Premonition by InsomniaticDreamer.

A cold breeze brushed against my face, fanning my curls behind me. I opened my eyes, and saw that I was on a ship, leaning over the railing, looking out unto the vast ocean.

Maya woke up in a sweat. She was terrified. She had been getting these premonitions in her dreams since she was a little girl. They almost always foreshadowed tragedy. A boat, she thought. I have to stay off of boats.

She had received an application for a school semester at sea the day prior. She found the paper and ripped it into shreds, her heart pounding mercilessly. Seven Seas High had been her one chance at escape from her life now, from her step-dad and the memory of her dead sister.

She broke down and cried.

The dream started off the same as before. Leaning over the railing, staring at the ocean. Only now, I could feel an arm wrapped around me, holding me close. The presence of the man next to me – for it was definitely a man – was comforting and brought happiness to my tormented heart.

When she woke up, she was confused. After foreshadowing her sister's death, her father's abandonment, and the coming of her horrid stepfather, she was jaded when it came to dreams. She assumed only bad could come of this. She broke down once more and cried. Was she really going to sacrifice her freedom and the love of her life because of fear?

The arm was still wrapped around me lovingly when I returned to the dream the next night. I heard a voice – a voice that warmed my heart and caused my arms to erupt in goosebumps – whisper into my ear, "Close your eyes."

I didn't think, I just did. I closed my eyes and waited. I felt his presence lean over me, and felt his breath on my face. His lips met mine for a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to realize that I wasn't giving this up for anything.

He pulled away slowly, and just as I was about to open my eyes to see him…

She woke up with her heart pounding in her chest. Now she was faced with a decision. Should she leave the certainty – albeit unhappy certainty – of her home for an unknown place with just as many ups as downs? Or should she stay in this wretched home, never having the chance to explore a new territory? She was at a crossroads. She knew that whatever decision she made now would change her life forever.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Maya was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or, more accurately, a wall and her stepdad. She backed into the wall, cowering in fear.

"Jesus, girl! I was trying to sleep last night, but I couldn't, because you were crying way too loudly. Bitch, I need my sleep!" He slurred drunkenly, striking her face with the back of his hand. She cringed, squeezing her eyes shut. It's not real, it's just a dream, it's just a dream. When I open my eyes, he'll be gone.

"Look me in the eyes, bitch!" he exclaimed, roughly shaking her shoulders. Her back pounded on the wall, and she winced in pain. She forced herself not to cry, though her heart was weeping in fear and agony.

Maya made her decision. She would go to Seven Seas High. She would leave her stepdad, and leave the comfort of home. She would be free.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, Maya had gone to her homeroom teacher, Ms. Fitzgerald and asked for a new application, which she gladly gave her.

"So you are going, then? To see the world, and feel freedom?"

"Yes," Maya had replied.

"Well, I'll miss you. And good luck."

As soon as she'd gotten home, she'd filled it out. She sent it in the mail without telling her mother or stepfather; making sure she got to mailbox before either of them, just in case. In a way, she was running away, but the rough streets wouldn't be her next home. Her next home would be a cruise ship, with the man of her dreams – literally – and new friends. Maya would get to see beautiful, worldly places, like Rome and Paris. She would live on the ocean, where the possibilities were as vast as the expanse of blue water she would travel on.

She stopped dreaming about the man on the ship. The fact that it would soon be a reality probably kept them from coming. One week later, her acceptance letter came in the mail.

She packed her bags, and grabbed all the money she had saved – 400 dollars, to be exact – and bought a bus ticket. The bus would bring cross-town to the port, where she would board the ship, never looking back.

On the bus ride there, the swaying of the boat and the calming, classical music lulled her to sleep.

I opened my eyes, right after our kiss. A pair of blue eyes met my brown ones. He was tall (tallish) and slightly broad-shouldered, the complete opposite of my petite frame. His blond hair was thick and soft-looking.

"Zack," I heard myself giggle.

"Maya," he retorted playfully.

I smiled widely, and he grinned flirtatiously. I felt roll my eyes, leaning forward to press my lips against his once more.

"Miss! Is this your stop?" The voice of the bus driver woke her from her dream.

She looked out and saw it. The S.S. Tipton. Her freedom.

"Yes," she answered, thanking the bus driver as she left. She breathed in the salty air of the sea, and smiled to herself.

She was free, and soon, she would have Zack.

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