Chapter 16 Luke
LUKE
It was my turn.
I settled into the chair across from the fortune teller while she waved what looked like a bundle of herbs over the cards.
“Cleansing the space,” she explained, her bracelets jangling with every motion. “Now, tell me, what do you wish to ask the cards?” Her tone invited me to whisper secrets I didn’t know I had.
I hesitated, masking my discomfort with a casual shrug. “Am I going to win a big award next year?”
Madame Aphrodite clicked her tongue in mock disapproval, shaking her head. “No, no, no. Dive deeper. Ask a question that will guide your soul.” Before I could think of a sarcastic comeback, she added, “We will ask the cards how you can rediscover joy in your life.”
My stomach twisted slightly, and I shifted in my seat. Joy? That felt like a tall order. But her gaze held me captive, so I nodded.
She placed three cards face down in front of me, her bangles chiming like tiny gongs. “These cards reveal your past, present, and future. Go on, flip the first one.”
I reached out, my fingers brushing the worn edge of the card before flipping it over. A regal woman seated on a throne stared back at me, her crown adorned with stars.
“Ah, the Empress,” Madame Aphrodite declared, her voice dropping into a hush.
Then her gaze narrowed as she leaned in, tapping the card with a finger adorned in rings.
“But… she is reversed. This suggests a void, an emptiness in your past. Perhaps someone you once relied on left a mark? An absence you’ve yet to reconcile. ”
My throat constricted. My mom’s face flickered briefly in my mind, unbidden and uncomfortable. But no. This must be about Sienna. It had to be her. She’d been the one who left me spinning, hadn’t she?
Although if I were honest, Sienna hadn’t crossed my mind recently. And the thought of my mother clung to me like a burr, making me squirm.
“Come on now.” Madame Aphrodite’s voice broke through my unease, light and coaxing. “Don’t linger too long on the past, darling. Let’s see what the present holds.”
I turned over the second card, revealing a skeletal figure atop a horse carrying a sickle. The image sent a shiver down my spine. “This… doesn’t look good,” I said.
Madame Aphrodite rolled her eyes with flair. “It’s Death,” she said dryly. “But don’t be so dramatic—this isn’t about literal death. It’s the end of something that no longer serves you. A door that must close so a new one can open.”
I exhaled, letting her words sink in. Transformation. Ending something. This time, the message seemed clear: Sienna. But if I hadn’t thought about her in days, my relationship with her was already over. Did that mean something else was ending?
“Finally, the grand finale.” Madame spoke with theatrical anticipation. “Flip the last card to uncover your future.”
I turned over the final card and stared at the image of a man in ragged clothes, barefoot, carrying a stick slung over his shoulder. “Wait, am I about to become the world’s worst-dressed hiker?”
Madame Aphrodite cackled, clearly amused by my discomfort. “No, dear. This is The Fool.” She leaned in, her tone serious. “The Fool represents a fresh start. A journey into the unknown, full of possibilities. It’s about trusting your instincts, even when others don’t understand.”
I stared at the card, feeling a strange mix of hope and dread. A fresh start sounded good on paper, but what if I messed it up? What if I wasn’t enough?
Madame Aphrodite’s eyes twinkled. “Of course, fear will cling to you like a shadow. It always does. But the question is, will you let it decide your path?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. She was asking about something that I wasn’t ready to confront.
As we rose to leave, her knowing gaze followed me. “The universe speaks in mysterious ways.” Her voice sparkled with mischief.
When Anna and I reached the door, Madame Aphrodite leaned in close, her eyes glittering with sudden intensity. “Beware the place tall shadows lean,” she whispered. “For when the ground trembles and silence is keen, it’s the tree that falls, not the scene.”
Anna tilted her head, her playful sarcasm vanishing. “What does that mean?”
Madame Aphrodite offered nothing more than a cryptic smile, her painted lips curving into an enigmatic grin.
I forced a laugh, trying to shake off the strange reading. “Well, I was kind of hoping for a card that said, ‘Congratulations, you’ll win an Oscar.’”
Anna snorted beside me. “With my luck, I’m surprised I didn’t draw a card saying, ‘Congratulations, you’ve won… jury duty.’”
As we walked away, the fortune teller’s words followed me like a shadow I couldn’t outrun. A fresh start. Trusting my instincts. Letting go of fear. They sounded simple enough, but deep down, I knew better.