"Thump, thump, thump". The sound of the feet echoed through the silent night. Natalie covered her mouth tightly while biting on her palm to help her breathe.
Her heart, though fragile, was beating faster as a strange amount of sweats took over her body. She heard the thumping of the feet get closer, and she froze where she had hidden, unable to move or make a sound.
The tears that had once found a passage on her cheek seemed to freeze, too. It was like they agreed with her that no sound should be made, and she was grateful until she felt strange wet hands curling her in and then... Ah!!!" she screamed, pushing the hands off her until she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Natalie, hey sweetheart, are you okay?" She heard the voice of her best friend Angela. Opening her eyes gently, her surroundings started making sense to her, and she realized where she was.
Strange eyes threw a glare her way, but she ignored it as a wave of safety washed over her. "She is with her friend." She chuckled dryly.
"Natalie, are you okay? I am sorry I had to touch you. You zoned out, and your eyes were shut. What's happening?" Angela asked, still holding on to her friend.
"Nothing, I am fine, Angie. You don't have to worry". Natalie replied, staring at the cup of coffee on the table.
"I don't need my intuition to tell me there's something huge going on with you. You screamed in the middle of a restaurant because I touched you. That's not nothing. So, you better start speaking before I get it out of you." Angela commented in a warning tone.
With a long deep sigh, Natalie spoke, "It started four months ago. It is like I transcend into another dimension. Like a sort of daydreaming as I call it. And... and..." holding onto her chest, a silent tear found its path on her cheek.
Moving the chair close to her friend, Angela hugged her tightly, urging her to speak.
"I don't know Angie... but it feels like I can sense the presence of death. If that makes sense." Natalia spoke, staring at her friend like she was the only sane thing in her world.
"Death? How does it make you feel? Like, what can you see or hear?" Angela asked, patting her friend on her back.
"I hear this sound... the sound of a foot. However, the strangest part of it all is that I feel I am not hiding alone. It is like someone is hiding with me, but I am not that strong to look at my side. So, I don't know."
"Oh dearest Natie. I am sorry you are feeling all this. Does the feeling of having someone close to you strong or just a faint intuition you have that you aren't alone."Angela questioned, trying to understand her friend more.
"Yes, sometimes, I have the feeling that the person close to me is a stranger, and sometimes, I feel like I know who it is. And today's feeling was strong. It was like I knew the person close to me so well. I can feel the presence of the person calling unto me and trying to protect me even. It was like a tendered heart looking at... Oh no! Mother?"
Picking up her phone from her purse, Natalie called her mother, and the phone rang, continuously it did... but there was no answer.
"What's happening? It's unlike Mom not to pick up her phone. What's..."
"Shhh, Natie, please breathe, okay? Let's call your dad. Your mom may be busy." Angela said, cutting off her friend's breakdown.
Shaking her head, Natalie spoke, "I have a bad feeling about this." Calling her dad, she waited for the phone to ring, and praying fervently for a miracle. Her mom can't be dead, right?
"Hello, hi... how are you?" She heard her father's voice before she brought the phone to her ears.
"Is everything okay, dad? Where's mom... you have to tell the truth... where is she?" Natalie asked with a shaky voice.
There was a long pause... a longer one before her father spoke again. "There was a hit and run this morning, and your mother was the victim. I am at the hospital now and... it is better you come." Natalie's Dad responded before ending the call.
Picking up her bag, Natalie ran to her car with Angela on her heels. "Give the key to me. I'll drive." Angela said before snatching the key off Natalie's hand and then... the car ignition filled the air.
Hours or was it some minutes... it was hard to tell. Angela, though calm, drove almost like a mad woman towards the hospital Natalie's mom was at. She was pained, but she held on to it. With a left turn, the car came to a halt.
Rushing out of the car, they headed to the reception where they were told of the ward to go to.
Cleaning her eyes, Natalie saw her Dad's red eyes. He must have been crying... "Where's she?" Natalie asked with a sob, and she needed no one to tell her what's next. Her mother was dead.
Strange sound left her lips, and her body shook vigorously. She held on to her Dad as she cried so hard it seemed like her heart would burst.
After longer hours of cries, her dad spoke, "How did you know?"
"I have not been feeling too good lately. It is like I can feel death. It felt like it was coming for me, but why did it take mom?" Natalie asked her Dad with a running nose.
Holding tightly on his face, her dad spoke. "I never knew you'd have the gift. You are the third generation, and it has been passed down in my lineage that every third generation, a child will be chosen to give the premonition gift. I never knew it was you." Her father said, holding on his chest.
"I don't understand... a premonition gift? You mean to tell me knowing that someone will die is a gift?" Natalie asked her dad, standing up from where she sat.
"I am sorry. But it is a gift, and if you accept it, you'll get to see things clearly and even prevent someone from dying." Her father replied with a faraway look in his eyes.
"What do you mean by accepting it?" Natalie wanted to ask. But strangely, she knew the answer. It is a gift, and whether she likes it or not, it is stuck with her. Looking at the ward where her Mom's body lay, she swore to protect others from dying if fate agrees because she knows death never misses its timing.
