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Description
She was late, of course. When was she ever not late? As she dashed down the street, clutching her satchel to her side in an effort to keep it from banging against her legs she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever break the habit. Sure, it kept her fit but it was tiring having to run everywhere.
She was rushing off to a tarot card reading she had booked for a paper she was writing about how fortune tellers told you what you wanted or needed to hear based off how you reacted to their questions and predictions. It wasn't going to win her any prizes but it could quite possibly earn her an A and a "Good job, Miss Clark!"
She slowed down once the storefront was in view, she didn't want to look too harried when she walked into her reading. Late, of course.
Her boots made satisfying thumps on the tiled floor of the shop, "Hello," She called, not seeing anyone around. "I'm here for my appointment?"
A woman appeared from behind a beaded curtain in the back, "Yes," She said in a thick Slavic accent, motioning to the table in the center of the room adorned with a night sky blue table cloth and a myriad of different coloured pillar candles.
"Sorry I'm late, my lit class ran late and I swear my professor is trying to kill me, not that I'm trying to make excuses or anything…" She noticed the woman's less than impressed gaze. "You don't care at all, do you?" She smiled apologetically at the stout woman and sat across from her, placing her bag under her seat.
"What is your name?" She asked.
"Lacie, Lacie Clark." She said quickly.
"Well, Lacie, is this your first time doing this?"
Was it really that obvious? "Well, yeah. I kind of thought it'd be interesting to try." She lied.
The woman looked at her knowingly, but Lacie didn't care if she knew it was a lie, it was better than her knowing she was only here to study her for a paper. "I always like to start off my readings with a nice cup of tea. I have oolong, chai, orange peko, lemon myrtle…"
"I'm more of a coffee girl, really," The woman glared at her, "But a nice cup of orange peko sounds divine."
The woman set up a kettle on the hotplate in the corner and she took the opportunity to look around the small space. It looked pretty much like how you'd expect with beaded curtains, a little space to buy gemstones, a whole section dedicated to books on runes, tarot reading and folklore. There were a few hanging lamps in the ceiling casting small pools of orangish light and turning the sage green walls a dirty brown colour, all that combined with the Celtic music being piped in through unseen speakers gave it a very… authentic feel.
The fortune teller put a chipped china plate full of what looked to be little homemade cookies and cakes in front of her before going back to fussing around the tea things. It hit her then what the tea was for, the more rapt her customer was the less likely they were to be sipping the tea; she supposed since she'd voiced her distaste for tea the baked goods were supposed to do the same. She decided to test her theory during the reading by sipping her tea and nibbling the cookies whenever the reading got interesting just to see the lengths she could make it go.
"While the water boils and the tea steeps," The woman said, coming to sit across from her again, "tell me a little about you."
"Me? Oh…" She had a feeling this was going to go into helping her reading along so she didn't want to lie, "Well, I'm a psychology major at Dalhousie."
"What about your clothes?" She asked, seemingly unimpressed with her schooling.
She glanced down at her outfit; dark torn up denim short-shorts, black and grey striped leggings, clunky black leather boots that went almost to her knee, a shirt reading 'ta mere la pute' with a black hoodie that was made for a man three times her size open over it. "Uh…"
"I could analyze that for you if you like,"
She laughed awkwardly, realizing the woman spoke French, "Ah, no, I think I've got a handle on that one. I like being the center of attention, as ostentatious as I can without being that woman who I swear has to just roll around in random items and call it an outfit."
"I'd also assume that all of your outfits include pants of some sort."
"Yes, that too,"
The kettle began to whistle and the woman stood to pour the boiling water into mugs, "So, why did you really want this reading?"
"What?" She asked immediately, eyes going wide.
"You didn't really expect me to believe that you just 'found it interesting,' did you?"
"Veins m'enculer," She muttered under her breath then more clearly, "Well, it's for a class. Don't ask which or what it's about, I'll tell you after if you'd like though." She offered lamely, hoping her session wasn't cancelled because of it.
The woman nodded in a sage-like manner, "I see."
"So please, just do whatever it is you would normally do."
"Gladly," She smiled, seemingly pleased with Lacie's honesty. "Milk and sugar?"
"Please," She replied.
She set the mug of hot tea in front of her and insisted that she take a cookie as she started spreading out the tarot cards. Lacie sipped her tea as the watched the woman methodically shuffled the deck and laid the cards out in a large circle, each card facing outwards. All the characters on the cards looked so lifelike, almost like photographs. "Now, I want you to go around the circle and take a good look at all the cards," Her phone began to ring and the glanced at the beaded curtain, "I normally don't do this but I want to see your opinion," She admitted, rushing her speech, "And remember," She looked directly at her. "Whatever you do, don't touch the cards."
