If I had known my day would involve being shoved into a river, I would have at least worn waterproof clothes or something.
But nope. I had no warning - unless you counted my weirdly prophetic dream from last night, which, let's be honest, I did not.
The morning started off normal. I barely made it to school on time, my best friend Linn wouldn't stop laughing at my tragic attempts to finish my homework on the bus, and Hiroshi looked obnoxiously good as usual.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
And then, of course, the universe decided to ruin that. Thanks a lot.
It happened after the last lesson. I was taking the long way back to my evening class, cutting through the nearby park's garden trail - a narrow bridge that curved above a long rushing river. I never really understood the point of that bridge anyway, hardly anyone came this way, but I guess that was part of the appeal. I liked the quiet, the shade from the overgrown trees, the way the water reflected the sky like a moving painting.
What I did not like was the sudden, inexplicable feeling that I was being watched.
The wind picked up, a little sharper than before. I shivered and hugged my arms. The air felt different - heavier somehow. Like something was pressing against my skin.
I glanced over my shoulder.
No one.
But the feeling wouldn't go away. It was that same eerie sensation from my dream - the one where I had known, with absolute certainty, that someone was behind me.
I picked up my pace.
Bad decision. At this point I've made so many bad choices it's not surprising anymore. I just always manage to find the wrong move.
Because the second I stepped onto the small wooden bridge that arched over the river, a hand shoved me.
Hard. Again.
One moment, I was on solid ground. The next - Airborne.
And then- Impact.
Cold water slammed into me, shocking the breath right out of my lungs. My mind went blank with the sheer, icy force of it. I flailed, gasping, but all I managed to do was suck in a mouthful of disgusting river water. Wow, I had always wanted to know what the river water tasted like.
Before I could pull up any more sarcasm, fear rushed in my mind. It was happening again.
The panic set in before my brain could even catch up. Because I had been here before- not in real life, but in my dream.
Except now, it was real.
My limbs were heavy, weighed down by my soaked clothes. My lungs burned. I tried kicking toward the surface, but my body wasn't listening.
And that's when I felt it. The bracelet.
A searing heat wrapped around my wrist, almost like it was alive. The warmth shot up my arm, coiling around my shoulder, then down my spine. A golden glow pulsed beneath the murky water, flickering like a heartbeat.
Then- It tightened.
I swear this was giving Déjà vu.
The dream. The river. The bracelet acting like it had a mind of its own.
Was this some kind of joke? Some scam from the universe? Because if so, I wanted a refund.
I gasped, or tried to. My body convulsed as something tugged me downward.
No. No, no, no.
I struggled, kicked, fought-but the more I moved, the heavier I felt. My head was spinning. My vision blurred. The water muffled everything, making the world feel distant.
I was sinking.
Somewhere, in the depths of my mind, I heard a voice-
"Finally."
And then everything went black.