Wendy watches me closely. “There’s an event that will shake you.”
My heart races. “Didn’t that already happen? Isn’t that what the last card was?”
“This has yet to happen to you,” Wendy says, tapping her finger on the dark storm clouds before sliding over to the split-in-half structure. “It will be painful.”
“Painful?” I shriek, my voice climbing three octaves. So much for numbing myself. This is what I get for demanding answers. “I need more details than that. Why is there lightning?”
“That’s not always a bad thing. Nor is pain,” Wendy simply states. Easy for someone who isn’t about to experience pain to say. “Lightning can represent a breakthrough, a surge of insight, or a new perspective.”
“Yeah, like Zeus,” Logan contributes. “Maybe it means you’ll be coming into authority or power.”
I want to both laugh and cry at that. “Wasn’t lightning used as a weapon of punishment?” I ask. I’m getting distracted. “That’s not the point.”
The point is: I never should have come here. What’s worse, Logan is a witness to what my life has in store. Without him here, I could’ve played off these fortunes as a post-job loss overreaction. Now this moment is part of someone else’s memory.
The solution here is simple. I’ll just have to never see this guy again.
I’m lost in my thoughts for too long, and Wendy turns to Logan. She asks him to state his name and birthdate. As they move on to his fortunes, I can’t move on from mine. Everything around me fades away as my head throbs. All I hear, ringing clearly in my mind’s ear, are the fortunes I paid for with the last cash that I had:
I’m living too much in the past.
I’ll experience a loss soon.
There’s a painful event that will shake me.
A buzz from my phone distracts me from fully spiraling.
Aunt Alexis (9:31 PM):Hiya, Hazel. Sorry to bother you. Trying to get in touch with your dad. Did he get a new phone number again? I need him to call me back. Can you help?
Last time Aunt Alexis got in touch, Dad owed her money. I don’t get into the details with her. I pull up my thread with Dad and ask him to call his sister back. I toss my phone into my bag before I’m alerted to any new messages.
Outside the tent, the rain slows and then stops, leaving puddles behind. In them, I can see the strung lanterns, their colors brighter in the reflection.
I sense Logan shift in his seat next to me as Wendy taps on thelast card, wrapping up whatever it is she’s saying. They’re done already? I missed everything she said.
Before I can ask Wendy to repeat Logan’s fortunes, she randomly stuffs the cards back into the boxes and gives her birds more rice. A line has formed. Wendy looks eager for us to leave.
We thank Wendy, Doc, and Marty. In one swooping, seamless hand motion, our fortune teller waves goodbye and welcomes the next customer willing to pay for a little bit of hope.
If only they knew. I’d warn the rest of them, but Wendy was nice enough. She has bills to pay, too.
“Well, bye,” I say to Logan and Toffee, taking a hard left down the sidewalk.
“Hey, wait up!” Logan calls out, catching up to me. Toffee trots quickly beside him.
“Let me pay you back for that,” he says. “Please. It’s the least I can do.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “I thought you didn’t have cash.”
“I don’t, but I have credit and debit cards. There’s a bodega on the corner. How about I buy you ten dollars’ worth of Band-Aids?” He nods at my scratched arm, where Toffee’s made his lasting mark.
I wave Logan off. “I’m fine, thanks. I can clean up when I get home.”
Then I remember there won’t be water to wash with.
“Seriously, I’d like to treat you to a first aid kit before that gets infected. Cat scratches can contain a lot of bacteria, and Toffee gets daily walks. It’s best not to think about what’s on these city streets,” Logan urges.
Something about him draws me in. Just like the damn birds.
