text: You know that saying people use to describe a muddled mind? You know, the one with the fuzziness. Yeah that’s the one. Well that’s the state of mine 90% of the time. As a 26 year old from New York, you would expect me to have some idea. Some inkling of how to socialise, how to engage with people, but the truth is I am as introverted as they come. People are difficult. I’d much rather sit on a deserted beach than deal with another of Stacy’s StarBucks trauma’s, or listen to Bryan rant on about his partners messy morning routine. Despite my a-social tendencies, I still have moments - brief moments - where I crave a human connection. I still want to be loved, to be desired, to be held... However at my age, my lack of experience serves as a complication. You see, in my humble opinion, to navigate the contemporary dating scene you need to have a PhD in psycho-analytics and skin as tough as granite. It doesn’t help that the only experience I have is a 2-day ‘situationship’ with Stacy Mulligan when I was in 11th Grade. That all but ruined my self-confidence, and since then I’ve never felt like opening up to anyone. My go-to explanation when asked by friends, family, and strangers alike is that I’ve been preoccupied with work and just never had the time to devote to someone else. The reality, however, is much more obtuse and dark. It is also - arguably - the reason why Ms. Mulligan is now a permanent resident of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center... To put it plainly, I’m a master observer. Able to predict events and outcomes well before they occur. I predicted my friends death six months before she was diagnosed with a stage 4 lymphoma. I predicted the invasion of Ukraine three years before Russia launched their ‘special operation’. Three weeks ago, I predicted the armed robbery at the cornerstore on 27th Avenue. The one which happened last Tuesday. I also predicted Stacies death... She drowned. After I told her, she broke. The doctors said she suffered a severe psychotic episode - I mean what else would you call an incorrigible fear of water. She refused to go anywhere near a puddle. I can’t explain how it works, what triggers it, or what the timeline for the events occurrence is. The only thing I do know is; when the vision pops into my head, the event will happen. The vision comes in waves, sometimes I have a tactile response (meaning I feel what people in the image feel), sometimes it’s an extreme emotion, and sometimes I feel nothing. So why am I telling you all this? Well, about five seconds ago I brushed hands with the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, and in that moment I saw them die. Before I could say anything, the train doors shut. Off they walked, and there I stood. Speechless. What should have been a tacit and meaningless mistake, caused my heart to flutter and sent a persisting shiver down my spine. I’ve seen disaster and gore before. Hell, my last vision showed the store clerk decapitated at the cornerstore on 27th Avenue.