Gabriel is flooded with a sense of relief when the door of his room clicks shut.

It is dark, with the curtains pulled tight. The room smells of dust, and the only light is from the laptop's keyboard that breathes in a gentle rhythm. A blanket is hanging halfway off a twin-sized bed and pillows scattered over.

Gabriel lets out a long breath and leans against the door. 

"I've messed up. Again," he thinks as he feels the calming darkness engulf him. 

He's ruined whatever trip Jonan had planned, he is sure.

He takes the notebook out of his bag and traces the edges of the cover until he reaches the design in the center--a hastily carved out hourglass. 

Gabriel had found this book a little over a week ago.

It had been just sitting there, upon the counter. A simple black notebook and a carved cover. He had asked his mother where it was from.

 "Oh, it's not yours? Strange," she said, tilting her head to the side. "Hm... maybe I found it while I was cleaning out the attic and forgot it there. I don't recollect ever seeing it though...Maybe it was from the last owner of the house."

As Gabriel flipped through the pages, he found the notebook surprisingly blank and decided to keep it. 

It was a couple days later when he finally wrote in the notebook. Or at least, tried to. 

The moon hung in the center of the inky night, light barely seeping through a crevice in the curtains. Gabriel grabbed a ballpoint pen from his desk and attempted to write his name. The pen seemed to be out of ink, so he tried a different one. It wouldn't make a mark. 

He pulled out a looseleaf paper and tested the pen. It was fine, but it would not write in the notebook and neither did a pencil.

He picked up the strange notebook and held it under his desk light. It seemed normal, no wax, no anything. 

He frowned and leaned against the back of his chair, thinking.

The moon stared from above and lightly parted the curtains. Its rays fell upon the notebook and slowly caressed the page. 

Gabriel noticed dark stains he had somehow missed the first time--until he realized they were increasing. He stumbled out of the chair as ink began to appear, that turned into lines, curves, and eventually writing. 

The message was clear:

He lost his legs...

Gabriel rubbed his eyes, but the ink did not fade.  

It was not until the second day did he realize Jonan was a classmate, an athlete about to enter his prime season.

Gabriel shakes his head. He tells himself it's just a freaky coincidence, but now, as he holds the notebook, he's not so sure. But before he could open its wooden covers, his mother's voice echoes from downstairs. It is time for dinner.

Gabriel slides the notebook underneath his bed and tries to forget about it. It must be a coincidence, he must've missed the writing when he was flipping through the notebook; he would be going mad if he thought otherwise.

The hallway lights blind Gabriel as he leaves his room. 

At the dinner table, he finds his parents already waiting. His father, who is still wearing his suit, looks up at him, fork in hand.

Gabriel hangs his head low.