All Lee remembered in the train station that day was the flash, the explosion, the terror. He could see it all.
You could see the worry in Lee's eyes. He had never fully realized what had happened to him in the train station, but when he fainted on the floor, his eyes closed,  he was transported into what seemed like it was a different country, a different time.
Lee Brown was a normal man like any; he grew up in an average family with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. His father was a teacher at the local schoolhouse and his mother would stay at home with the children. His father, being a teacher, would teach his children lessons, and Lee would always take great interest in the history. History was as much a part of Lee’s life as living and breathing, and everyday he was fascinated to learn about another period in history. With every lesson Lee would be able to predict the outcome of that particular time in history with no previous knowledge of that subject. He never told anyone, not even his father, and little did he know that he would be using this undiscovered gift in the near future.
At the time of the First World War, Lee was only 13 years old,  too young to enlist in the army. However, with the need for strong American men, his father felt the need to help his country, leaving the whole family behind with Lee’s mother. The day his father left, Lee was struck with an alarming feeling, one he had never experienced before. At first it was pain, then it was a shiver, and all of a sudden he was tugging at his father's arm, screaming, “Don’t go! Don’t go!” Tears were flowing down Lee’s face at the rate that rain would fall down during a thunderstorm. His mother knew it was going to be hard for all the children, especially Lee, but never in her mind did she see Lee fainting on the floor of the train station as his father was pulling away.

As Lee’s other brothers and sisters helped him up to the front doors of their house, he was still experiencing the seizure-like episode. They sat him on the floor of their living room and he began to settle. All of the siblings were gathered around with cool towels of water and blankets to calm Lee down.
Lee had never fully realized what had happened to him in the train station, but when he fainted on the floor, his eyes closed, he was transported into what seemed like it was a different country, a different time. He first witnessed a battle scene, an American tank ambushing an enemy camp, but the heavy machinery of the enemy was too strong, and it shot the tank directly in its tracks, the tank was immobilized, and Lee couldn’t see who was inside. Lee could see that once the man escaped from the tank, he would be dead, but if he stayed in the tank, it would be shot again and possibly explode. He tried to yell out to tell the man to stop, but he couldn’t talk, so Lee was only able to watch the man suffer. The soldier had run out of the tank and looked around, allowing Lee catch a glimpse of this man’s burnt face. It was his father. Now even further into the future, he could see a letter at the front door of his house, and his mother running out of   the door and never returning.
Lee came into consciousness yelling “Dad! Don’t get out of th-“ and then he woke up. Lee tried so desperately to be able to go back to when or where he was in the battle scene, but there was no way of him finding where he was. All he knew was that his father was going to die, and he couldn’t do anything to save him.
Later that night Lee had come to realize that he had seen his father in battle, just like he was able to predict the history of the lessons his father had taught him before he went over to fight in Europe.  He ran into his mother’s room and yelled “Father is going to die,” but his mother didn’t believe him. She nestled him close to her in her bed and whispered to him saying “Lee, I know you may be scared about your father. There is not one night that will go past where I do not think about him, but if he has any chance to come home to see us again, we must send all of our prayers towards him. Now go join your sisters in their room to pray for your father to fight for us, and to return home safely when his time to serve is up.”

