The Fortune Teller

“That’s it?” She looked at me with confusion.

“Yep, that’s it.” I sit back in my chair.

“But can’t you be a little more specific?” She looked down at the colorful cards then back at me.

“I’m sorry, but I can only tell you what the cards tell me.”

“And they can’t be more detailed?”

“I’m sorry.” I tap my fingers against the dark blue velvet tablecloth.

“But all you’ve told me is that within the next month something great is going to happen.”

“Something great will.” The sweet smelling incense tickled my nose. I fight back the urge to sneeze. 

“But you don’t know what it is?”

“It’s not me that’s telling you all this. It’s the cards.” I wiggle my fingers above the three face up cards on the table. “The cards can only reveal so much.”

“Can I get a hint? Maybe finding a new boyfriend? Or winning the lotto?”

“Any and all other greatness is possible,” I said. “Trust in the cards, yeah?” My headscarf was feeling a bit too tight now. It always happens after a long shift. Just a few more minutes and I can take it off when she leaves.

“But can we…”

“If you want another reading, you’re going to pay for another hour,” I said.

“Right.” She looked back down at the cards. “Well, maybe another time.”

“Sure. Maybe then we will have a little more luck in what the cards choose to tell us.”

“Hopefully. At the rate you’re charging, I would hope for a little bit more detail.”

“There’s always the deluxe package,” I said as we both stood up from the table. “That could give you the answers you’re looking for.”

“When’s your next available session?” 

“You’re home late.” My roommate, Becka, said when I got home. She sat on the couch watching some sort of dating game show where all the contestants live in one big mansion. 

“I was with Ms. Warner again.” I rummaged through the refrigerator hoping we still had some of leftover Thai food.

“Ah, she’s Madame Hecuba’s favorite customer, no?”

“I’m not sure about her favorite.” I spotted the Styrofoam container holding the rest of the pad see ew hiding behind a jar of mayonnaise. “But she helps pay the rent.”

“What did she want this time, Chloe?”

“Like she wants every month,” I said. “To know what this month has in store for her.”

“What did you tell her?” 

“Good things were going to happen.” I popped the entire container into the microwave. “Or was it great? Dang it, I don’t remember.”

“Is there a difference?”

“To Ms. Warner there is. I hope at least one good thing happens to her this month.”

“How did you know she was going to have either a good or great month?” Becka asked.

“I don’t. But fortune telling isn’t about giving accurate predictions. It’s about giving people what they want to hear. Their fortunes are really up to them,” I said. “That’s why I can’t get too detailed with the fortunes I give Ms. Warner or anyone else who comes to see Madame Hecuba.”

“Are you sure Ms. Warner knows that?”

“I’m not sure. But she keeps coming doesn’t she? Madame Hecuba must be doing something right.” The microwave dinged to let me know my food was ready. 

“Do you ever wish you could tell the future though?”

“Sure, it could be fun.” I sat next to Becka with my Thai food. “We could also get more business that way.”

“Ms. Warner wouldn’t be upset with such vague fortunes.”

“There’s that. If we have more Ms. Warners as customers, we could buy the whole apartment complex.”

“Or a house like that.” Becka motioned to the sprawling mansion on the TV.

“A mansion for each of us.” I savored my first bite of the pad see ew. It was just what I needed. “So, who are we rooting for?”

~ ~ ~

“Hello, Becka? What’s wrong?” I was in between sessions at Madame Hecuba’s fortune telling shop when Becka called me frantic.

“It’s my granddad!” Becka said. “My mom just called me saying that he took a nasty fall. They rushed him to the hospital and… and… oh, Chloe, what if things don’t end well?”

“Hey, hey, don’t think like that.” I shuffled the deck of cards in my hands while speaking to her. “Think positive, Beck. Everything’s going to be fine. Your granddad will be fine.”

“I don't know,” Becka said. “He’s nearly 98 years old, you know? Any little thing can… can…”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” I interrupted her. “Just breathe, Becka. Breathe. Can you do that for me?”

“Breathe.” I heard her take a nice slow breath in. “Chloe, I don’t want to lose my granddad today.”

“You won’t,” I reassured her.

“How do you know?” Becka asked. “How does anyone know?” The cards slipped out from my grip, spilling all onto the floor.

“Becka, it’ll be fine.” I bent down to pick them up, putting her on speakerphone. “Everything…” The walls began to spin rapidly. I couldn’t catch my bearings. What was going on? The breakfast of a blueberry muffin and coffee was coming back up my esophagus. I closed my eyes and reminded myself to just breathe.

When I opened them again, the walls of the fortune telling shop disappeared. I was in a hospital room facing an elderly man in the bed with wires and tubes coming out from him.

“Granddad!” Becka said from the doorway.

“Becka?” How did I get to the hospital? Becka didn’t seem to see or hear me though.

“Thank God!” Becka came running into the room. If I was solid, she would have knocked me right over. But she passed through me like I was made of mist.

“Is that you, Becka?” The elderly man smiled. 

“It’s me, Granddad,” Becka laid her head on the man’s chest. “I was so scared.”

“I am okay, now,” Becka’s granddad said. “Whenever you’re with me, I will always be just peachy.” The walls started spinning again and I had to close my eyes.

“Chloe? Chloe, are you there?” Becka brought me back to my senses. I opened my eyes to find myself back at the fortune telling shop.

