[img=http://i.imgur.com/UPINOf1.png]

Lute fell in a lake. When he realized that he gasped for breath before the waters closed over him, reaching out both hands towards the surface as he sank deeper. He didn’t know how to swim… 

[I]Shwwwing![/I]

Something cut through the murky liquid and hit him on the side of his face. When the virtuoso recognized that it was a fish hook he immediately wrapped his fingers around it and tugged; somebody pulled the line and he was suddenly airborne for a few seconds, only to land in a mound of dry leaves. He was out of the lake, but the person who saved him…? Lute pushed himself up, crushed bits of leaf and soil clinging to his wet skin, and glanced around quickly. “Hello!?” He called out, but nobody answered. The forest was quiet…

Wait, forest? They had moved nearer to Thaum a few years back, smack near the woodlands. In fact, Lute recognized this lake all of a sudden; he [I]used to fish[/I] here. He began to run in the direction of Auntie’s farmhouse. Maybe… Maybe it was normal there. Maybe there was an explanation why the world froze and then tilted, with him ending up here. 

[i][b]“Brother… It was cold last night.”[/i][/b] A whisper floated through with the night wind and Lute froze in shock. That was his sister’s voice! “Rua-,” He pivoted and was about to yell, only to be struck dumb by the sound of his own voice, answering his sister’s question. [i][b]“What are you talking about? It was so hot I couldn’t sleep!”[/i][/b] This… This was a conversation they had back when Lute was sixteen, and Ruana was fourteen. He remembered it too well… [i][b]“Is that so…? Then I’m mistaken. It’s just that the kitchen window kept fogging up while I was wiping the dishes.”[/i][/b] 

Oh gods, please no. The fear, the anger, the terror… He started to feel it coursing all over his body in the same intensity it did the first time. Lute ran faster and the farmhouse slowly started to get bigger. He was close. So close! It would be different this time!

[i][b]“Brother, I… Brother, I have something to ask you…”[/i][/b] No, no, no. Please be quiet. I can’t listen to this anymore. I can’t. [i][b]“Was it cold last night?”[/i][/b] He should’ve known. All those signs, and he didn’t see! [i][b]“No, Ruana. Why’d you ask?”[/i][/b] She paused before answering him. [i][b]“My bedroom window was fogged up.”[/i][/b]

[i][b]"You're being paranoid, sis."[/b][/I] He had the audacity to laugh. [b][I]"What, you think some weirdo's squatting outside your room and breathing at you? That's just plain freaky! Nobody would do that!"[/i][/b] Oh, how wrong he was.
Lute kicked the door open and froze in place, his chest heaving up and down because of the exertion.

[i]You could’ve seen, but you chose to be blind.[/i]
[i]You could’ve heard, but you turned away and played deaf.[/i]

Everything was in disarray. Chairs and tables were overturned; the vase which was usually filled with flowers Ruana picked from the meadows was on the ground, shattered to pieces. It looked like the scene of a struggle.

His sister was gone, and it was all because he didn’t listen.