AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve told those people only what they want to hear. You, on the other hand, are special. I can only read your fortune when it’s time, when you are ready to receive it.”
“When will that be?”
“Soon, dear,” she said, her gaze wandering off into the distance.
“Soon.”
She was right, of course. A couple of months later, on my thirteenth birthday, as my classmates and I gathered around Kimo’s Shave Ice, I was surprised to see the old fortune teller come halfway out of her store and wave at me.
“Eh, Taylor, crazy lady looking for you,” one of the girls said.
“She’s not crazy,” I said, giving the little twat a cold stare as I got off my stool and walked across.
“Tay-Tay, come in, dear,” lola Nora said.
I followed her inside the tiny shop, my eyes lighting up when I saw three chocolate chip cookies on a paper plate next to a plastic cup filled with milk. I’d been given one, maybe two cookies at a time when I visit. Never three. This was a treat, and I wondered if she knew it was my birthday.
“Wow, thanks lola!” I said. She sat across from me, and I noticed for the first time how frail she looked. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, suddenly worried.
“It’s nothing, dear, just my old age catching up to me.” She watched me gobble up the first cookie and drink a third of the milk.
“It’s good!” I exclaimed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Remember some time back, when you asked me to tell you your fortune, and I said I can only tell you when it’s time?”
“Uh-huh,” I said, reaching for the second cookie.
“Well, it’s time.”
I froze, my chocolate-smudged fingers two inches away from the cookie as I stared at her. “Wait, seriously?”
“Yes, Tay-Tay. Seriously. Do you still want me to read you your fortune?”
“Yes!”
“Give me your hand. Your left hand.”
I squealed and extended my arm across the table. She took my hand and held it, her touch cold, the grip faint and constantly shaking, but she didn’t seem bothered by it.
“What do you want to know, dear?”
“My soulmate! Who is he? Where is he? What does he look like? When do I get to meet him? When will we marry?”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t quite work that way, Tay-Tay. I can only see bits and pieces, shadows and light, an image or two. Now, be still.”
She squinted, traced the lines, and mumbled incoherent gibberish to herself. After a few minutes she let go, sat back, and closed her eyes. She looked exhausted.
“Well? What did you see?”
When lola Nora didn’t respond for a long time I thought she had actually fallen asleep. I was about to poke her with my finger when she started whispering with her eyes still closed.
“You will meet him here on the island,” she said. “He appears shimmering with the last rays of the sun, tall and handsome. He is not what you would expect, but do not let that fool you. There is strength in him, but also kindness, and a hurt that only you can heal. Look past convention, listen to your heart. Your love will face many challenges, but it will be worth it. I see a union in the mist, and children.”
Without warning she opened her eyes and gripped my arm with a fierceness I didn’t think she had in her. “Beware of the shark!”
With that final warning the old woman slumped in her chair, her head hanging to the side. I thought she died right in front of me, but then I heard her snore.
