Cartomancy

by Kristin Cook

  Chapter 7

  “I think we’ll have to practice on reading each other. At least until we get the hang of it.” Astrid said as they began organizing. Waverly was almost one hundred percent sure her mother would not like this at all, so it seemed like a good idea to her. “Well, I suppose we should start now….Ass-trid.” The two girls chuckled and continued working on their new profession. When they had finally gotten the table set up and strung little white lights around the porch, it was starting to get dusk outside. Astrid’s grandma would call this “The Witching Hour” when the light left this world on its journey to the next. It used to scare Astrid when she was little, she imagined witches carrying off the light to somewhere else, but she had learned in science last year that it really had something to do with the Sun and the Earth’s rotation. Which Astrid found disappointing and not nearly as scary. Astrid’s mother had brought them mason jars with floating candles to add to the otherworldly effect. Her mother had also given them an empty glass jar to put their money in. Astrid had instructed Waverly to sit across from her at the table, and she laid out a basic 3 card spread. “I think for the purposes of learning, we will start out with 3 cards, and no reverses.” “What’s a reverse?” Waverly was still getting used to all the terms. “Oh, well it’s when a card is upside down. That gives it a different meaning for the person.” Waverly shrugged. Astrid had Waverly cut the deck, and she laid out her three cards. “The cards represent, The Past, The Present and The Future.” Astrid was explaining to herself as well as to Waverly. “Ok, we’ll start with the middle card; because that is the present…your middle card is the Ace of Cups.” Waverly had no idea what this meant, but she was very excited. “Ok, the Ace of Cups means that..” just then the girls heard a crashing sound in the front yard, it was too dark to see who it was, but someone was running up the path. “Oh no” Astrid groaned when she could finally make out the figure running up the path. It was their frenemy, Kate. “What do you think she wants?” Astrid said. Waverly just shrugged her shoulders. Kate lived a few houses down, at the end of the street by the woods. “OMG you guys, I need your help right away!” Kate was out of breath and sweaty. Astrid knew something must be wrong, as Kate did not sweat. As a matter of fact Astrid had never seen Kate with one hair out of place. And they had all known each other since kindergarten. “Calm down Kate, have a drink of lemonade, chill out for a sec.” Kate gulped down the lemonade, and was trying not to cry. “What in the world is the matter with you?’ Waverly asked. “I have been out on my bike for an hour looking for my mom’s dog…she got out and I can’t find her and my mom will literally kill me if I lose that dog.” The girls looked at each other not knowing exactly what to say. “I think you mean figuratively” Astrid said in a very sassy way. “I didn’t come here for a grammar lesson! Thank you very little!” Now real tears were welling up in Kate’s eyes, and Astrid almost felt bad. “Well, we can help you look, I guess, we haven’t seen your dog around here though.” The thought of helping Kate do anything wasn’t at the top of Astrid’s to-do list, but she knew that Waverly would be more than willing to help, as Kate was Jordan’s twin sister. “Duh, I don’t want you guys to help me look, I want you to do your weird tarot witchcraft and tell me where she is.” Waverly could see that Astrid was about to say something mean so she spoke up. “First of all it isn’t witchcraft, it’s just cards. Second, we would be glad to help…put your dollar in the jar and have a seat.” Astrid was stunned; Waverly had never taken any sort of initiative on anything ever. It just wasn’t in her nature. She must really like-like Jordan was all Astrid could come up with. Waverly laid out the three cards for Kate: The Five of Cups, Death, and the Sun. Waverly stared at the cards. “Oh no! Does the death card mean that she’s dead? If she got hit by a car, I’ll have to run away from home!” Kate was pale and frantic. “No! Stop freaking out.” Waverly said. “Let me look at the cards!” Astrid had no idea what Waverly was up to, but she was secretly glad that Kate was freaking out. “Ok, Kate…the cards say you have to go look in the cemetery.” Kate was frozen. “Alone? At night? Have you lost your mind?” Waverly winked at Astrid. “For five more dollars, Astrid and I will come with you, but you should probably go home and get a flashlight……oh, and see if Jordan wants to come too.” Waverly winked at Astrid one more time.

