The Viewing In The Puddle
by Sophia Wang
Gilbert didn’t know when the powers came. He didn’t like them at all. He wasn’t sure if he should tell anyone. The only thing he knew was that they weren’t there before. How did he get them? It was probably a dream last night about a talking frog. That didn’t matter. He was confused and scared.
Whenever it rained, puddles would form. Gilbert loved to splash in puddles, but now he didn’t. He avoided them as much as he could. Whenever he got close to a puddle, he would start to see things, a terrible storm of heavy winds and thundering light. Gilbert has developed a fear of puddles. He tried to tell his parents what he saw, but they just said, ” Your imagination must be getting in the way. Come on now, you’ll be late for school.” Gilbert wanted to believe them, but the storm just seemed too real. He listened to the weather forecast, but there was no warning about a big storm.
Eventually, Gilbert forgot all about it. He had lots of fun in second grade; he couldn’t wait to go back again. That was the day it came. It was school dismissal time, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue. Gilbert was talking about his plans for the weekend when all of a sudden, the clouds darkened, the rain poured, and thunder shook the skies. Images flashed through Gilbert’s head: cars drowning, trees uprooting, and his class trying to withstand the rain. Then he was back in the hallway. No clouds were in the sky, and not a single rain puddle was on the streets. Then he realized that what he saw was a flash of the future.
Gilbert broke into a run; he had to warn everyone. He had to stop everybody from going outside before it was too late.
“DON’T GO! WAIT, IT IS TOO DANGEROUS!” his teacher stared at him, slightly confused.
” Why is that?” she questioned. Now everyone was staring at him.
“There is going to be a storm,” Gilbert replied, “A really bad storm, and we’ll only survive if we stay inside.”
Now the teacher was concerned for the child. It was such a ridiculous thing to say! The sky was blue and the sun was shining, it can’t possibly be going to rain. She saw the look of fear and panic on his face. The teacher didn’t want to deal with a mental breakdown. Not with Gilbert anyway.
“I will text your parents and we’ll wait here a little longer, then,” She finally said.
Gilbert was relieved; she believed him, and that was all he needed. Just as he predicted, the storm came. Everyone was safely inside. Gilbert had done it. He had saved his class and his parents, and his friends. They called him a hero. Gilbert finally understood his powers, and he turned them into a tool, not a fear.
