I'm drenched in sweat again. I know I'm
awake—but my eyes won't open. My senses feel painfully sharp. I hear everything: my breathing, the thud of my heart, the rush of blood through muscle and bone. My body feels louder than the world. And then I see it again. A tattoo. Or a mark. Maybe an insignia.
It's never clear. No matter how hard I try to
focus, it slips away, like my mind is straining against a gap that isn't supposed to be there. It's been haunting me since I turned seven. Every time I get close, the pressure builds—until I can't tell if I'm seeing it or remembering it.
A week until school starts.
I don't know how I feel about that. Am I even
ready? I haven't really practiced since middle school ended, and knowing me, there isn't much to expect. Pathetic, really. A sudden gust of wind surges through the room, pressing me flat against the bed. I gasp—and wake properly this time.
Late summer sunlight spills through the
blinds, pale and lazy, still unsure whether it wants to rise or sink. I roll out of bed and land on the floor, blinking at my surroundings. My room is unusually tidy. No clothes scattered around. No plates stacked on the desk. Makes sense. I haven't really left the bed in days.
Yawning, I drag myself of the floor and check my phone. No messages. My birthday's coming up. Turning Fifteen. Right before
high school starts. Shame no one's around. You do get used to it though.
Being on your own. Less stress that way.
From my window, central London stretches out below, with rows of old Victorian buildings pressed together like they're sharing secrets. Only this part of the city feels like this. Nostalgic. Heavy, but comforting.
I flick the latch and push the window open.
Warm air floods the room. Moments later, I'm climbing onto the fire escape. Perched on the edge of the building. Ten stories up. I watch the sun sink lower, staining the sky a faded orange. Glass towers rise in the distance, their windows glowing gold, reflecting the light like scattered embers.
My parents are away in their home country on
business. My siblings—three of them—have already moved out. The youngest is back with my parents. That leaves me.
Alone.
I Lower myself over the edge and let go. Freefalling.
Eyes locked on the concrete rushing toward me.
Twenty meters
Fifteen.
Ten.
Five.
I twist midair and land in a deep squat, the
impact strangely quiet. Kinetic energy surges through me, ringing in my bones before dissolving into faint jolts of essence that ripple through my body and settle around my core.
It still feels foreign. This ability—if that's even what it is. Felt raw, incomplete. Not reslly an ability yet. Just the first step. These days, everyone at that school could manage this much, but it still made my chest tighten.
I move through the estate. Four colossal buildings rise on all sides, their façades cutting sharply into the sky. Each one towers like a guardian over the sprawling community of nearly a thousand residents. Windows
glint in the sunlight, some catching golden reflections, others darkened like blind eyes. Balconies just out aimeleesy, staircases winding up the sides like veins.
From below, the buildings seem almost alive, silent sentinels watching, measuring, waiting.
The air carries a faint hum, almost imperceptible, like the pulse of the place itself. Every shadow, every corner of the estate seems calculated crafted to remind you that here, nothing is random, and nothing escapes notice.
An alleyway take make straight onto the high street and I head for the train station.I tap
my badge. The barriers slide. As I step on the escalator, a strange sensation crawls over my skin. Dread. Cold and unfamiliar. I glance around. Three people behind me. Four ahead. All normal. Too normal. Something feels wrong—hollow, almost.
Strolling along the train platform. Suddenly. The world tilts.
My foot slips—or something pulls me.
Wind explodes against my face as the train screaming into the station, metal roaring. nowhere to go. I try draw on my core. Nothing, no feeling, no energy just emptiness. My body won't respond fast enough, I know that much. I'm screwed. Time feels slow, inches away and then
Move.
The thought isn't mine. The air bends. My body is taken sideways. slamming into the wall hard enough to knock the breath from me the silence crashes as the train rushes past where I should have been.
I'm still alive.
That's when I see her.
Standing at the top of the stairs, watching like she expected this. A faint green light flickers in her eyes, slipping away as soon as I notice it. She had these cold emerald eyes, with brown curls spilling from beneath her hood.Her caramel skin glowed faintly under the station lights, edged with white.
Our eyes meet.
Just for a moment.
Than she turned away disappearing up the stairs , like nothing ever happened. I sit there, breathless, trying to reorganise my thoughts. After I while, I dust my clothes and push my self up. Guess that's my sign to head home.
By the time I reach my room again, exhaustion hits me all at once. I collapse onto the bed, barely aware of my head hitting the pillow.
Darkness takes me immediately.
Peaceful. There's no sound. no sensation at all.
However somewhere far deeper than sleep, the water stirs. With a small raft appearing in the middle. A faint existence.