The Fortune Teller

by Pimpatra Santapunt

The jingling sound of the bell drew attention to the shops door as someone quietly opened

it. A young woman, whose eyes full of concerns and uncertainties, approached an old counter

at the center of an inner side of the antique shop unsurely.

Hello? she asked with an insecure tone.

No one answered until quite a moment passed and another tender voice replied. Hello

Uh, is anyone doing fortune telling here? I wanted to see my future., she said

Yes, darling. Come on in. that feminine voice remained calm. Noticing that theres a

small entrance covered with aged curtains behind the old rusty shelves that made it even

more mysterious than the shop itself, the woman walked in, being cautious with each

footsteps she took.

The room inside was pretty dark. Only a dim light from the glowing sphere could help see

things clearer. It was a small room full of ancient curtains and piles of old books and antique

stuffs. A figure, wearing a cloak, was sitting at the opposite side of the round wooden table on

which that sphere shaped thing rested silently. The young lady walked closer and gradually

sat down in the opposite direction. From this sight, she could barely see another face, but

only her gentle gaze was what she could strongly feel. The light from the ball exposed her

wrinkled hands settling on the table.

Are you a fortune teller?

Not really, but I can tell you what you wanted to know, Hannah, the old lady said.

How do you know my name?! she asked with an astonishment.

 That doesnt matter. Please ask question. the lady stayed calm, but Hannah was in doubt.

Her eyes reflected some thoughts, frowning. She tried to find some suspicion, but did not

succeed. There was nothing wrong with this genuine grandma.

Im here to help you, sweetheart. The longer you are here, the more price you have to

pay. and that reset Hannahs thought in peace. She did not come here to waste any more

money that she could hardly earn, so she started to speak her mind frankly.

I wanted to know if I would become successful in my career.

Whatre you doing now? the lady inquired.

Um.I m a waitress, but I hate my job, she rolled her eyes boringly.

Why dont you change it then?

Well.its not like I can just find a job that easily, she paused, thats why Im here,

then she shrugged.

Im pretty sure thats not why youre here, but please let me ask, her wrinkled hands

folded on each other, what do you expect your fortune to be?

Hannah startled for a little. Then she closed her eyes, envisioning herself like what she

always wanted her life to be. Owning a lovely restaurant with an unended queue of customers

lining for their favorite well-known dishes would really fullfill her lifes missing part. She

would be blessed and her life would become like a bed of roses.

Smiling with her sweet dreams, Hannah replied, You tell me.

The old lady did not answered immediately. She remained silent. Then, her hand started

moving up the table. Her crooked fingers were above the glowing ball, which amazingly

changed the hue of the glowing light in front of her. Hannah was eager.

I see a tiny dying sprout standing infirmly on a dried soil. It could not grow any bigger.

Gone blank by an unexpected forecast, the young woman knitted her brows, being unable

to interprete the message.

 What does that mean?

That is your life. You will not pursue what you wanted, the grandma said emotionlessly.

Driving by indignation, Hannah spoke back furiously, What?! Youre saying my life will

be like a dead plant?! she stared at the old lady angrily, what the hell is that?

Despite the unreasonable rage she received, the old lady was not offended. Her voice was

still calm and soft, youll not go anywhere and youll be hurting by your undesirable life you

get. I see youll be trapped in your unwanted life.

Ha, youre ridiculing me, Hannah said in a disrecpectful tone and stood up, I shouldve

known youre just an old grandma who can only do fake fortune telling to get money. Youre

no different than your abandoned shop! You deserve it! she yelled at the lady and turned her

back, about to walk out.

a tree cannot grow unless planted and nourished. And yet you wanted a big, evergreen

secure tree, Hannah halted and turned to face the old woman. She did not even look at

Hannah. She was looking at her glowing ball that started changing its hue again.

Have you ever watered your own, darling? this time she said with a trembling voice that

could be barely noticed.

The words stuck in Hannahs mind and began to spread to every molecule in her body.

They reached her deepest conscience like someone just dropped a big rock down a well and

the water just rippled by that force. At that time, the shining sphere on the table caught her

eyes and some visual just flashed through her mind like lightning.

A lttle girl who always dreamed of cooking the most delicious dish in the world was

having tomato sauce all over her smiley face after failing making spaghetti meat ball. Then,

the visual changed into a scene where that same girl, but maturer, was sneakingly lingering in

the toilet, using her phones and watching youtubes instead of receiving orders from

customers and serving dishes. She was the same girl who never tried to do hard work and
kept whining about how tiring she felt. A girl who was jealous of other peoples lives,

dissatisfied with her own, but never tried to actually make it any better.

And that girl was me.

With an unexplainable complicated emotions that started flowing to her like a storm,

Hannah stood still, feeling heavy. She stared blankly at the glowing ball with her watery eyes.

My mom always told me to live like theres no tomorrow, said the old lady.

And Ive always been waiting for some miracle to happen, smiling sadly, she looked down

at her crooked fingers, now tomorrow for me could be no more.

Then there was a huge silent. The room looked even more darker, but somehow the sphere-

shaped thing on the table was luminous than ever. Hannah blinked calmly, breathed out the

last time and walked out of that shadowy room, leaving the old lady alone.

Outside was still gloomy, no one came in and everything stayed as the way it was except a

jar full of blossoming daffodils placed on a table near the window next to the door. Hannah

did not notice it before because it was in a position where people could only see it when they

left the room inside.

She took her footsteps towards the same door she walked in in the first time, reached the

doorknob, and opened the door.

It was quiet as usual in this neighborhood. When she came out of the antique shop, it was

already dusk. Hannah looked up in the sky where the sun was setting down. The night was

coming, but this picturesque sight of a painted pinkish sky lightened her heart. She finally

walked away with thoughts of intelligence in her eyes. No more fortune telling.