Page 30 of The Neighborhood Witch

“Great. She pulls three tarot cards. You’ll love it. It’s all for fun.”

“Hugo? Hugo Dodds?” a familiar male voice shouted over the noise.

Hugo recognized that voice from a few weeks ago. He stopped, dropping his head, fretting over the interaction to come. Biting his lower lip, Hugo hoped the person who mentioned his name would disappear. He turned around to see George and Julia approaching.

“We didn’t think we’d see you here. How are you doing?” George asked.

“He’s doing just fine, thank you,” Alice intersected. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Alice Primrose, Hugo’s date.” Her elbow nudged Hugo’s arm.

“Oh, a date?” Julia said. “Well, we’ll leave you two alone. It was lovely to meet you.”

“Great to see you, Hugo,” George added as he and Julia hurried away.

“Date obligations fulfilled.” She winked at Hugo and took another bite of her turkey leg.

They finished their turkey legs and worked their way through the crowd toward a red canopy tent. An older woman sat at a makeshift table. Her wild, gray hair was tucked under a maroon headscarf. Fake gold coins dangled from the scarf. She wore a multi-colored, tie-dyed, billowing dress that could have been the required uniform for a hippie commune.

Various rocks and bright crystals adorned the black velvet tablecloth. An opaque crystal ball, roughly the size of a softball, rested atop a black pedestal. A scuffed up, plastic bucket sat in one corner with a sign that read:Donations for the Newbury Grove Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration.

“Step right up. Step right up. Learn the mysteries of your future yet to be. Let Madame Sophia tell you your fortune,” she barked to attract potential customers.

Hugo and Alice approached.

“Ah, the happy couple. Care to know what love has in store for you?”

“Oh, we’re not a couple,” Hugo replied. He quickly shot a glance over to Alice, hoping he didn’t say anything to upset her.

“Not yet, anyway,” Alice was quick to respond, giving Hugo a mischievous grin and a wink. “Maybe it’s in the cards.”

Hugo placed two, twenty-dollar bills into the bucket. They sat down on a pair of plastic foldable chairs.

Madame Sophia shuffled the deck, careful to not let any cards slip out prematurely. The corners tapped against each other as they rapidly found their new positions. She offered the deck to Alice, inviting her to cut. Alice split the deck into three roughly even piles.

“Fate has been cast.” Madame Sophia gathered up the deck. She flipped over the first card. The Tower Card. “I see a sudden upheaval in your past. A change. For good or for worse, but a change nonetheless.”

Alice shifted in her seat.

She flipped over the second card, placing it in the center of the black velvet cloth. The Nine of Swords. “Great trauma, anxiety, hopelessness—probably brought on by this great upheaval—washes over you.”

Alice fixated on the cards. Her cheeky grin was gone. She shifted even more on the hard plastic chair. “I don’t think we should continue.”

“Come on,” Hugo said. “We have to find out what happens next.”

Madame Sophia flipped over the concluding card. The Two of Cups. “A union. Possibly love or marriage…” her voice trailed off. She paused for a moment to inspect the cards. “Ah, it all makes sense now. A great upheaval in your past led to the feeling of great hopelessness, but if you persevere, you will find the connection, the partnership you seek.”

Alice’s eyes lingered on that last card.

“Did you stack the deck? This must be your love connection deck, right?” Hugo asked, teasing at the possibility it was all a setup.

Madame Sophia picked up the cards and shuffled yet again. “I do not stack my deck. I merely interpret what’sbefore me.”

The cards snapped into place. She shuffled a few more times before offering them to Hugo. He cut the deck a few cards from the top.

“Fate has been cast,” she said as she took the deck once more.

She flipped over the first card, placing it near the middle of the table. The Five of Cups. “A great loss, grief—”

“We’re done,” Hugo exclaimed. He bumped into the table as he stood up from the chair.

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