The children would write to their father, and every 2 months or so they would receive letters from him. Lee was being driven to insanity knowing that his father was going to die out on the front lines, but he could do nothing to stop it. He tried to gain the faith to be able to write to his father to never get into a tank, but by the time Lee had the courage to write him the letter, it was too late.
In late November of 1916 when the leaves had already changed colors and the air was cold enough to wear their gloves and winter hats, the Brown family received a knock on their door. Lee already knew whom this knock on the door was, and it was hard for him to hold back the tears, fits of rage and regret. He slowly backed into the corner of his house, and slid down the wall with his knees curled up in front of his face.
All he was able to see was his mother, her face turning bright red, then to tears rolling down her face almost as fast as Lee’s had done when he discovered his father’s death. Then he saw her mouth turn-almost upside-down, to look like she was about to enter into a fit of rage that could never be reversed. She ran into her bedroom, took a bag of her things, and rushed out of the house without saying a word to any of the children. This was Lee’s last memory of his mother. He didn’t know where she went or if she was going to be okay, but she left, and never returned.
  Lee’s mother was a kind, gentlewoman who had lived a simple life, never a woman to take money for granted, but belonged to a family that was well-off for themselves. She met Mr. Brown at a very young age, and they were best friends for as long as she could ever remember. During the summer they would play outside all day together, like bear cubs in the forest. They would run on the dew-damp grass and across the mud so that the end of their clothes were stained a color that reminded them of summer. They would play outside all day, splashing in the cool waters of the river and dry off on the dock, the warmth of the sun hugging every part of them.

The leaves changed their colors as the years went by, and even though Mr. Brown had gone off to study, their friendship had never died. When he came back, they were married and had six beautiful children whom they knew would grow up to be a great family for them, and would carry on the Brown’s legacy.
When the letter came out for the draft, Mrs. Brown went into a whole new state of mind. She was no longer a light, whole-hearted woman like she was before, instead she buried her feelings down inside, as if she were just digging down further and further into her soul, passing every memory she had ever had with Mr. Brown. She promised herself she would be strong for her children, and every night she reminded herself that her husband would come home, playing mental games with herself trying to get through the 9 months he was away. However when she heard the stiff knock on the door, it was all over. The memories of summer grass stains and cold lemonade that splashed on their tongues -it was all gone.

Now after the leaves had changed colors for fifteen long years, the Brown children had grown up. After Mrs. Brown had left, Lee’s older siblings had been able to take care of the family and support them by working in the mills during the days instead of going to school, for they had already learned so much from their father. They did their best as any children could do supporting their family, and it was highly stressful to have to support a family of six.
After all the children had left the house, it was only fitting for Lee, being the youngest, to keep the legacy of his father alive. He went to the same university as Mr. Brown, following in his footsteps, and had only hoped to be as successful as his father had been. Lee met a woman while at the university, and had two children together. They were happy, Lee was living in his old house, where so many memories were made, and it seemed to have a new, more positive look surrounding the air around it. The soft creeks in the floorboards reminded him of when he was a child, and would hide journals and books under them, the same red wallpaper hung as a boarder around the kitchen and living room, the same as he had in his old bedroom.
It was the little things that gave Lee joy in life, and the old memories of the incident with his father were put behind him, for he had moved on to be a stronger person than in his adolescence. He had not seen the images again since the time of the tragedy, and tried to forget them all together. However, the Second World War was approaching and the army was in great need of trained doctors to help in combat. Lee tried to hold himself back from going, but as much as he tried, he was not able to forget his father’s deeds, and wanted to lead the same example for his children as Mr. Brown had done for him.
Lee said goodbye to his family, and tried to re-gain every possible strength in him to be able to predict what would happen, but was not able to find the power he had as a child. He was a worried man, with bags under his eyes, his face unshaven, his skin wrinkled like a shirt that had not been pressed.

He hugged his daughter, knowing that there was nothing he could foresee to make this any less painful for either of them. For she was only an innocent child, barely four years old, however wise beyond her years.
As the train pulled away once again, the shy, wise little girl’s toothless smile turned into a stern appearance, almost a stare. The little girl fainted on the train station floor.
All he remembered was the flash, the explosion, the terror. Then he was somewhere.
Somewhere was the long summer’s spent on the lake, it was the feeling of hugging his daughter so close. It was different, yet peacefully familiar.
He listened to the sounds of “somewhere”, and heard a voice, comforting and soft.
“Hello Lee.” The quiet voice woke him from his daze.
“Hi Dad...”

Bibliography (Photos)
"Ransom Riggs." Ransom Riggs. Ransom Riggs, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.