This is the second installment of the Turn of Destiny series. You can find part one here.
Inside, the tent was dark and musty. Mindy stood at the door for several moments, blinking to adjust her eyes to the gloom.
As her vision cleared, she glanced around. The inside was much larger than it looked from the roadway. Along both walls were wooden shelves that held jars and boxes of various sorts. Mindy could not identify most of them. The interior was lit by a three candles stuck into a small candelabra on a pole near the table.
Heather was seated at the table in a wooden chair, her eyes focused on a cloudy crystal ball placed on an onyx stand in the center. Her hands were gripping the edge of the table and she rocked slightly, emitting a constant, faint humming sound.
Mindy jumped when she felt something touch her elbow. Beside her, the Gypsy grinned and beckoned to a stool nearby. Glancing worriedly at her friend, Mindy nodded and took a seat.
The old woman returned to her own cloth-covered chair and waved a hand over the ball. The ball cleared and Heather's trance was broken. She looked more irritated than anything.
"So how long do I have to sit her before we get started? Or are you just going to wait til I get bored so you can steal my money?" Heather had never been one for patience.
The fortune-teller threw a toothy smile in Mindy's direction and Heather followed her glance.
"How'd you get in here?"
"I snuck in. Sorry. I hope you don't mind."
"No, I'm glad you're here. You can be witness when I sue for my money back."
"Now, now, child, no need for that. Let's get started."
The woman waved a hand over the ball again and Mindy flinched, afraid of Heather going into another trance. Instead, the crystal turned a vibrant purple.
Heather ooed and aahed appropriately for a few moments before the woman went into a spiel about love and honor and the man Heather had been chasing after.
Mind was astonished at the woman's accurate description of the boy in the grade above them, but Heather just scoffed.
"I knew all that already. Tell me something I don't know."
The Gypsy grinned again, and this time it held a savage edge. "Something you don't know? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I want my money's worth."
"Alright, then. You will get married, but happily ever after is not in the cards. You will have three children and be the perfect housewife for all appearances. But in reality, he will keep you imprisoned in your own house, a trophy. Nothing more. He will not love you and he will have mistresses on the side. You will be too afraid of rejection to tell anyone, until the day you snap and murder him, your children, and yourself."
Heather stared at the woman for a full minute before snarling and standing up. "You're so full of shit. Come on, Mindy. We're leaving."
Heather stormed out the tent flap and Mindy stood to follow. She looked at the woman, who raised an eyebrow.
"Destiny come true," was all the woman said as she beckoned to the chair. Mindy glanced at the door once more, then took a seat.
More to come...
And the plot thickens! This is coming along very nicely. Can't wait to see what happens next :)
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