June 1914

I stretched out lazily on a tuffet of grass under my favorite oak tree watching the sunlight sparkle through the leaves. With my long black hair fanned out over my head I luxuriated in the warm breeze and sweet smell of the grass. It was the perfect time of day to lay outside and let my mind wander. The sun was just starting to descend from its zenith and I would have enough shade to last me a good three hours in this spot if I wished.

Maybe I would just lie here, or maybe I would go find Dee. She preferred playing out in the meadow to lying in the shade. I always warned her that staying in the sun too much would give her freckles, but she never listened. She was only ten and too young to appreciate how ghastly freckles would be later on when she met a boy she liked.

Maybe I could take Dee inside and we could plan her birthday party together. She would probably like that, even though her birthday wasn't for another five months. Still, if we started planning now maybe Father would let us do more this year.

I closed my eyes letting my mind drift a little. Dee didn't go to the meadow today. I was sure of it. She was going to go to the river to skip stones... and she was going to get her dress wet. Mother would scold her for that. If I hurried I might be able to stop her, but I didn't want her to always rely on me to get her out of trouble. I wouldn't always be around to warn her and she needed to learn to take care of herself.

I sighed and frowned when something else intruded on my mind. Something was coming. Something big and catastrophic, but I wasn't sure what it was. I was avoiding telling Mother and Father about it. They always looked at me a certain way when I tried to tell them these things. They believed me, and they loved me, but they thought I was a freak.

I sighed again. I was a freak. Ever since I was a baby I could sense when things were going to happen. I would cry before being given my vaccines when I was too young to even know what they were. I would look to the door and smile before Father would walk through it, home from work. When Mother was expecting another baby I knew before she did, and I knew I would be having a sister. If only I could have used my extra sense to know how much I would one day wish I had kept it all a secret.

I got up, shaking off my dark thoughts, and tied on my hat before skipping down the hill. I made it to the creek in time to see Dee wading out of the shallow water, slipping a little on the stones, with a chagrined expression.

I giggled, and she looked up.

"It's not funny, Alice." She scowled at me.

"It is a little," I snickered.

"You know Mother is going to be angry."

"Yes, so why did you decide to go swimming?" I teased.

"I fell in!" She pouted.

I watched her waddle onto the shore, looking utterly pathetic. She could be such a klutz.

"All right, I'll try to help," I said, rolling my eyes.

Dee knew I was...different. But unlike Father and Mother, it didn't bother her at all. In her own way, Dee was every bit as different as I was. But we kept her ability a secret. It was bad enough that our parents should be frightened of me. As much as they tried not to show it, still I knew that they were. It was better for Dee to not show what she could do. I looked into the future of things, and she looked into the past. If you gave her a lock of hair, she could tell you about the person it belonged to. If you went away and came back, she could tell where you had gone and what you had done.

I sighed and concentrated; closing my eyes and rubbing my temples with my fingertips.

After a few minutes I had a good idea of what I was after.

"Mother will be in the kitchen for about ten more minutes. If we sneak in the front and don't make any noise you might get upstairs before she sees you."

"Thanks, Alice!" She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek then we hurried back up the hill to take advantage of our window of opportunity. I held Dee's hand, hoping to keep her from tripping on the way and getting her dress muddy. That would just be adding insult to injury.

When we got to the house we tiptoed to the stairway, trying to avoid detection. We didn't do a good enough job. Mother heard us come in and I tried to rush my sister up the stairs, but it was too late.

"Hello, girls. Dinner will be ready in... Cynthia Desiree, just look at your dress!"

"It was an accident, Mama!" Dee wailed.

"Accident or not, your dress is a disaster. What did I tell you about playing by the water? Now get up to your room and make yourself presentable. You are not to leave this house again today! Do you understand me? We'll discuss further consequences later." Dee scowled but made no objection.

"Your father will be home soon," Mother continued, addressing both of us now. "Today has been a big day for him, so I want you both on your best behavior. Mary, I want you to go with your sister and put her in something nice for dinner."

"Yes, Mother."

I rushed upstairs with Dee and helped her out of her wet clothes.

"What do you think happened to Father today?" She asked, tentatively.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably a busy day at work or something." I was rummaging through the closet, looking for one of my favorite dresses for her, a pink and green-tiered skirt with white lace on the bodice. I wished I had one like it, only maybe purple instead of pink, and cut a little differently. Cap sleeves instead of long and a shorter skirt...

"But, Alice, Mother seems scared. What if something bad is going to happen?" she interrupted my daydreaming. I looked at her and she really seemed concerned.

I smiled, shaking my head. Dee wouldn't let it go. "Let me find your dress and I'll see if I can tell anything."

She flashed me a relieved smile and went to find some dry undergarments.

A little more rummaging in the closet and I finally found her dress. I pulled it over her head and began to lace it up. But my mind was largely elsewhere.

