Chapter 9 Tarot in the Town Square
Tarot in the Town Square
When Ellie saw the tarot-card tent, she tried to steer Mina away, but it was already too late.
Ellie still made the effort, pretending to have just noticed the food stalls across the town square and making a beeline for them with “Oooh, caramel apples!” Mina only snagged her arm and yanked her back hard enough that Ellie stumbled.
“Do you see that?” Mina whispered, jerking her chin toward the fortune-teller’s tent.
Ellie pretended to squint over in the gathering dark. Then she pulled back with a feigned exclamation of shock.
“Yeah,” Mina whispered. “I wonder who approved that.”
The town fair had been organized by the local churches, including the one Mina and Ellie attended, which would definitely not have authorized a fortune-teller. But there were some less strict churches in town, and someone must have deemed this harmless fun.
“Did you see the caramel—?” Ellie began.
“Brad’s over there,” Mina said. “If he sees you getting a caramel apple, you know what he’s going to say.”
Ellie’s cheeks heated, and she wanted to lift her chin and say she didn’t care what Brad thought of her. But he was with Jin, and she did care what Jin thought. Also, at thirteen, you cared about what everyone thought, even when you didn’t want to.
Ellie didn’t need some jerk boy snarking about whether she needed a snack or not. The apple could wait. Still, she had to find a distraction—
“Let’s get our fortunes read,” Mina said.
Ellie lowered her voice to a whisper, her gaze skittering about. “What if someone from church sees us?”
“You worry too much.”
“But—”
“If we get caught, you can say you thought it was a science thing.” Mina waved at the tent. “All those stars and planets? It must have a telescope or something. They’ll believe you. Everyone does.”
“I just…I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Safe?” Mina snorted. “It’s a fortune-teller at a town fair. This whole thing is so safe I can barely stay awake. We don’t get carnival rides because they’re dangerous. We don’t get games because that’s gambling. I’m surprised they let the apples have caramel on them.”
When Ellie still hesitated, Mina whispered, “Look! Isn’t that Brit coming out of the fortune-teller’s tent? She’s the deacon’s daughter. If it’s okay for her…”
Ellie hesitated, but she knew there was no chance of winning this argument.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Mina grabbed her hand and ran for the tent.
Outside the fortune-teller’s tent, someone had posted at least a half dozen signs saying things like For Entertainment Only!
There were more inside, including one on the fortune-telling table itself.
At the table sat a blond woman swathed in bright-colored scarves with bangles all the way up her arms. When she spoke, her voice was smoker-rough and bored.
“I’m supposed to tell you this is for fun only,” she said.
“We saw the signs,” Ellie said.
The woman snorted. “Couldn’t miss them, huh? They won’t even let me use my regular tarot. Gave me these.” She waved at a deck of cards with cats on them. “Okay, kids. Let’s get this started. Ten bucks each. Who’s going first?”
Ellie squeaked as Mina pushed her forward, but at a look from her friend, she swallowed her protest and took a seat.
The lady explained what she’d be doing, in that same bored monotone.
Then she cut the cards and asked Ellie to take three.
Ellie had no idea whether this was how proper tarot readings were done.
Maybe the fair organizers had changed that as well, to distance themselves from witchcraft.
All Ellie knew was that she had to pick three cards, and then the lady laid them down, one at a time, and explained what they meant.
If Ellie was being perfectly honest, it was a little disappointing. The first two cards came with vague messages that sounded like what grown-ups said all the time.
Everything happens for a reason.
Good things come to those who wait.
Is that what real fortune-telling was? Or had the organizers given this lady a bunch of church-sanctioned things to say?
It was only when the woman got to the last card that Ellie perked up. On it, two cats cuddled beneath a rainbow.
“The Lovers,” Mina said, reading the card. “Oooh.”
The lady’s voice changed, softening as she said, “Do you have a sweetheart, hon?”
Ellie shook her head, cheeks heating.
“Is there someone you like? A boy?”
“There is,” Mina said, ignoring Ellie’s glare.
“And is there a dance or something coming up?”
Mina nodded. “The spring fling at school.”
“Then expect an invitation.”
Mina grinned and nudged Ellie, whose cheeks scorched red hot.
She slid from the seat and laid down the money as Mina took over.
The first two cards were the same sort of thing Ellie had gotten.
Platitudes, she thought they were called.
Boring stuff. But as she’d figured out now, it was the third card that counted, and so she held her breath.
The lady gave a dramatic pause. Then she flipped it over. On the front, a cartoon cat was falling into a barrel of water, its eyes bugging, claws out.
“Death?” Mina said. “Does that say ‘Death’? I’m going to die?”
