A World of Magic

Ann woke just before the alarm went off. Another day at work, oh joy. She didn’t mind her job really, it just got a bit tedious at times. She jumped out of bed and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. A pale, slim red headed image looked back at her. She was sure she did not look unattractive, but she still did not have a partner. Living on her own in her little two up two down was a lonely life but one she felt was going to be her lot. She was alone mostly because of her gift, it was hard to confide in people about the things she could see, or how instinctive she was. The dead had been her companions since she was a child; she also seemed to have good instincts when dealing with people and situations. Giving herself a mental shake, she went to check the window to see what the day had in store. On opening the curtains she was greeted by a wash of white. It had unexpectedly snowed through night, quite heavy too. She loved snow, and of course it being so thick meant she might not be able to get into work. Great, a day off. Ann quickly got showered and dressed before checking in with work.

Of course they insisted she walked in, after all it was only a few miles. Grumpily she agreed and set off for work.

She lived in a large village in England, not very far from large woodland. During summer, it was full of colour and smelled wonderful. There was something about trees that always made Ann feel good, a wander off into the woods on such a beautiful snowy day would do just the treat. Shame she had to go into work instead.

The pavements were pretty lethal that morning, at least there were not many cars on the roads. Most people had opted to stay at home. Ann cursed her conscious for phoning in work, she could have been enjoying herself now.

It was a lovely morning for a walk though, the air smelled fresh due to the snowfall. Everything looked clean, white and crisp. Ann started to relax and enjoy her surroundings; maybe a walk into work won’t be too bad after all.

She suddenly got a strong feeling, a prickly sensation ran down her face. Something was wrong.

Ann barely had time to turn before the car hit her; she had not even heard it coming. The driver had lost control coming down the hill and skidded right onto the pavement.

Ann flew up into the air, she was surprised nothing hurt much but the coming down seemed endless. It felt like she was falling into a large hole, down and down. All black and quiet. Her nerves were alive, was this it, was she going to die.

The next thing she was aware of was freezing water. The shock took the wind right out of her lungs. Floundering, she was unable to coordinate her movements. She did know how to swim but for some reason that knowledge wouldn’t get to her arms and legs. Real fear gripped her now, was she going to drown instead. A large branch from a tree suddenly appeared in front of her, instinct made her grab for it and hold on. Slowly the branch was dragged towards a large riverbank, she was dimly aware of dark figure on the bank pulling her in.