Father worked at the restaurant six days a week and weekends tended to be more stressful. Being a chef was a stressful job to begin with, but he had aspirations. He wanted to work for bigger companies, five-star hotels and political events. He wanted to provide more for his family and to make a name for himself in the process. Could something be going on tonight that would change that? Could some disaster be about to happen? Could this be what was causing my unfathomable and nebulous fear whenever I let my mind wander?

I felt a spasm of fresh fear as my mind touched on that. I had no idea what it was about, but I couldn't find anything that it didn't touch in some degree. It was like there was something huge and terrible about to happen and it would affect the lives of everyone around me.

But that fear wasn't about Father, at least not specifically.

There was something going on tonight, though. Father would be coming home late, and he would either be very happy or very sad. I couldn't tell which or why. All I could tell for sure was that he wouldn't be home until after dark.

"Alice?" Dee was watching me. My hands were still held out in front of me, even though I had finished tying up her bodice.

I shook my head, blinking, trying to dislodge the vision and come back to the present.

"Father will be home late. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. It might be good news."

"What's wrong?"

I forced myself to smile. She must have noticed the moment of fear while I was lost in the vision.

"Nothing, really. Here, let me braid your hair. And I think the green satin ribbon would look really nice with this dress."

She eyed me suspiciously for a second so I went to the dressing table to fetch the ribbon. I braided her hair and tied it up.

"There. You're lovely," I said, satisfied. "Now if you'll just stay out of the sun so much and remember to wear your hat maybe those freckles will fade a little," I teased her, tweaking her nose.

She giggled. "Maybe I'll meet a boy who likes freckles. Did you ever think of that?"

I appraised her with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. "Maybe, but why take the chance?" We both laughed then and I skipped downstairs to help Mother in the kitchen.

"Mary, set the table, dear. I'm just about ready to put the biscuits in and I need to freshen up."

"You have plenty of time, Mother. Father won't be home until after dark." I said the words automatically, reflexively. I immediately regretted them. My back was to her, but I could almost feel the tension coming off her. I winced.

"Oh. Well then." She responded in a clipped tone, a mixture of fear, regret, guilt, and forced civility. It was the tone she always used when I let myself slip up. Which happened more often than either of us liked.

"In that case..." she continued in the same tone, but didn't finish. She hesitated, and then left the room.

I swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat and felt tears welling in my eyes. I took a deep breath and finished setting the table.

After dinner the three of us waited in the sitting room for Father. I looked ahead for him once in a while, waiting for any change that might make it clear what we might expect when he got home. A few hours after sunset it cleared up a little. Father would be happy, very happy. I sighed, smiling at my sister. She looked at me curiously, but Mother was in her chair reading on the other side of the room, so I just winked.

We sat in silence, each of us occupied with our own tasks. Dee was sketching on her drawing pad, I was embroidering a handkerchief, and Mother was just finishing her novel when we heard the sound of Father's footsteps outside the house.

We all put down our things and stood up just as he opened the door.

"Papa!" Dee exclaimed and ran into his arms. I skipped to him after her and was caught up in a hug of my own.

"Good evening, my angels!" he chuckled.

He went to Mother and kissed her. Then turned to address all of us.

"I have some excellent news for everyone." His eyes sparkled as he took in our rapt expressions. "There was a very special guest at the restaurant tonight. A man named Frank Monteleone, who recently acquired a hotel in New Orleans. As it turns out, tonight he was so impressed with his meal that - " He grinned conspiratorially. "Guess who he asked to be the new sous-chef at his hotel?"

Dee squealed and bounced with excitement.

"Oh, Papa! Really?" I asked, hardly able to contain myself. We were going to move to New Orleans!

"Charles! Oh, I'm so relieved!" Mother cried.

"There's nothing to worry about now, darling." He glowed at her. "Mr. Monteleone is willing to assist us in finding a place in the area and getting set up. We'll be there in a few weeks. You're going to love it in New Orleans. The city life will suit you and the girls, I think."

We all gathered round him as he ate his supper, which Mother had kept warm for him by the stove. We talked about the move, the hotel, the city, and how wonderful life would be now that Father would be working as a chef at a fancy hotel.

I sneaked a few glances at Dee that evening when I thought our parents wouldn't notice. I wanted to know if she saw anything that would explain the uneasy feeling I had. Her face was serene, unclouded. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

When we finally got into our nightclothes and settled into bed, Dee was excited. I would have been, too. I should have been. We were moving to the big city; the clothes, the balls, the shopping, the society. I should have been ecstatic. But the uneasy feeling was getting harder to push aside. It was as if something wanted to be seen, was trying to be seen. But there was a darkness about it that I didn't want to face.

When I was little, my parents had told me that I had a 'gift'. Sometimes it seemed like more of a sick joke to me. Sure it was occasionally useful to be able to see what was going to happen. But it caused problems more often than not. And sometimes I didn't want to see if something really bad was going to happen, or if something was going to happen that I shouldn't know about. And then I had to keep secrets. Like when Father had met a lady friend a few years ago... a special lady friend... He still didn't know I'd seen that. I wished I hadn't. I even kept it secret from Dee, though she probably already knew about it. In fact, she was probably trying to keep it a secret from me for the same reasons I kept it from her.

