It was June, but at 5.30 in the morning it was chilly. She opened the French windows leading into the garden and went outside. She wanted to shake that feeling of foreboding that enveloped her like a funereal veil. Dawn was breaking on the far horizon and the birdsong gave her some respite from the remnants of the nightmare following her even as she stepped out onto the balcony and tried to hungrily breath in mouthfuls of fresh air hoping that it would clear her head and dispel her nightmare.

She began to relax as she surveyed her gardens below and the city beyond that looked as if it almost flowed into the sea lapping at its edge. A strange thought of the city spilling and dissolving into the sea in a mighty torrent, of a river-Amazon-like magnitude reaching its Atlantic delta, and disappearing in a flash, took hold of Elli’s mind and she smiled, amused at the absurdity and unlikelihood of it all.

She looked around at the parts of her home visible from her vintage point. She loved this house. It sat atop the highest hill lording it over the city below. The sun was already rising on its daily tour of the sky. The view was magnificent. She could see the sea spreading in front of her for miles like a blinding jewel scattering the light in all directions in its attempt to repel the sun’s attack. She would never exchange this view with any other in the world. It was in her heart. Just like this city and the house puncturing the sky behind her were in her heart. This was the house that had stood here at this very spot for over 80 years.

She felt a strange itch spreading across her body and she shivered involuntarily. She checked her body for scars, even though she did not really expect to find any. And yet there they were. She wondered whether this meant that it was a prophetic vision, a glimpse into the future through the eyes of an occurrence in the past. Perhaps it was both a treasure trove laden with clues and an instruction. Perhaps the vision was trying to tell her that there was something she was meant to do.