"Alright," She agreed. "Now go answer your phone."
The woman shot her a grateful look before sprinting for the curtain, the ringing stopped a moment later.
Lacie shrugged and got to her feet, moving slowly around the ring of cards, she let her fingers hover over their glossy surfaces as she moved. None of them really jumped out at her as special as she'd heard some people describe, they were just cards, very beautiful cards but cards all the same. Justice, the five of Wands, upside down Empress, The World, an upside down King of Wands… She eventually came to one that depicted a boy about to walk off a cliff with a little black dog at his side, eyes closed to the world, head flung back with abandon, it was a wonder how the fedora on his head stayed perched as it was. She glanced at the name of the card, The Fool. It fit, only a real fool wouldn't notice he was about to walk off a cliff.
Then something peculiar happened, the boy turned his head and tipped his hat to her.
Well, she reasoned with herself, the rational part of her brain taking over. It was a trick of the light. She lowered herself into the chair she was standing in front of hoping to make the card do it again. A really freaky, once-in-a-lifetime trick of the light, she thought as she slowly stood again, knees shaking as the card stayed static.
She glanced behind her at the beaded curtain, surely she had meant not to move the cards out of their order not that she couldn't physically pick up the cards to get a closer look? "This is so wrong," she whispered guiltily, reaching for the magnificent artwork.
She barely brushed the card when she was flung forward, over the table barely righting herself in the blur the room had become. Before she was able to register what had happened she found herself lying on the floor, looking up at a fleur-de-lis stenciled ceiling that looked much too tall and grand for the little shop.
She groaned and tried to sit up, finding her legs thrown over the seat of a white washed wooden chair, nothing like the little blue foldout chairs the fortune teller had in her shop. After a few moments of confusion she managed to right herself and the chair, sliding it under the banquet table covered in white porcelain tea things and a black lace tablecloth.
Her boots made echoing thumps on the black marble flooring as she turned in space looking at the massive room she was now standing in. The mirrors the walls were covered with throwing her disbelieving expression back at her did nothing to help her shock.
"What the fuck was in that tea?!"

Description
She was late, of course. When was she ever not late? As she dashed down the street, clutching her satchel to her side in an effort to keep it from banging against her legs she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever break the habit. Sure, it kept her fit but it was tiring having to run everywhere.
She was rushing off to a tarot card reading she had booked for a paper she was writing about how fortune tellers told you what you wanted or needed to hear based off how you reacted to their questions and predictions. It wasn't going to win her any prizes but it could quite possibly earn her an A and a "Good job, Miss Clark!"
She slowed down once the storefront was in view, she didn't want to look too harried when she walked into her reading. Late, of course.
Her boots made satisfying thumps on the tiled floor of the shop, "Hello," She called, not seeing anyone around. "I'm here for my appointment?"
A woman appeared from behind a beaded curtain in the back, "Yes," She said in a thick Slavic accent, motioning to the table in the center of the room adorned with a night sky blue table cloth and a myriad of different coloured pillar candles.
"Sorry I'm late, my lit class ran late and I swear my professor is trying to kill me, not that I'm trying to make excuses or anything…" She noticed the woman's less than impressed gaze. "You don't care at all, do you?" She smiled apologetically at the stout woman and sat across from her, placing her bag under her seat.
"What is your name?" She asked.
"Lacie, Lacie Clark." She said quickly.
"Well, Lacie, is this your first time doing this?"
Was it really that obvious? "Well, yeah. I kind of thought it'd be interesting to try." She lied.
The woman looked at her knowingly, but Lacie didn't care if she knew it was a lie, it was better than her knowing she was only here to study her for a paper. "I always like to start off my readings with a nice cup of tea. I have oolong, chai, orange peko, lemon myrtle…"
"I'm more of a coffee girl, really," The woman glared at her, "But a nice cup of orange peko sounds divine."
The woman set up a kettle on the hotplate in the corner and she took the opportunity to look around the small space. It looked pretty much like how you'd expect with beaded curtains, a little space to buy gemstones, a whole section dedicated to books on runes, tarot reading and folklore. There were a few hanging lamps in the ceiling casting small pools of orangish light and turning the sage green walls a dirty brown colour, all that combined with the Celtic music being piped in through unseen speakers gave it a very… authentic feel.