But this new, dark, frightening thing didn't feel like it was about anyone in particular. More like it was about everyone. What if there was a sickness coming? What if it was an earthquake? A hurricane? No, it was bigger than that.

"What is the matter, Alice? Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

She just sighed, exasperated. "You've been acting peculiar all day. I thought you were worried about Father. But he's got the job now, so what's wrong?"

"I... I don't know." I stared down at the floorboards. I felt guilty for letting Dee bear any of my undefined burdens. My little sister shouldn't have to deal with my demons.

"Is it about Father?"

"I don't know, Dee." I sighed. "Did you see anything from him tonight? Anything that happened?"

Dee pursed her lips. "Not really. Just that he had to work very hard. His boss was kind of mean to him, but he did a good job. A man wearing a nice suit who was eating the food asked to see him and offered him a new job. But we already knew all of that."

"Oh. Well I guess I'm just being silly."

"Maybe you'll feel better once we're in the city. It's going to be wonderful, isn't it? Think of all the shopping you get to do once we're there!"

"And the parties!" I agreed.

We both giggled and settled in for the night.

~||x||~

"Mary! Mary! Wake up!"

Mother was shaking me, eyes wide and voice trembling. Dee was standing next to her, her face white. I heard a strange, loud, high-pitched noise.

I was suddenly out of breath and I realized that the noise was me. I had been screaming. It made sense, though. Moments ago I was in the midst of explosions, smoke, blood, and death. I was hearing gunfire, cannons, and screaming of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions. I could almost smell the burning flesh. I could almost feel the impact of the bombs.

I gasped for air. Trying to calm down. Trying to push the horrible images out of my mind.

"Were you having a nightmare, dear?" Mother stroked my forehead, pushing aside locks of sweaty hair. I was still trying to catch my breath.

"Um... Yes... A nightmare." I panted. Only it hadn't felt quite like a nightmare. I felt a little too real.

Mother heard the uncertainty in my answer. I saw a moment of conflict in her expression, but she decided not to ask any more questions.

"Well, it's over now. You girls get dressed and come down for breakfast." She smiled and kissed my forehead, then left.

When we were alone Dee looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.

"Don't worry about it," I told her, trying to shake off the disturbing images again.

She let it go for the moment and we dressed and hurried downstairs to have breakfast. I still felt shaky. My hands were trembling so I clenched them tightly at my sides.

"Good morning, my angels!"

"Good morning, Papa!" We chimed and went to claim our morning kisses.

We were all settled at the table and enjoying some oatmeal when Father opened the newspaper. It was June twenty-ninth and one of the headlines caught my attention.

Assassination of Austrian Heir and Wife

As I read the headline I was suddenly caught up in one of my unwilling visions. It was strange how they worked. Sometimes I had to concentrate so hard to see something, but sometimes I had to see whether I wanted to or not. And this I certainly did not want to see; blood and death; explosions and gunfire; giant armored machines of destruction; dirty, exhausted men shouting in English and unfamiliar languages; weeping families.

"Mary? Are you okay?" Father was watching me with a concerned expression.

I realized that I was staring straight ahead, open-mouthed, with my trembling hand held over my bowl but my spoon had dropped, clattering to the table. My eyes were moist.

I looked at Dee and Mother. They were watching me, too.

I burst into tears and the truth poured out of me in a moment of weakness.

"I'm frightened," I sobbed. "Something happened today, or maybe it was yesterday. But I think a war is going to start. A really, really bad war! So many people are going to die! I saw them! I saw them being killed...it's so horrible!"

I sat there sobbing while Father and Dee stared at me with pained, helpless expressions. Then Mother came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She waved off Father and Dee and held me while she waited for my sobs to quiet. When they finally did she gave me a long grave look.

"Is this what you were dreaming about last night?"

"Yes," I sniffed.

She sighed. "We always knew you were special...I only wish you didn't have to bear such a burden. These...things you see, they are frightening enough for us, your family, to deal with. I love you with all my heart, Mary, but you know it's frightening for me and your Father, and even your sister sometimes. And it breaks my heart to know how much more frightening it must be for you, especially when you see something like...like this." She whispered the last words.

"Now, you need to remember that there are some things you can change and some things you can't do anything about. If what you see is really going to happen, well, there's nothing you or any of us can do about it. I don't really know what you saw in your dream or just now. I know it has caused you pain and I wish you didn't have to deal with that. But don't you dare start blaming yourself if it really does happen. It's bad enough that you had to see it. Don't take the extra burden of thinking there's something you could have done to prevent it. Try your best to put it out of your mind. Don't think of it again. Promise me?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mama."

"That's a good girl." She smiled softly and brushed my tears away. Then she embraced me tightly. "If there was only some way we could make this go away. Isn't life complicated enough for a young woman without having to deal with this, too?"

I smiled a little. "I don't mind so much...most of the time."