  When the girls reached the cemetery, the gate was locked. “Did your cards say how the hell we are supposed to get inside the cemetery?’’ Kate’s voiced cracked. “If you’re too scared Kate, we can just find your dog for you…for a small fee of course.” Astrid smiled. “We can go around behind the mausoleum and get in that way.” Waverly offered. The girls walked the length of the cemetery and saw the large stone structure. They started to walk across the grass, when a bright light shone on them. “Do you girls need any assistance tonight?” A man’s voice said. Waverly grabbed Astrid’s arm, afraid to turn around. Kate turned to see the patrol car marked BGPD. There were two officers inside the car. Astrid peeled Waverly’s fingers from around her arm. “Actually, we are helping our friend look for her lost dog, Sir.” The officer turned off the blinding light. “Do your parents know you’re out here?” Kate gasped, but Astrid stepped forward so they would look less suspicious. “Our friend here, lost her mother’s dog and we need to find her as soon as possible, my parents know that we came down here, they said it was okay as long as we weren’t out too long.” Astrid lied. “Well, what kind of dog is it ma’am? “ The officer asked. Kate managed to stammer…”She’s a Scottish terrier, Sir….a little black dog with a red plaid collar…her name is Molly.” Astrid thought Kate would faint at any moment. “Ok girls, we’ll keep an eye out, you have a good night.” The officers drove off, and Kate almost started crying. “Jeezy that was close!” Waverly said in a shaky voice. Kate bent over like she was going to throw up. “Can I just remind you that we haven’t actually done anything wrong? Astrid exclaimed, as she was fed up with Kate already. “Like breaking into a cemetery at night, Ass-trid…that’s what we’re doing wrong!” Kate hissed. Astrid kept walking. “Um, all we were doing was walking down the street as far as they know…they only stopped because we live in the most boring town ever constructed by mankind, and they have nothing else to do.” Astrid sneered. “Also, we are not breaking in to anything; we’re walking in….around the back of the mausoleum…so come on.” The girls crossed the grass and went around the end of the fence and into the cemetery. They decided to run around the back of the large stone crypt because the street lights did not reach that far and it was pitch black back there. Waverly tripped over a branch and scraped the palms of her hands. “Damn-hell that hurts!” Astrid and Kate immediately started laughing at Waverly’s choice of words. “Are you ok, Wave?” Astrid asked pulling her friend up by her wrists. “I’ll live, but can we just walk instead?” She said blowing on her palms. The girls continued walking out into the very dark cemetery. “Well, now what do we do?” Kate asked. “Uh..I guess we just start looking around and calling for Molly.” Kate was afraid to yell in a cemetery at night, but she didn’t want to make that known to everyone, so she managed a very weak “Here Molly, here girl!” Astrid threw her hands up into the air. “You aren’t going to wake them up, Kate….it’s okay to yell…Astrid whistled and clapped her hands…Here Molly!! C’mon dog!” The girls listened for any sound at all. They walked further into the cemetery, reading the names and the dates on the stones. Waverly did not like the fact that whole families were buried together. This thought had not ever occurred to her before, and it made her uncomfortable. “How long do we have to keep this up?” Kate asked. “Well, as long as it takes to find your dog, I suppose.” Astrid said and kept walking. She had no idea what to do next, but she figured she was in charge of this expedition, so they better keep walking. “Maybe we should split up” Waverly said. “No way dude, I am not doing this alone, plus I PAID you guys to help me find my dog.” Kate said. Just then another light flashed in the girls faces. It was coming from behind a very large grave marker. As
trid yelped “Who’s there?” A strange voice came from behind the stone “The ghosts of the people you are disturbing…oooohh-ahhhh…you’re disturbing our eternal slumberrrrr. The voice was oddly familiar. “Oh, hi-freakin-larious Jordan!” Kate said rudely as Jordan jumped out from behind the stone. Waverly immediately wished she had worn different jeans. “Bout time you showed up Jordan.” Astrid said jokingly. “We’ve been looking for Molly, and we need to split up, so me and Kate will go this way and you and Waverly can go over there.” Astrid pointed in the opposite direction. “Right, Wave?” Waverly couldn’t speak at the moment. “K, well, see you guys later, c’mon Kate.” Before Kate could say anything, Astrid grabbed her by the arm and marched off. At last Waverly was alone with Jordan in the dark graveyard. And she had no idea what to do next.“FYI Waverly wants to make out with your brother.” Astrid figured Kate should know all the important details of the evening. “Gross.” Kate said and looked like she might really puke. She was about to speak again when she thought she heard a dog barking off in the distance, and she took off running. “Come on!” The girls ran towards the woods at the back edge of the cemetery. Astrid was out of breath and her lungs hurt from the chilly night air. “Stop a minute Kate! I need to catch my breath.” She panted. Kate stopped ahead of her and leaned against the statue of an angel. “Why is this part of the cemetery all angels and lambs?” Kate asked. Astrid shined the light on some of the graves. Even at night, Kate could see the fear in Astrid’s eyes. “What is it? What’s wrong?” Kate asked. Astrid whispered to Kate “this is where all the kids are buried, we shouldn’t be here.” The girls heard barking again, and this time they walked softly in the direction of the sound.They had criss-crossed the boneyard so many times in the dark that Astrid wasn’t really paying any attention to where they actually were. The barks were getting closer to them now, so they were definitely going in the right direction. Astrid and Kate went between the rows of stones and could see two dark figures ahead. “Did you guys find Molly? Is that her!?” Kate yelled. She pointed her flashlight up ahead and they could see what looked like a little black dog. “Hey guys” Waverly shouted in a voice that Astrid wasn’t quite sure of, and it kind of frightened her a little. “Yeah…umm… we found Molly, just stay over there k? We’re coming.” Astrid thought Waverly sounded kind of choked up. Astrid could barely make out Jordan bending over to pick up the dog in his arms. “Just stay where you are Astrid.” Jordan had said in a semi-deep voice. Now Astrid was concerned for her friend. “Wave? Are you okay?” Astrid replied ignoring her friends and walking towards them. “I’m fine Astrid, seriously don’t come any closer please…ok?” Now Astrid was in a sprint because she could tell that Waverly was definitely upset. In the moment that it took for Astrid to reach Waverly, she suddenly realized where her friends were standing…. It was her grandfather’s grave. Astrid hadn’t been here since the funeral. His headstone had an anchor engraved on it because he had been in the Navy. Astrid felt ill, suddenly her legs became weak and she felt the ground come up to her.

