The space around him warped, and his surroundings dimmed significantly, like a shot pulled straight from a staged vampire film."
"You do not belong here!"
The imposter in the mirror snapped, its mouth curled upwards in plain truth and worse, understanding.
It was mirroring him...a blunt, twisted version of him that he prayed he would never acknowledge.
The atmosphere tightened, and its words crawled up his mind, invading every edge—suffocating him.
It's too early to tell, but at this rate, he's thinking this day will turn out worse.
He felt his skin crawl as goosebumps prickled across his body. Vague, incomprehensible images flashed before his eyes—fragmented, nonsensical, as if different puzzle pieces had been forced together.
And yet, he couldn't trust what he saw in this state.
His gift—clairaudience—the ability to hear beyond the human plane, was far more reliable than his sight. A hum of an unknown song assaulted his ears. Too bad there was nothing he could fathom from it, too.
Not that he was willing to anyway.
Seconds passed—how many, he couldn't tell—before he finally regained himself and gasped for air, shutting his eyes to avoid the piercing stares he felt stabbing him from every direction.
He rubbed his eyelids with his right hand, and with the other, he tightened his grip on the suitcase. Embarrassment surged through him, the redness of his pale face deepening with each passing moment.
'Damn!'
Without warning, he was often thrown into these "revelations," as he called them, and whatever was responsible for them had very terrible timing.
These episodes threatened to ruin what little social life he hoped for. It was only a matter of time before everyone caught on and called him a 'freak', like students from the previous schools did.
Without sparing his surroundings a second glance, he rolled his suitcase vigorously behind him and marched further into the school.
---
He moved with the crowd, his hands fumbling with the school map, trying to ignore the uneasy tremor in his fingers.
With the crumpling sound of the school map in his hand filling the air around him, he grasped it tighter as an impromptu breeze threatened to snatch it away from him.
Stealing the opportunity to glance around in search of another abnormality, he was only met with the view of his fellow students. His grip tightened on the suitcase as he pushed forward.
The lingering uneasy feeling from the previous encounter was still there, and it slowly crept up within him, disorienting him.
"Stay focused...Just get through the day," he reassured himself and trudged forward at a normal pace.
His nose twitched as the breeze carried with it a familiar scent of ozone and damp earth.
With his brain a little slower than usual, it only registered the reminder of an incoming storm.
Not until...
"What did you see?"
Seven stiffened. The voice—deep and familiar—rang in his ears. It coiled around his thoughts, sending shivers down his spine.
"Zephyr!" He thought aloud, subconsciously exhaling in relief. He forced his expression to remain neutral.
"Not now, not here..." He muttered softly.
Swallowing, he kept on walking.
Right now, his only concern was salvaging his image. He certainly couldn't do that if he reacted openly to a voice no one else could hear.
Deep within, he knew that it was a losing battle, trying to have a normal stay at school.
With a gift like his, a normal day was just wishful thinking.
He would still try.
---
Two hours had passed, and it was only 4:00 PM. His assigned roommate was nowhere to be found—not that he was particularly eager to meet him.
Aimlessly wandering around the campus, he stumbled upon the school garden after having taken a quick stroll around the library.
He knew there would be little to no one there, which made it the perfect place to spend his evening.
Humans always had a way of entangling his already complicated life. Therefore, he preferred solitude.
The sight drew him in, and he suddenly had the urge to connect with nature.
'I'm weird...' He ghosted a pained smile, aware of what he truly meant—and how badly anyone else would have misunderstood.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face, and he ghosted a smile in appreciation of the warm welcome.
Walking through the rows of fragrant flowers and small bushes was meant to be refreshing.
For him, however, it felt like heaven—most of the time at least.
With a soft inflow of knowledge entering his mind, he took a deep breath and, for once in a long time, appreciated the fact he was different from others.
People made sure he never forgot...
