Chapter Text
1976
The first of many visions began when Exer was only four years old. The young boy, while playing in the backyard with his mother, was met with a glimpse of the future. Said glimpse only lasted for a few seconds but was long enough to help Exer understand.
What he saw was his mother packing a bag, laying him down for rest, one last kiss on his forehead as he slept, then leaving without a word. A single touch on his mothers arm resulted in him seeing the seemingly unchangeable future. Exer began to cry just as his father came out back to say dinner was ready.
Though his mother was soon able to calm him down to eat, Exer didn’t let go of his mother at all. The three of them made their way to the couch for a movie once they were finished with their meal. After the usual nightly banter Exer insisted on staying in his parents room while they slept. The whole rest of the week was spent like this, though Exer didn’t get any more visions. The two would go to work while Mrs. Collins' baby sat Exer. After work his father would make dinner and he would play in the back with his mother, the three of them would eat the meal his father made, then they’d spend the rest of the night doing some kind of activity until they all fell asleep together in the master.
If his mother got up before him Exer would cry until she came back in to pacify him all the while his father got ready for work. Sunday night was different though or at least felt different to Exer. His parents came home later than usual, dinner was quiet, and there was no fun time afterwards. Right after dinner Exer was put in his room to play by himself as his parents did whatever parents do when they're not watching you. Which in this case was fight. Exer could hear his parents' words getting louder downstairs, even through his shut door, the noise made the boy begin to cry and the racket stopped but not before he caught two words said by his mother: ‘sick’ ‘dying’. The house was quiet for the rest of that night; his father spent extra time downstairs while his mother entertained him before sneaking off to her room while he played with his favorite toy.
That night felt oddly familiar to the four-year-old, though he hadn’t been able to understand it at the time. His father came back up and went straight to bed while his mother scooped him up in her arms for rest. What seemed to be all too familiar that night was how she lay him down in bed, kissed his forehead, and turned off the lights.
That morning when Exer woke up and began to cry, it wasn’t his mother who came in to calm him. Instead, it was a teary-eyed man holding a small piece of paper in his right hand.