2

"Jill, I finally quit."

"Did'you?" A husky voice cracked. It was 1 am.

"I did. I submitted the 2 weeks paperwork." I followed with a reassured sigh of relief. It was over. Finally.

"Y'know, I think this'is gunna be better for you."

"Yeh." No reluctance, just a quiet sense of truthfulness escaped in my response.

"It will be. I get that you needed work as'a distraction after your brother passed, but I was hopin' you'd quit that damn job eventually."

"I miss them." A tear began to form in my eye. Jill could sense it. She'd known me awhile now, she knew what had happened to my parents, to my family.

"Look... hun, you're 28. You've got a lot of life to live yet."

I knew she meant that I needed to be a 'big girl'. I needed to just to go on, to forgive, to move forward. "You've done nothin' but help me. When I needed refuge from all these feelings, from these inner thoughts that were destroying me, you were the one I could come to. Honestly, I don't even know what to do with myself without a job. I'm gunna go crazy."

"True, I've come to know that you aren't a quitter, but now, it's a matter of 'what's the next step?'."

"I do'know." There was no confidence in my voice anymore. I had always known what the 'next step' was in the past. My job was an itinerary of scheduled dates all over the world, all the time, there was never room for error, never room for privilege.

"Maybe that's exactly what you need. Sometimes not knowing is the best. Just live life, and explore, and continue on. Sure, bad things have happened, you've made bad decisions, but you now are a person of 'learned fault'."

"I regret not being there. If I could take it back, had I known..." I had came to terms, but it would never sit right. Never.

"Shh." She cut me off. "Quiet yourself. You've got t'not think about that. What happened was sudden. It was an accident. You could have been there more to see your family, to have a better relationships with them, but the ultimate factor is aside from those relationships, what happened... happened."

"I know."

"Then why are you beating yourself up? Stop it Celeste. I'm being serious."

I sighed, the time for heartache was past. I was just emptier now. So very empty.

"You need to do something fun. You don't have kids, no husband, take advantage of that and do things you never got to do."

"You're probably right, but travelling? I don't want to'do that again."

"But how much of that was spent actually exploring places, and not doing work?"

"You've got a point there." If Jill would of seen me, she would of seen the extremely gaunt look on my face. She was right, no enjoyment at all happened with my career, there were moments where I got to eat nice places, to see interesting things, but as far as 'extra-curricular fun', that was kept fully off the menu.

(Rough Japanese being spoken)

"What?!"

"I told you Isayama-san, no more!"

"Juri-sama, you have helped me so much! I need a reading!"

The old woman turned to the man in his young 30's, his black shaggy cut floating across his face, his eyes confused with her actions. The elder Japanese woman was slamming bags into the back of a taxi haphazardly spilling contents of some of them on the ground. She blinked and just continued on.

"Juri-sama!" He ran to help aid her like any young gentleman would, and amongst grabbing some of the materials off the ground: a shirt, a lace doily, a few pictures, she just yanked them out of his hands without saying thank you and slammed the trunk.

He grabbed her by the arms stopping her so quickly that she shrieked.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head that it was so loud. He instantly let go. He was just trying to calm her for God's sake!

"Juri-sama!" He said hushed now, as some passer-bys were looking with odd expressions on their faces. "I just... I don't understand."

"How could you?" She blurted. "You don't have the foresight like I do." She straightened her mess of hair.

"You've been right about my life so far, your blood-type readings are the best, I have full faith in you."

"Now young boy, compliments aren't necessary!" She threw up a finger in his face.

"Won't you just tell me where you're going?"

"No!"

"But?"

"Isayama-san. I told you 2 years ago. A storm is coming. It's coming soon my boy. It is time to get ahead of that storm while you can."

"About... what I published?" A strike of fear rung through him. Like a silent room filled suddenly with the strike of a bass drum. He felt numb, his whole body. He didn't want to believe her.

"The inevitable." She responded as she gripped him tight into a hug. A rashly rough hug the old woman crushed him with. He was too shocked to reply. "We've tried. We've tried to warn the world."

"You ready?" the taxi man was getting impatient as hell waiting on the musings going on. "Lady! Say goodbye to the grandson, and let's go!"