“No, that’s not—” the woman began.
“I’m going to drown?” Mina said. “What kind of a fortune is that?”
“It doesn’t mean—”
“We need to go,” Ellie said. “Now.”
The woman sighed. “The card doesn’t mean—”
Mina was already on her feet, and they ran for the exit, even as the woman called after them.
Mina and Ellie kept running until they were behind the apple-bobbing tent.
“This is bad,” Ellie whispered. “So bad.”
“Stop that,” Mina snapped, but there was a tremor in her voice.
“What’s bad?” a voice said, and they looked up to see three boys—Brad and Jin and Trevor—following them behind the tent. Brad continued, “Did I just see you two run out of the fortune-teller’s tent?”
“N-no,” Ellie said. “W-we wouldn’t—”
“Don’t worry,” Jin said. “We got our fortunes told, too.” He grinned at Ellie. “Apparently, I’m finally getting a pet.”
“And I’m going to pass my next test,” Trevor said.
“Which proves it’s a bunch of crap,” Brad said to Trevor. “You’re so stupid, it’s a wonder you can spell your name right.”
“Hey!” Jin said. Then he turned to Ellie. “Whatever that lady said, it’s just fun. It’s not real.”
“I know, but…” Her gaze shifted Mina’s way. “Mina got the card with the drowning cat. The Death card.”
“Whooo,” Brad said, waving his fingers like a ghost. “Spooky. At least yours was interesting. Mine said I’d get something in the mail.” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, a birthday card from my dad, who’ll say he put money in it and someone at the post office must have stolen it.”
“Don’t worry,” Jin said to Mina. “You’re not going to die. It’s all fake.”
“I know. It’s just…” Mina scuffed the ground. “Everyone else got a good fortune.”
Ellie froze, realizing someone was going to ask about hers, and if they did—
“Forget it,” Jin said. “Did you see the fried elephant ears? They come with soft ice cream.” He elbowed Ellie. “If you like strawberry sauce, we can split one.”
Brad snickered. “It’s food. Of course Ellie likes—” At a look from Jin, he stopped and shrugged. “Sure, let’s get elephant ears. You buying, Jin?”
“No, you are. With that money your dad is sending.”
Brad lifted his middle finger. Jin slapped him on the back, and they headed for the food stalls.
A week later, Ellie was doing something she never did. She was telling Mina no.
Ellie stood in front of her friend with her arms crossed, chin lifted. “Absolutely not.”
“What are you going to do?” Mina said. “Hide my bathing suit?”
“If I have to.”
Mina waggled her brows. “Then I’ll swim in my underwear.”
Ellie’s cheeks heated, but she kept her chin up. “If you do, I’ll tell your parents.”
Mina’s smile vanished. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. I’ll tell on you. Yep, it’s tattling, and I don’t care. Everyone else’s fortunes have come true, so you are not going swimming in the lake.”
“Until when? Forever? You’re being silly.”
“Am I? Really?”
“Jin didn’t ask you to the dance because of a fortune-teller.
He was already going to ask you. Everyone knew it.
And I bet his mom put that kitten in his garage to surprise him.
She’s just not admitting it because his dad doesn’t like cats.
Yeah, sure, Brad got twenty bucks in the mail, but it’s his birthday this week.
His dad probably felt bad after he mailed the empty card and sent the money separately. ”
“And Trevor? Getting a B on the math test when he barely knows his multiplication tables? Explain that.”
“Maybe his parents got him a tutor, and he’s too embarrassed to admit it. It’s not the fortune-teller, Ellie. Now get out of my way. I’m going swimming.”
“You’re not going swimming,” Brad said, blocking the path to the swimming hole. “Ellie’s right, Mina. You can’t take a chance.”
Jin stepped up beside Brad. “I’m sorry, Mina. I know it sounds silly—”
“Weren’t you the one who said it was all in fun?” Mina crossed her arms and glared at all of them before her gaze returned to Jin.
“I know,” Jin said. “But…” He shrugged. “What if it’s not?
What if it was a warning? I didn’t believe in stuff like that, but so many of the fortunes came true that I just think…
I think you shouldn’t take a chance. It’s not that hot out anyway.
We don’t need to swim. Let’s find something else to do. ”
That afternoon, they’d gone to a movie. But then the next weekend, Jin’s family had a BBQ with a pool party, and Ellie really did need to steal Mina’s bathing suit to keep her from going in.
There was a summer full of pools and lakes and beaches ahead, and she’d despaired to Jin that she didn’t know how she’d ever keep Mina from going in the water.
Then a miracle happened. Well, a near tragedy that turned into a minor miracle, which proved that the Lord did work in mysterious ways.