Summer

It’s Send Off Training class, and I am inching to be in the safety of my dorm, and to check on AJ. Her dreams can be pretty intense. I’ve always had strong visions.

“So class, to recap our lesson is on dividing your attention while sending off. Essentially you’re going to be working on this puzzle while trying not to run into trees.” The teacher says. The class chuckles. Porter rubs the back of his neck. That sort of thing has happened before. We send our animal selves off. Essentially, it’s like splitting into two. One self is a human, the other an animal. I’m sitting cross legged working on the middle of the puzzle. While my animal self is running at full speed though the trees. A dog, deer, wolf, and a bunch of other animals join me. We race to the pointy rock. I’m also finishing the sky part of the puzzle.

“I think it’s a field.” Porter says.

“I think it’s going to be a forest.” V says, and I can’t help but agree.

“Why don’t you do the border first?” Yana asks me. I shrug.

“I’ve always done puzzles this way.” I say.

“Did you do them with you family?”

“When I was little.” I don’t see them as often anymore. There was always the feeling of separation between us. In my visions I had a great destiny. I don’t know if it’ll come true. I don’t know if I wanted to. I know my parents didn’t believe me when I was young. Which makes sense many kids make up visions when there little. I guess I just never had the heart to correct my parents. No matter what I choose all of the paths lead towards danger and destiny of some kind or another. I’m sure there’s a path out there that doesn’t happen of course, but I simply will not choose it. And because it is so unlikely, I haven’t seen it yet. I want to help. I put a blue puzzle piece into place. “Me and AJ do puzzles all the time though.” She’s like a sister to me. She doesn’t love puzzles or really anything that requires you to sit down for the long period of time. But she’ll do them with me because she knows that I love them. Even if she has to get up and walk around every ten minutes. “Done with the sky.” I announce. “Also I win.” I made it to the rock first as I often do. I can’t help, but smile. On my way back I freeze placing a green piece in. I smell fox shifter in the air. There is no fox shifter in this class.