“I”m here,” I said, wondering what was going on. “But Becka, don’t worry, okay? Your granddad will be okay.”

“Are you just telling me what I want to hear?”

“I am telling you the truth,” I said. “Trust me, Becka. Whatever you’re doing, just stop. Go to the hospital and see your granddad. He will be peachy as long as you’re there with him.”

“I… I will.” I heard the confusion in Becka’s voice. But there wasn’t time to explain.

“Good. Go see your granddad,” I said. “Call me back to let me know how he’s doing, will you? I mean, when you can, okay?”

“Okay, okay. I will.” We hung up as the next customer walked into the shop.

For the next few hours, I continued to get visions for each person that came to see Madame Hecuba. I would tell them what I saw. All of them were surprised at the detail I was able to give them.

“You really think I will get that raise?” A newcomer asked me.

“Absolutely,” I said. “I saw your boss give you the news when you were wearing a red blouse with black hearts on it.”

“I just… I just bought that blouse yesterday,” the newcomer said. “Are you sure?”

“That’s what I saw,” I said.

“I’m wearing that blouse tomorrow!” She left with such a huge smile on her face. My phone buzzed in my pocket.

“Becka! How’s your granddad?”

“He’s… he’s doing fine like you said he would,” Becka replied.

“That’s so good to hear! See? What did I tell you? Everything would turn out right.”

“Yeah. He… he told me what you told me,” Becka said.

“Which was?”

“That whenever I was with him, he would always be peachy. How did you know he was going to say that, Chloe?”

“I will tell you later,” I said. “I’m glad your granddad is okay. Go be with him for now.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to hear about it.” We hung up again. I saw a man dressed in a black hoodie and dark jeans pass by the shop. He stopped, looked at the sign, and then at me. I gave a friendly wave. He hesitated before finally entering the shop.

“Are you a psychic?” The man asked a bit nervously.

“Yes. I can tell you your future.” It was the first time I ever felt confident saying that. 

“Really?” He sat down. He bounced his knees up and down, looking around at an invisible bug flying around his head.

“For $75 an hour, I can give you answers to whatever questions you may have.”

“$75?”  He wrinkled his nose. “That’s a bit much.”

“Is it really? For the answers to your problems?” I cocked my head and gave him a sweet smile.

“Fine. I guess it could be worth it.” He slapped a $100 bill on the table. I took it and gave him his change.

“Now, what is it that you came to Madame Hecuba’s for?” I shuffled the deck of cards. Hopefully, the vision will come soon.

“There’s this girl who works at a coffee shop near me,” he said, blushing. “Her name is Abby.”

“Abby, that’s a nice name.” I continued shuffling the cards.

“Yeah, she’s even more beautiful in person,” the guy said. “My heart skips a beat whenever I see her.”

“Okay, what is it that you want Madame Hecuba to tell you about this lovely Abby?”

“I wanted to… I wanted to ask her out,” the guy said. “But I don’t know how she would react.” Well, I didn’t need my visions for help on this inquiry.

“There’s only one way to find out.” I placed the deck of cards on the table. “You ask her, of course. If she says yes, I predict good times ahead. Of course, if she says no, it only means someone else is better for you out there.”

“I don’t believe that,” the guy said. “Abby is the one for me, I’m sure of it.”

“If you’re so sure, why did you come here?”

“I don’t know,” the guy said. “You said you can tell me the future, right? How do you know if Abby and I are going to have good times? I mean, can you guarantee it?”

“I can…” The room spun again. By this time, I knew the trick. I closed my eyes and waited for the sensation to stop. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself at a cabin in the woods in the dead of night.

“What the hell?” Nothing but trees surrounded me and the cabin. The silver moon hung high up in the sky. Where was I?

“She told me we would have happy times together!” I heard the guy’s voice from somewhere to my right. I followed it until I saw him, hunched over a hole in the ground. “How could you… why did you say no?” He shoveled more dirt into the hole. “How could you say no and deny us the life we could have had?”

“Hey! What’s going on?” I called out. But like Becka and the rest of the visions, the guy didn’t hear me. He stared down at the ground. 

“You and I could have had our happily ever after!” He fell to his knees, weeping. “Why did you make me do this, Abby? Why?”

“Man, what did you do?” I stepped back from the scene. I didn't have any control over when I came out of my vision, and I wished I did. I had to get out of here.

“This isn’t your fault.” He shook his head. “This isn’t my fault.” He picked his head up. It seemed like he was looking directly at me. “It’s that fortune teller’s!”

“Um, hello?” The guy’s voice brought me out of the spinning forest. “Hello? Are you okay?”

“I’m… I have a headache,” I said to him.

“Okay, but can you tell me what’s going to happen between me and Abby?” He waited for my response. I didn’t know what to tell him. Would it even matter? Could I prevent what I saw?

“I don’t know,” I said finally.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“Dude, this is all a lie.” I ripped off my headscarf. “Madame Hecuba isn’t real. Fortune telling isn’t real.”

“You’re lying to me?” The guy said angrily.

“No, no more lies.” I handed him back his $100. “Truth is, no one knows what’s going to happen in the future. But, what I can tell you, what I hope you listen to, is that you don’t do anything you will regret.”

“Don’t do anything I regret?” He stood up with a huff. “Why don’t you take your own advice?”

I watched as he left the shop, hoping that Becka’s vision was the only one that came true.