding. It was rather cliché, but they never thought of it that way. Sarah's previous relationships had never lasted longer than a year, so naturally she was pleased to say that this time she had broken the records. She had even moved in to his apartment just about two months ago. Unfortunately, he often worked late nights, being a chef at one of the fancier restaurants in town. The bright side was that he would always make her home cooked dinners that never disappointed. To put it simply: he made her feel good. Good enough to make her forget about everything that haunted her.
Then she saw the owl.
One Monday morning, when she arrived at the school, it was right there, perched on a branch in the maple tree in the schoolyard, watching her. She might not have seen it if it weren't for the fact that most of the leaves had fallen to the ground, yellowed and dry. It was the seventh day of October and unusually chilly. Or was that just a chill running down her spine?
The tree was conveniently placed right outside her classroom and Sarah found herself distracted that day, frequently glancing out the window only to find that the nocturnal bird had not moved an inch. Her students repeatedly had to bring her back to reality. Something was about to happen. Sarah could feel it, just as she could feel that whatever was going to happen… she wouldn't like it.
That night, she dreamt of memories from thirteen years ago. Memories of her running down an endless corridor, of falling down a dark shaft filled with hands reaching for her and wild creatures trying to remove her head. Darren woke her in the middle of the night, telling her that she had been moaning and crying in her sleep. The tears were still fresh on her face, but he was there to dry them away and hold her close. When he asked if it was a nightmare, she merely nodded, not wanting to elaborate any further, for she knew it had been so much more than just a dream. Sarah Williams did not believe in coincidences.
She believed in magic.