Chapter 45: The Burden of Secrets

**Dorothy’s POV** “Thelma, Thelma! Please be okay.” As I paced anxiously, her name repeated itself in my thoughts like a prayer. Memories of her warmth, her kindness, and her radiant smile flooded my mind. Without realizing it, I slipped into a strange trance, the world around me shifting in inexplicable ways. Time seemed to halt. I saw the flutter of a butterfly’s wings slow to a crawl, like a mechanical toy winding down. The soft rustle of the wind stilled as if the air itself had frozen. Then, suddenly, unfamiliar figures appeared—shadowy shapes moving at an unnaturally fast pace, their forms flickering like a film played in fast-forward. And then, I understood. For the first time, my prophetic ability awakened, flooding my mind with a torrent of chaotic images and sensations. The weight of it all made my head spin, and I struggled to grasp even fragments of what I was seeing. Amid the confusion, a few details came into sharp focus before the vision dissipated like