THE SEER

I woke up to hands touching me. Oh no. There were hands all over me. And everywhere was white. The last time that I had too much visions slamming into me at once was my father and my mother and the physician trying to hold me steady while I jerked around like a puppet on a string. This time, there was no strings so I just jerked around. And screamed like a wronged banshee while using my fingertips as a claw as I tried to claw my face. The visions… they were too much. The fruit seller feeling sorry for the butcher who left his knife behind to join in this scene only for his baby to reach for something and the knife fell on her hand. So much blood. Hurt. The cloth seller, being duped out of her money by some fake coins which she believed was from another kingdom and were worth a lot. They were nothing but trash. Greed. The trinket seller who went home early and saw his wife cheat on him. Cheat. So many visions and all of them coming at me at once. I continued screaming as they came. Never has the visions being this painful for me. “Why is she screaming?” “Give her some room,” a voice thick with command said as people slowly moved away from me. I don’t know what he did but somehow, people stopped touching me as they tried to help me and because they stopped the visions no longer felt like they were being torn out of me so I merely tried to ride out the rest as they come. So I was whimpering now. “Miss, are you okay? Your eyes are still white. If there is anything we can do to help relieve your symptoms and you can talk, please do,” a male voice stated. “Stay away from me,” I begged him. My throat felt extremely dried but I didn’t care. “Please don’t touch me.” “Witch…” someone muttered only to be hushed by the rest as people started to yell at him. “She saved those children’s life Andrew, shame on you.” “Exactly, how did she know to save the children’s lives? She was coming from the same direction as they did so she couldn’t have possibly seen it and you all saw her eyes going completely white. White with a light that shone from within them before her lids dropped. That is not natural,” the man replied defensively. I didn’t need to look at him to see that his body was teeming with tension. “Do you really want to do this right now?” the man kneeling close to me snapped. “Especially as she is in clear pain?” “I was just saying my lord. Pardon me,” the accusing man mumbled his reply. My lord! There was a lord close to me. No, that was the fastest way to get me to hang or to be burnt. Regardless of the pain I felt, I forced my eyes opened. It must have been a bad decision because there was a unified gasp from everybody. And more than one whispered their new slogan word. ‘Witch!’ “I am fine thank you,” I tried to smile brightly as I blinked my eyes rapidly enough times until I could see everybody. “Sorry if I scared everybody.” I struggled to stand and when the man offered to help me, I shrank away from his touch. I stood up only for me to sway around like a drunken woman. And of course the noble close to me just had to act like a chivalry knight. Even with my earlier protests, he still reached out and held on to me. So I was assaulted with another vision. It was night and the Knight was creeping into a compound. He heard the conversation of two men who deliberated a way to strike one of the princes and he must have made a noise because they called for guards. He tried to run away. He really did. At the end, he was caught and killed. Death. “See, her eyes did it again!” the man from earlier spoke. “Quiet!” the man holding me barely raised his voice but his words was like a whip, everybody around us obeyed his command. “I am okay,” I stated as I forcefully yanked myself away from his hand. I stumbled a little bit but I gained my footing. “Are they safe?” I asked remembering the children. The man stared at me with farrowed brows like he was trying to dissect me and see what I am. Well good luck to him because I don’t even know what I am. “Yes, my children are safe. I owe their lives to you. I shall grant you a boon,” he declared. The crowd all forgot about my witch status as they tittered. Of course, the thought of a noble man granting out boons was always enough to put everybody in a good mood. If only I could ask him to remove this whole incident from everybody’s mind and they would not remember then that is what I would ask for but I couldn’t. That request cannot be granted and I would only show my hand that I have something to hide. “I have nothing to request for.” I sighed. “All I want is my eggs and to go home.” “Thank you for saving my children.” A crying woman elbowed her way through the crowd to me and then she threw her hands around me as she hugged me to herself while crying. Her husband shouted but it was too late. I was already thrust into another vision. She twirling with her children in her home, laughing only for a knock to sound. She opened the door to see her husband’s friend. He gave her the news that her husband had passed away and she broke down in his arms as her world came crashing down. He carried her inside and helped her to the bed. Only for someone else to knock. He opened the door and the men who killed her husband swarmed him. The best friend, she and the two children that I yanked back was killed that night. Death. “She doesn’t like being touched.” The man pulled back his wife but I was already crying. This is my fault. Now I know. If I had just allowed the young boy to die, his father would be mourning and he wouldn’t have gone outside that night, he would be safe and his friend, wife and other son would also be alive. I interfered and now a whole family was going to die. “What is wrong, missus?” I know better than to blurt out the truth, I really did. But the vision and the reason why the whole family ended up dying was too shocking for me so with my tears running down my checks. I told him and everybody present. “You are going to die. Your family is going to die and it is my fault because I saved your son.” The crowd drew in a deep breathe at my words but I was a blubbering mess. “Witch,” “Burn her.” “What is she?” The mutters increased this time. The butcher came out. “What is going on?” I saw him, he was one mean looking man but that was not what made me start crying. The clothes were the same. “Hurry back to your daughter.” I yelled at him. He looked at me weirdly, then ignored my words as he turned to others to know what was happening. That was the moment, his daughter started crying loudly. He paled and rushed back into his store. His bellow of anguish made the people surrounding me to rush to the store. “What will they see?” The noble man who was still standing close to me asked. “I don’t understand what you mean…” I started lying but he cuts me shut. “The coincidences are too much. If they come out here, they will kill you and even I will not be able to help you. Now, what did you see?” “The butcher’s daughter being injured by the knife her father left as he came out to investigate what was happening,” I replied through bloodless lips. “My Lady, grabbed your younger son and follow me. You too Seer,” he stated calmly as he carried the elder child. “She is a witch!” a voice rang out from the store. The cold fear that ran through my spine served as a boost as I raced after the man and his wife while holding their child. They all piled into a carriage and the man yelled at the driver. “Go now.” The driver immediately started driving as I dove into the carriage and the door shut behind me. The market people were running after the carriage with weapons in their hands. Now quickly everything has changed. And all I was supposed to do was just get some eggs in peace.