The Woman in Gold

Laura stood in front of the mirror and brushed out her dark curls until they looked wild. She applied a beauty mark to her left cheek, crowned her head with a turban, and applied her lipstick. For the next three hours she was Madame Elle. 

Every weekend it was a different location but the same gig; tell people what they wanted to hear, but in a dark room with decorations. Laura yawned. 

“Madame Elle,” a young woman called from outside her makeshift dressing room, “we’re ready for you.”

Laura exited the room, holding her head high in the dignified manner that Madame Elle had become known for. She followed her guide down the rear staircase of the hundred-year-old townhouse to the basement, which would be her place of business for the night. Her clients were a mysterious young couple hosting a New Year’s Eve party. Laura had only interacted with the party coordinator, Beth who was out sick tonight, and the young woman that led Laura was the replacement. 

“Is everything to your expectation?” asked the young woman as they reached the basement.

Laura looked around, examining the luxurious fabrics of purple, gold, and red draped from floor to ceiling. It gave the room the look like they were in a fortune teller’s tent. In the center of the room stood a velvet high-back chair in front of which stood a table wither her crystal ball shrouded beneath a purple cloth as requested. 

“Yes, thank you,” said Laura. 

“Excellent. You can expect your first clients in about ten minutes.”

The young woman departed, dimming the lights as she walked up the stairs. Laura settled into her chair. She started a track of music that helped set the ambience. Closing her eyes, she took a few cleansing breaths and settled into character. 

Her first clients arrived via the rear staircase. 

“Welcome,” Laura said, “please, be seated.”

Before her sat a young couple already drunk off of the libations of the evening. They wanted to know what their future held together as a couple. Laura pulled off the purple cloth from her crystal ball with dramatic aplomb. The couple’s eyes widened at the sight of the glowing orb. Laura asked a few leading questions; to better understand the couple without giving the farce away. With theatrical dramatics, she delayed her response. The couple sat on edge, holding their breath until finally Laura let them know that they would have two dogs together and live happily ever after. The woman squealed and kissed her partner and together they stumbled away back to the party upstairs. Laura smiled and crossed her arms. Another success, finding exactly what her clients wanted to hear, though if they remembered the evening, that would not take a psychic to find out. 

The next client was a more subdued couple - they were trying to conceive and had been struggling. The husband with his arms crossed and brows furrowed, made it clear to Laura that he did not want to be there. His wife did all the talking, often breaking down and crying. Laura wanted to drop the charade and give the woman a hug, but she held firm to Madame Elle’s character. Once the woman had finished talking, Laura performed the same dramatics as she had done with the previous clients. Even the husband became enraptured by Madame Elle’s performance. Finally, Laura gave the couple the best generic response she could safely give a woman who was desperate for a baby. 

“Happy now?” asked the husband.

The woman nodded and whispered her thanks. Together they left and returned to the party upstairs. 

Madame Elle’s next client was a man with a beautiful face. He told Laura that he was a model with a successful career but wanted to know if he should give up everything for the love of his life who wanted to live a solitary life in the woods. Again, Laura performed her theatrics dazzling the man with her crystal ball. The man oohed and awed at the spectacle, which made Laura bolder in her dramatic maneuvers. Finally, in a whisper, Laura said, “true love will always endure.” Her client clapped and left a tip even more handsome than his face. 

The night dragged on in a similar fashion for Laura. All the questions could be categorized as a client wanting to know about their future life, love or relationship, or babies. All the questions were easy and downright boring. But Laura knew that it made her job easy to give satisfactory answers that came with a few tips. With a quick glance at the clock concealed within her crystal ball, Laura saw that her time as Madame Elle was almost over. She was tired and longed for bed. She straightened up as she heard her final client for the night descend the staircase. 

The woman was a tall brunette with the air of a model. She had fair, almost ghostly white skin. She wore a gold sequined dress that reached the floor and dragged behind her in a train. Laura was mesmerized by the woman’s dark eyes which locked on to hers as the woman approached the table. When she sat down, she tossed her long hair to one side, draping it over her shoulder. With some hesitation, Laura began Madame Elle’s routine. 

There was a faint accent in the woman’s speech. She wanted to know what tonight would hold for her. As she spoke, Laura could feel goose pimples form along her arms and shoulders. Despite her gut feeling, Laura pressed on. After all, this was her final client and then she would be free to go home. 

Fighting the urge to shiver, Laura removed the purple cloth of her crystal ball, but as she did so, the lights of the house flickered and then everything went to black in the room, except the battery operated crystal ball. Laura now felt her pulse elevated as she looked at the woman who sat across from her. She had a devilish grin and what appeared to be fangs. 

Laura moved to rub her eyes; clearly she must be seeing things due to her delirium. As she brought her first hands to her eyes, the woman jumped on her, knocking over the crystal ball, making the room darker than ever before. 

As Laura tried to fight the woman off of her, she yelled for help. The woman was biting her; along Laura’s hands, arms and neck. It felt like the woman was trying to eat her. 

“Stop!” screamed Laura as she continued to fight her attacker. “Please stop!” she cried. 

To Laura’s relief she heard footsteps descending on the staircase. The person held a flashlight and must have been searching for the electrical panel. From upstairs came the sound of guests counting down to the new year. 

“Help!” cried Laura again, hoping to grab the attention of whoever was in the basement with her. “Get this woman off of me!”

With a shove, Laura managed to free herself. At that same moment the lights had come on. Laura did not wait to look around and immediately fled upstairs to where the party was taking place. 

“Should old acquaintance be forgot…” sang the guests as they danced to instrumental music. 

No one paid Laura any attention. She looked down at her arms, but did not see any signs of trauma. She felt her neck, there was nothing. She turned around at the sound of footsteps coming up from the basement which she had just fled. A man in a tux led a woman, the woman in gold, to the dance floor. As they passed, only the woman looked at Laura with a sinister grin and licked her lips. Once she reached the dance floor, her partner twirled her around and they disappeared into the mass of swaying bodies. 

Laura stood mouth agape. She did not know what to do. If she tried to interrupt the party, no one would believe her story. She turned around at the tap of the shoulder. 

“Thank you, Madame Elle,” said the young party planner. She handed Laura an envelope. 

Still in a state of shock, Laura did not move from her spot. 

“It’s the agreed to amount plus a tip,” added the party planner. 

Still Laura said nothing. 

The party planner took Laura by the hand and led her to the door. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“But—”

“We’ll send you your things.”

Laura looked again to the dance floor, catching a glimpse of the woman in gold and shivered. She turned seeing the party planner had opened the door. Following her gut, Laura decided it was best to leave without making a scene.