The fortune teller put a chipped china plate full of what looked to be little homemade cookies and cakes in front of her before going back to fussing around the tea things. It hit her then what the tea was for, the more rapt her customer was the less likely they were to be sipping the tea; she supposed since she'd voiced her distaste for tea the baked goods were supposed to do the same. She decided to test her theory during the reading by sipping her tea and nibbling the cookies whenever the reading got interesting just to see the lengths she could make it go.
"While the water boils and the tea steeps," The woman said, coming to sit across from her again, "tell me a little about you."
"Me? Oh…" She had a feeling this was going to go into helping her reading along so she didn't want to lie, "Well, I'm a psychology major at Dalhousie."
"What about your clothes?" She asked, seemingly unimpressed with her schooling.
She glanced down at her outfit; dark torn up denim short-shorts, black and grey striped leggings, clunky black leather boots that went almost to her knee, a shirt reading 'ta mere la pute' with a black hoodie that was made for a man three times her size open over it. "Uh…"
"I could analyze that for you if you like,"
She laughed awkwardly, realizing the woman spoke French, "Ah, no, I think I've got a handle on that one. I like being the center of attention, as ostentatious as I can without being that woman who I swear has to just roll around in random items and call it an outfit."
"I'd also assume that all of your outfits include pants of some sort."
"Yes, that too,"
The kettle began to whistle and the woman stood to pour the boiling water into mugs, "So, why did you really want this reading?"
"What?" She asked immediately, eyes going wide.
"You didn't really expect me to believe that you just 'found it interesting,' did you?"
"Veins m'enculer," She muttered under her breath then more clearly, "Well, it's for a class. Don't ask which or what it's about, I'll tell you after if you'd like though." She offered lamely, hoping her session wasn't cancelled because of it.
The woman nodded in a sage-like manner, "I see."
"So please, just do whatever it is you would normally do."
"Gladly," She smiled, seemingly pleased with Lacie's honesty. "Milk and sugar?"
"Please," She replied.
She set the mug of hot tea in front of her and insisted that she take a cookie as she started spreading out the tarot cards. Lacie sipped her tea as the watched the woman methodically shuffled the deck and laid the cards out in a large circle, each card facing outwards. All the characters on the cards looked so lifelike, almost like photographs. "Now, I want you to go around the circle and take a good look at all the cards," Her phone began to ring and the glanced at the beaded curtain, "I normally don't do this but I want to see your opinion," She admitted, rushing her speech, "And remember," She looked directly at her. "Whatever you do, don't touch the cards."
"Alright," She agreed. "Now go answer your phone."
The woman shot her a grateful look before sprinting for the curtain, the ringing stopped a moment later.
Lacie shrugged and got to her feet, moving slowly around the ring of cards, she let her fingers hover over their glossy surfaces as she moved. None of them really jumped out at her as special as she'd heard some people describe, they were just cards, very beautiful cards but cards all the same. Justice, the five of Wands, upside down Empress, The World, an upside down King of Wands… She eventually came to one that depicted a boy about to walk off a cliff with a little black dog at his side, eyes closed to the world, head flung back with abandon, it was a wonder how the fedora on his head stayed perched as it was. She glanced at the name of the card, The Fool. It fit, only a real fool wouldn't notice he was about to walk off a cliff.
Then something peculiar happened, the boy turned his head and tipped his hat to her.
Well, she reasoned with herself, the rational part of her brain taking over. It was a trick of the light. She lowered herself into the chair she was standing in front of hoping to make the card do it again. A really freaky, once-in-a-lifetime trick of the light, she thought as she slowly stood again, knees shaking as the card stayed static.
She glanced behind her at the beaded curtain, surely she had meant not to move the cards out of their order not that she couldn't physically pick up the cards to get a closer look? "This is so wrong," she whispered guiltily, reaching for the magnificent artwork.
She barely brushed the card when she was flung forward, over the table barely righting herself in the blur the room had become. Before she was able to register what had happened she found herself lying on the floor, looking up at a fleur-de-lis stenciled ceiling that looked much too tall and grand for the little shop.
She groaned and tried to sit up, finding her legs thrown over the seat of a white washed wooden chair, nothing like the little blue foldout chairs the fortune teller had in her shop. After a few moments of confusion she managed to right herself and the chair, sliding it under the banquet table covered in white porcelain tea things and a black lace tablecloth.
Her boots made echoing thumps on the black marble flooring as she turned in space looking at the massive room she was now standing in. The mirrors the walls were covered with throwing her disbelieving expression back at her did nothing to help her shock.
"What the fuck was in that tea?!"