She turned, "He's not my relation you twit!"

"Well, whatever!" The man squinted his eyes, and threw of his cap in a fed-up motion. "It's 8 at night! I've got places to be!"

She rolled her eyes. "I've got to go, I'm going into hiding. I suggest you do the same."

"But there's more writing to finish. The story, it has to come to a conclusion. If, if, the people read what will play out, how it ends..."

"Not possible!" She opened the car door for herself, and he bustled to help the best medium in west Tokyo get inside the car safely. The old woman was simply harsh in all of her goings-on. He had told her in the past to try to calm it down, but never would she listen.

He admired her for that.

"Now now." She patted his head like a youngster. He stood holding the door as she floofed her skirt into the cab. "Isayama-san, you know I can't see that far into the future. But yes, finish up to what we discussed, all of it."

He sighed.

"Do you regret it?" She asked. It took him by surprise.

"No. I've lived rather richly with my wife and baby."

"Good, my predictions got you what you wanted, and it got me what I wanted... the truth out into the world."

"This became more than a transcation for me."

He had been coming to her since he was in his early 20's for readings. It had started as simple blood-type readings, (based off of his blood type what decision he should take next), and generally it was correct. Next was tarot that she dabbled in, albeit a bit more European in decent, it worked rather the same, it was more narrowed, a fixed, but hidden path it fortold. Then he got more in-depth spiritually. He had became a common visitor to her bodega, and took part in some of her inner most secretive 'seeing' techniques.

That was when it all began. The visions, the horrible, grotesque visions. He knew something was bothering her, and she spilled it to him, and they developed a plan of action. A transaction was made.

She would allow her visions to be published as fictional stories, making Isayama rich, to rise him from poverty. However, the intention was that people would know the story, it would be listed as fictional, but the hope was that when the day arose that it would come, that the end would be near (as she stated in secret to him), that people could arm themselves correctly, that they could defend themselves. To hide. Something. Anything. To survive.

"I care about you." Isayama stated clearly.

"I know." She rose his hand to her face, and they shared a soft moment. "Finish the tale, as quickly as you can, then go hide yourself and your family."

"How long do you think?"

"Not sure." Her hand fell to her lap. Instant regret, never did her imagery and dreams come with time-stamps.

"I'll finish up to where your visions stop. I promise."

"Isayama-san." She grabbed the door handle, ushering to him that she was ready to depart, "Every unique detail, the colors of their hair, the exchanges they make, who they are as people, their weaponry, the military, and even the Titans themselves."

He nodded. He was known amongst the anime community as the most descriptive, the most deep, the 'riveting'. If only he could tell them it was all true.

He didn't want to even believe it himself.

This is story had gotten him notoriety, awards. It had brought him so much more than confidence and money, it had brought him fame. For the first year writing and drawing it, the manga, he lived in an 'aloof' state of mind, even through his wife's pregnancy. If he was to live off of some lunatic seer's story, if it was going to boost his career and make him money, then woo hoo! 'I'm going to do it'. The story was written, even the characters, all he had to do was put it in visual form (approved by her of course), and she wanted zero recognition. She wanted nobody in the public to know that it was her story. He showed ATTACK ON TITAN as his original.

He got all the credit.

But that was then, and this is now.

After awhile, he began to realize something. At first he thought she was a crack-pot liar, high on opium or something, but as the story began unfolding, he realized... she wasn't just pulling this from anywhere. The characters, they were too real; the descriptions of the places, familiar. Her emotions in describing the events, she would cry. She would 'feel'. This was real to her, and that was what made it more real to him.

As he watched her smile at him one last time, and the taxi drive away... he couldn't help but believe her. His opinion had changed so drastically over the course of two years.

He questioned his ability to believe such a fantastical crap-shoot. She had always been right before, even when she had predicted when he was 23 that he'd soon meet the love of his life in an alley.

He did.

It's always 'out of your mind' when the prediction actually hits you, when you realize 'Ah ha! It did happen!'.

But this time it was not 'Ah ha!' It's much more serious.

He promised her he'd finish publishing AOT, til the end. Til the story runs out.

Then he and his family, they'll run... for dear life.