Lorraine's head hit the desk with such force that her classmates flinched in response.

   They sent her to the nurse. She explained that she hadn't slept well for the past week. They asked her about going ons, including personal hygiene, how often she ate, and when her last menstrual cycle had been.

   The young woman answered as honestly as humanly possible. They asked if she knew what the reason might be for her lack of sleep. She answered with a snarky quip and was popped on the hand with a ruler in response.

   "Sorry. It's just- hard. My father- like most, is...away. Serving the country. It's only my mother and I, and we have a lot of things to take care of with the house, and the Church-"

   Lorraine stopped herself, remembering last weekend's bake sale.

   She could see Ed's hazel eyes blazing in her mind. The way he'd looked at her when he'd seen her crying made her heart flutter. He had been so kind, and his touch had been so gentle. She had seen in it a new way of life: she could hear the laughing of happy children ringing in her ears. Their children.

   "Miss Moran?" the nurse questioned.

   "Hm?"

   "I think you should go home and try to get some rest."

   "Okay."

   "I'll be speaking to your mother about these so-called bouts of insomnia. Perhaps she'd be better equipped to clue me in on what's going on with you."

   "Okay."

   Lorraine's mother picked her up in the vehicle. It was pouring rain. Her mind was swirling with thoughts.

   "You're not sleeping again."

   "No, not well," she admitted. Her thoughts drifted back to Ed.

   Her mother sighed. "I wish you'd talk to me. I- I miss your father. I know he was harsh with you sometimes, but I know that if he were here, he would kiss your forehead and tell you that he loves you."

   Lorraine's thoughts drifted to the war.

   "Lorraine?"

   "Hm?"

   "Please, say something. Anything."

   She could feel fresh tears escaping her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just- I'm so tired," she sobbed, glancing at her mother. "I'm getting them again."

   Her mother missed her turn. "What?" a car behind them honked as she started to drive a little slower.

   "The visions. They won't stop. They keep coming...a mile a minute. Some are about you-" she paused, "Others are about father, and about the war. Quite a few of them are about Ed," she stated simply, considering the last one that just flittered through her mind's eye.

   "We need to tell someone about this, Lorraine."

   She choked. "I don't want to be sent away. But I'm scared, mother. I'm so scared," she whimpered, shrinking in her own skin. "I keep seeing this figure- it's a nun, but...she's not like anyone I've ever seen before. Her eyes- they're yellow. Not like a pretty sunflower yellow...like, a disgusting, putrid yellow...she frowns at me, then screams. She's dark, mother. Not like anything I've seen before," she parroted.

   "Lorraine, stop this. You need to stop thinking like this-"

   "I can't help it!" she screamed as her mother sped into the driveway.

   Mrs. Moran's face was unreadable. "I love you, Lorraine. I want what is best for you. I'm not going to send you away," she paused, "but I think it would be a good idea for you to go without seeing Ed for a while."

   "But, mother-"

   "Don't argue. You've told me he's a nice young man and I'm not going to dispute that, but if these-- premonitions-- are stronger around him, then perhaps you should go without seeing him right now."

   "Mother, please-"

   "Just stop!"

   They pulled into the driveway, her mother slamming on breaks. Lorraine wished she could melt into the seat and never be seen again. She loved Ed, and hated the strain of fighting with her mother. They had been close, at least before her father left.

   As soon as supper was over, Lorraine disappeared to her room, suffocating under the pressure that laid on her chest. Tears sprung from her eyes as she crawled into the bed. The young woman pulled the covers over her head, blinking to try and fend off the tears. She had just started to dose off before hearing a firm knock at the door.

   Lorraine forced herself out of the bed. She tracked carefully to the edge of the stairs, keeping low to the ground so that her mother couldn't see her.

   Her hand shot to her mouth. Her heart pounded, and she wondered if her mother heard her gasp.

   Ed was standing at the door, looking flustered in his schoolclothes.

   Georgianna spoke with him for a few moments before turning him away. Lorraine fought the urge to yell at her, knowing that he must have asked to see her.

   She sighed, turning to creep back into her room.

   Lorraine sat on the bed glaring forlornly at the floor, wondering what to do with this sudden spurn of free time. She had spent so much time with Ed that they had become like a well-oiled machine, and she felt like less of a human being without him.

   She cast at the door. I suppose I could go sit with Mother, although I'm sure she's fed up with me.

   An object that was louder than the pouring rain rapped against her window.

   Lorraine ran to it, then stared outside it aprehensively.

   "Ed?"

   He'd thrown a rock at her window.

   She poked her head outside in a disgruntled fashion. "Ed? What are you doing here?" she whispered.

   He fumbled awkwardly in the rain. "I-- I guess I just really wanted to speak with you."

   She glanced at the door. "You should come up."

   "Wha-- how would I even?"

   "Just climb up the drain pipe. I climb down it all the time."

   He sighed. She pulled away, waiting.

   A few minutes later, his hand appeared on her windowsill, and she grabbed it, helping him in.

   He smiled, sitting beside her on the bed.

   She glanced down at her hands, feeling momentarily lost for words. "I- I've not been sleeping well," she admitted, pulling at the collar of her nightgown. Ed had been courting her for a week, and she still hadn't mustered up the courage to tell him about her clairvoyancy.

   "Is, uh- is anything else bothering you? You seem really quiet..."

   "Mother...she doesn't want me to see you anymore," she paused, thinking of what she could say to benefit her mother and Ed without telling Ed about her visions. "She said she thinks I'm spending too much time with you."

   "Oh. Well...I think she may be right."

   Lorraine glared at Ed like he was a deranged lunatic. "What?" He asked.

   "So, what, you're not worried...about us...not seeing each other for that long...about me being away...in my state of mind?"

   "You're a perfectly sane person, Lorraine, and so is your mother. I think she's right. Getting into a new routine might just be what you need."

   "But what about you? I don't want you to be alone."

   "I have a family, Lorraine. They're not perfect by any means, but I love them."

   "I just-- I'll really miss you."

   Ed sighed. "You make some things harder than they have to be, Lorraine Moran."

   She frowned. "I'm sorry, Ed-"

   "Don't worry about it," he said, bringing the palm of his hand to her back gently. Her skin tingled. "It's one of the things I like about you."

   "I know a place can go, to be together," she blurted, before she really realized what she had said.