Charlie, now fourteen years old, stared around the lifeless classroom, avoiding the eyes of the other teens surrounding him. His teacher, Mr. Jackson, asked him to answer a question. Charlie mumbled the answer and, reluctantly, raised his eyes to look at his teacher. The moment their eyes made contact, a weird feeling fell over them both. To the teacher, it was just a feeling of doubt and uncertainty about his student but to Charlie it was completely different. He saw a plane, almost halfway through its trip, a worried pilot trying to navigate a thunderous storm, and his teacher, asleep in his coach seat. Then, a bolt of lightning, blinding the pilot, as he lost control and the plane spiraled downward to its demise. That was why Charlie was reluctant to make eye contact; so he wouldn't have to bear the knowledge of other people's fates. It started the day he found the Journal. When he awoke and wearily gazed at his father, he saw the chemo, the tests, the oncologist, the cancer itself. Heartbroken and distraught, Charlie believed that the Journal may tell him more about this cancer or may be even how to prevent it. He read day and night searching for the answer, becoming mad in the process. The Journal was terrible, so gruesome and unearthly. The more Charlie would read, the deeper he would slip into the grasp of darkness and depression. He didn't care about anything anymore, except of course his father and the Journal. He would search through every page, every entry, until he found his father. Charlie was sure he'd be in there, but could never find his father's entry. But what he did find was a torn out page and a note, which read,
"My gracious Keeper, do not look for what you are seeking, for that is the only death you are not meant to know. Please keep my Journal safe, for these entries have great importance. To truly understand, read through each page, so you may realize how great of a gift you have truly been given. At the moment it may seem harsh and demeaning, but it shall not be that way for long, my Assistant, for I will guide you in unseen ways. Beware, though, for this will change your life forever. But do not worry, for you have been chosen for this specifically and will be able to withstand the Spirits. I am watching- past, present, and future. "
There was what appeared to be a name signed at the bottom, but it had been smudged and wiped away so that all was left was a black ink spot, that almost reminded Charlie of a raven, perched upon a branch. He was puzzled by the note, but decided to take its advice and read the Journal, no matter how gruesome it was, for he had no other option. Charlie grabbed the Journal and sat on his bed with it, staring thoughtfully at the title on the front cover; "Niger Iter Itineris". How odd, Charlie thought to himself. Somehow, he knew it was Latin. Meaning what? He had no idea. Even more puzzled than before, he opened up the Journal and began reading from entry number one. He had only read one whole entry so far, and it was told as though the owner of the Journal had been there, at the pond with the girl who drowned. Was that even possible? he asked himself. But then, he remembered a part of the letter. " I will guide you in unseen ways." Charlie wondered who could possibly be unseen. A criminal or murderer, maybe? Rapidly ruling out that possibility, he started to read the antagonizing entries, before drifting into a pleasant sleep, a type of sleep he hadn't had in two years.
Charlie began dreaming of what seemed to be a meaningless event. He was sitting in a field of grass, half dead half alive, like after the harsh winter snow melts and allows springs life to come back, little by little. He gazed up at the sky, and saw two birds flying peacefully with each other. One was a pure, white dove and the other was aa harsh, black raven. Both birds looked majestic, circling the sky in the evening were flying so closely and in such a tight circle, that the almost looked like a half black, half white circle, except for their heads, making small bulges in the almost perfect black and white.