Take for example, no one could tell that the flower with the red petals wasn't hibiscus, like everyone thought it was. Or that the hollow tree at the center looked dead, but still retains a spark of life in it. Some students were kissing behind the bush towards the end of the garden...
'Wait, what?!'
"..."
His Claircognizance, he didn't expect anyone to understand, but he just knew things.
For distraction, he decided to play around with his gifts some more. Closing his eyes for a second to open them to a whole new, different world that only he had the luxury to see. He held his breath and simply lived the moment.
His eyes glowed a white light as he could see the different colors of flowers and plants overlapping each other. It was hard to describe. It was akin to abstract art, one he couldn't understand...
YET...
Besides, there was only so much he could see.
Seeing a few human auras approaching, he called his Clairvoyance ability off and listened instead...
Everything had a sound, he knew. Some were unique, others ordinary, but none were the same. Most humans couldn't hear them. Some might listen and hope. But for him?
For him, it was effortless. Inescapable. That was his curse.
One among many.
More often than not, his abilities were a burden. But on rare occasions—like this—did his troubled soul find peace?
---
As he strolled deeper into the garden, his attention was drawn to the massive tree at the center from before.
The hum!
It was the same hum he heard earlier at the gate.
It grew stronger as he approached, the tune was soft and gentle without the unsettling edge from before. It was strangely comforting, almost hypnotic.
He reached out, his movements guided more by instinct than thought.
"Can you hear it too?"
A voice interrupted him, breaking the enthrallment.
Snapping his hand back, he turned to see who had spoken. His face flushed with embarrassment as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
How had he not noticed her presence?
She sat cross-legged on the grass, her red choppy hair framing her face. From her side profile, he noticed her eyes were closed.
However, tears clung to her eyelashes as they reflected the soft evening hue while cascading down her flushed cheeks.
"Can you hear it too? The strange hum, kind of mournful...that makes you want to cry?" she repeated, adding the last bit, which created a delicate ambiance.
"No," he replied curtly. Pursing his lips, he saw her shoulders tense up after his reply.
She turned to face him, and he froze, not sure of what to say or do.
She wasn't sobbing, but the dried tears weren't a good look on her stern face either.
"I hear it, she whispered. "And it's not happy," she continued, searching his face like she noticed something off about him.
'His eyes...!' she thought deeply, mesmerized.
"Huh?" He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, his voice soft as a strange pang struck his chest.
'She hears it too?'
He shook the thought away, forcing himself to remain rational.
"I'm sorry, the name's Zed..." she said suddenly, standing and wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
Seven just stood still, watching her frantic movements with hesitation, her words stumbling over each other.
She looked ready to say more after half a step, but ultimately walked away without doing so.
'Well, that was awkward...'
Seven let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was already bad at dealing with people; what was he supposed to do with a crying girl?
Staring back at the tree as his mind ran over the short encounter with the red-haired girl. Something about her stuck with him. Maybe because he couldn't get through her senses with his Clairsentience ability.
It was more than that, though...
He knew people offered more resistance than the rest, but she had to be very good at it because he couldn't read it at all and saw only what she permitted him to see.
---
Still in garden, the sun almost fading.
Seven turned to leave...but the call of death was more convincing in telling him to stay.
The sky had darkened, making the spark he had just seen impossible to ignore. At the behest of some unknown power, he went on to investigate...
Tilting his head and scanning his surroundings, he saw nothing amiss.
But reaching out to touch the tree's bark so he could search the other side, there was a strange shift in the air before...
*Snap!*
Something within him snapped like a rubber band as a jolt of energy surged through him.
His arm went numb, paralyzed by the sudden current coursing through his body. He shook violently, teeth clenched in pain, unable to tear his hand away.
Then, in one brutal motion, he was flung backward.
The ground rushed up to meet him, and as he landed gracelessly, he rolled several feet away from the tree. Writhing, his veins bulged as he fought to suppress the agony.
Pale Golden light flickered faintly in his eyes, permitting a blurry vision of a boy in agony, before fading completely.
And then, there was nothing.