Chapter 1

GALINA POV

I found myself yet in another land of the unknown! Unlike all places I have seen in my visions, this one gave me unforgiving chills. The gothic brown interior brought into being, a classic view of a huge, ancient, frigid, and dark hall, with candles flickering to give a bit of light! The light wasn't much, so it left room for everything that lurked in the shadows to go all out and reign freely!

Some murmurs and whispers could be heard from the shadows; I turned around to find nothing but me, and my own shadow that was amplified and zoomed by the candles. Another violent shiver tore through me causing my toes to curl, and at that very moment, I realized I had no shoes on! I braced my ground and tried to take a step forward! I don't know why but I felt very unsettled and very disturbed about the vision I was having. It didn't feel like any other of the ones I have had all my life!

"Not so fast, child!" a cold, lifeless raspy voice called out from ahead, right where there were no candles to emit light! I knew this was just a vision, but it felt different! It felt so real! I took a huge gulp of air and tried to calm my racing heart down, but my heart was as wild as a caged beast wanting out in my chest!

"Who are you?" I willed my scared self to make out a sound; unfortunately, what came out was a petrified, terror-stricken squawk! A shadow flicked from the dark and a silhouette formed as the one behind made his way towards me. I defensively took a step back, wanting nothing but to get out of this place.

"You don't have to know who I am! But the prophecy has been fulfilled!" His voice was very lifelessly cold, causing chills to run down my spine and my heart to skyrocket in my chest!

"W-what prophecy?" I protectively brought my arms around my chest in an attempt to shield myself from the shadow that was drawing closer!

"Grisha"

I suddenly tore from my bed and sat down, heaving intensely as I tried to break out the remnants of the bad dream by hurriedly looking around while clutching my chest tight! I looked up to find my mother sitting beside my torso with a motherly smile as she rubbed small circles on my arm! 

"Another nightmare?" She asked wiping the sweat that broke from my forehead! 

"You know what day it is today?" there was a glee evident in her voice as she grabbed the glass from my hand and placed it on the side table. I looked at her and furrowed my brows.

"Varagrafena!" I called out leaping from my bed and jumping at her! We both fell with laughter as we rejoiced over my big moment! Today marked the big day of my life; the pivot of my life,

Today, I was moving from home to the biggest city, to the only legit university in the entire world.

"Oh my goodness I can't believe it's today!" I was amused as I untangled myself from her.

"But we packed your luggage yesterday sweetie have you forgotten?" she flicked my forehead playfully causing me to laugh.

"I know. I just forgot about it because of that damn nightmare!" I got up into a standing position and pulled her by her hand! My mind drifted back to the vision I had! There were dreams, and there were visions!

I have always been able to tell visions from dreams, and have always been able to interpret what they meant! I was born with the greatest gift of seeing; I was a seer! But my visions came when they came, and they meant what they meant! I had no control of what I was seeing, when, and why! But I always knew that all of them were for a good cause! My mother had gotten used to my weird dreams which sometimes turned out to be true. I remember the other time she told me to embrace my gift, to accept it, and be what God wanted me to be. I was very young, didn't understand what she meant by that. To her; my visions were a gift because not all could see the future. But being a seer came with a prize which only I was able to pay!

"You can say that again!" I replied taking a glass of water she was holding to me! I took giant gulps of water and then heaved out a big sigh. That was one hell of a vision!

"It's alright honey! Let's get you ready. Your train is leaving in 2 hours!" mom called out and that's when I realized how late I was!

The preparation was done in haste in the blink of an eye; I had my small trolley bag and backpack with me at the train station!

The station was buzzing with my age mates, those who were delighted like me. Getting an admission letter from Varagrafena University was like winning a once-in-a-lifetime golden ticket. Although it was just an invitation, it meant the world to me and my peers. Parents crowded the place to kiss their children goodbye, others cried because they knew what awaited the other side. But I was way too thrilled to pay attention to my surrounding! My mom also gave me my time as she just stood beside me, watching me intently as I grinned at what was unfolding in front of my eyes!

While still at it, the train rolled by and I hopped on! I waved mom goodbye with the brightest smile, too happy for what came next!

I have always been a curious type. I always wanted to explore and know what was happening in the world we lived in! Deep down I always knew there was more to things than what meets the eye! And one had to go to the biggest city to get all the answers to their questions about life.

Varagrafena, the city of gold; was not just the biggest city in the world, but it was also the turning point of everyone's life.

I sat by the window and watched as the scenery of nature, buildings, people went on with the affairs of their day when the train snaked by! I couldn’t help the smile that stretched on my lips as the train wheeled its way to Varagrafena. The thoughts of what awaited ahead flowed my mind and I found myself zoning out as I visualized my life in the big city! What was it like? The food? Everything? Was it as good as it was told on TVs?

A/N

Hey Everyone

Just a chapter before we begin the story with a bang! I hope you enjoy this book and I would really love to hear from you in the comments.

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