It was the next day and Levi was still at my house. He spent the night over after we came back from lunch and he helped me out with arranging the apartment and making dinner. He fell asleep on the couch by 8:30pm, and I had gotten a blanket to cover him up, then went to bed myself.
"I'm bored," he whined, lying across my couch like he paid the rent, munching loudly on pork rinds.
I clicked constantly on the remote, only half listening, barely settling on a single movie for long, looking for something that could stop my mind from wandering through the noise of the people outside, some girl stressing over an exam, a guy rehearsing how to break up with his girlfriend,and someone two streets away regretting last night's tequila shots.
Levi groaned, "If you can't find something for us to watch, can't we go out and do something fun?"
"No," I said almost immediately because I knew what he was about to say.
"Come on, Noa," he pleaded.
I sighed, "What would you have us do?"
He grinned, "There's a tarot fair in town,..."
I raised a brow.
"...psychics, fortune tellers, all that mystical stuff, you know? Can we go check it out?"
I rolled my eyes.
"How old are you? Twelve?"
"You'd rather stay in here punching that remote like it's war?"
I sighed, "okay, fine," then I stood up, "but all the bills are on you."
"Deal," he smiled, then put aside the bag of rinds absent-mindedly on the side stool beside him, "I'll go get some water, go get changed," and as he walked past me, I saw it;
The ring looked deceptively simple at first glance, it looked made up from a metal that was darker than silver but it reflected the rays of the sun. Yet, the longer I stared, the more it revealed.
There were faint etchings spiraled along the band, symbols that seemed to be of an ancient language. At its center sat a single blue gemstone, hypnotic and enchanting, almost like a drop of darkness.
The first thought to run through my mind was that Levi owned it, but then I realized that he didn't. Then who did?
I didn't know
That's strange. I don't know?
That was the first time I sought something in my mind but couldn't find anything about it.
"Levi?" I turned back, calling to him.
"Mhm?" he stopped in his tracks.
"Do you…", I started, then I realized I couldn't get an answer from him.
"Never mind," I smiled.
He shrugged and walked away.
What was that?
We arrived at the fair an hour later and it was alive with neon lights and the air was so thick with scent that I could taste it.
Many booths lined the area, each of them draped in deep purple fabrics and were equally littered with candles, crystal balls and tarot decks. Fortune tellers sat behind tables, pulling cards for trusting customers, who were mainly teenage couples and hippies, staring into their crystal balls and spewing prophecies with eerie voices.
One woman gasped theatrically, grabbing the hand of the girl who sat opposite her, looking terrified, "Judgement Reversed, The Moon, and Eight of Sword,"she said in a raspy voice.
"Wha…what does that mean?" the girl stammered, staring at the three cards she had pulled out on the table.
The woman tapped on the cards with her fingers, which were adorned fully with rings of different types, "Pain."
"What pain?" the girl asked, looking genuinely scared.
"You are being consumed by guilt. By your fears, and all your hidden lies," she explained, "You can't escape because you won't face the truth, and the longer you avoid it, the deeper you sink."
"Oh," the girl said and I watched as she frantically searched her memory for the guilt she was supposed to have.
But I don't have any lies or secrets.
I snorted. Levi nudged me with his elbow, "What are you doing? You're being rude."
"Honestly," I said, "I'm not. I mean, that's some shit reading."
"Oh, like you would know?"
You'd be shocked, Levi.
"I could do a better reading than…" I looked around the square and shrugged, "pretty much almost anyone here."
"Oh, be quiet," he started to pull me away, when a nearby tarot reader,a bald man who had a long goatee whistled, beckoning to us. We looked over to his booth, and he said to me, "humor me, take a seat."
I hesitated for half a second and Levi smirked, "chicken."
Oh, alright then.
I walked towards the booth and the man gestured, letting me have his seat, and I sat down, letting my fingers graze the deck of cards. I then shuffled them for a couple seconds, then looked the man in his eyes.
I saw his story, then I looked at the cards spread out downwards on the table and selected three, which no one but me could see; The Lovers, Five of Pentacles, and Ace of Cups.
I push them towards him and he turns them over, then looks at me.
"Want to read it or should I?" I asked.
"It's one thing to pull the cards, lady," he declined, "it's another thing to read them accurately."
I sighed.
"You were in love. And happy," I started tapping on The Lovers card, "you felt heard and seen. But not right now", I shifted my finger to the Five of Pentacles, "you lost her, and you feel no one cares about you. You feel unsupported and alone. But…" I shifted my finger again to the final card, "...you saw someone yesterday. You felt something. You know what you felt, but you walked away," I stood up, still maintaining eye contact with him now, "but this you know…destiny always brings the right people your way."
His expression had changed, looking both pale and perplexed.
I smiled.
Levi whistled noisily, "well, damn."
I giggled and nudged his arm, and I saw her standing a few feet behind him.
She looked like she was in her late forties, maybe. Her cheekbones were sharp and her eyes looked sunken beneath her heavy lids. On her fingers were black nails, chipped at the edges. Her presence was wrong, but I could not place what was wrong about her. I searched her mind, but all I could see was nothingness.
She stepped forward.
"You're wrong," she said.
The air tightened.
I tried to move, but I couldn't.
Her eyes locked onto mine. "You think this is a game?"
My throat went dry.
"I'm…I'm sorry?" I stuttered.
Her lip curled and in an instant, she reached out and clamped her fingers around my wrist.
I gasped as my body jolted from the icy feel of her touch.
"Let go of me," I yanked at my arm, but she held firm, leaning in close enough that I could smell coffee and something bitter on her breath.
"You misuse your gift. You think this makes you invincible?" she hissed.
The amusement in my chest died.
"Do you think you're the first?" she lowered her voice, "You think they won't find you? They always find you."
Levi, who had been standing there, trying to process what was happening suddenly shoved between us, prying her off me. "Excuse me ma'am, do you mind?"
She let go instantly, stepping back with a smirk, then walked away, vanishing into the crowd.
I could barely breathe, and my head was hammering.
Levi grabbed my shoulders, "Hey," he shook me, "Hey, Noa. Are you okay?"
I swallowed hard. My hands were shaking, but I answered, "I'm fine. I want to go home, please take me home."
"Sure, of course," he said, grabbing my hand softly, "let's go."