  Chapter 8

  For the second day in a row Astrid laid in bed in her dark room. Her mother kept coming in to bother her and tell her that she had to eat, but all Astrid could say was “I’m not hungry.” This time when the door opened again, she pulled her blanket and pillow over her head, and said “please leave me alone.” Astrid felt someone sit on the bed next to her. “I know you miss him, so do I. Laying around in a dark room while the sun shines outside, won’t help matters, believe me I’ve tried it. There isn’t an hour of any given day that I don’t think about your grandpa.” The tears rolled down Astrid’s cheeks as she turned over and buried her face in her grandmother’s chest. The smell comforted her instantly. “Tell me exactly why you’re crying my love.” She whispered into Astrid’s hair. Astrid couldn’t bring herself to speak; the words wouldn’t form in her mouth. After a few minutes she said; “I can’t, I don’t want you to be mad at me.” She sobbed. Her grandmother took Astrid’s face in her hands and looked her in the eye. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out.” She said in a way that only a grandmother can. “Take a deep breath Astrid, and tell me what you need to say.” She looked at her grandma and began sobbing again. “I know what happened in the graveyard, and I know there’s more to this than that.” Her grandma said plainly. Astrid was shocked. “How do you know about the graveyard?” she asked, the tears starting to fade. “Oh I know everything.” Her grandma said with a smile. “Grandma you always say that!” Astrid was exasperated. “I know I always say it, because it’s always true.” Her grandma laughed. “Now, come on Astrid, tell me what is really bothering you, I promise I won’t get upset.” Astrid collected her thoughts and just said it aloud and to herself for the first time: “I didn’t cry at grandpa’s funeral! I wanted to, but I couldn’t make myself! And I know it makes me a bad person!” The tears came back. This time there were tons of them. For the second time her grandmother took Astrid’s face in her hands and stared her right in the eyes. “Neither did I.” She said. Astrid just blinked. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Astrid, sometimes in life you are past the point of crying. Tears don’t mean enough so your brain doesn’t waste time sending them to your eyes, it saves them up, and they come out later….like right now.” Astrid wept uncontrollably. “Your grandpa loved you so much Astrid and I know that he wouldn’t want you to be sad about this. Or anything else for that matter, and I know he wouldn’t want you wasting your whole summer away in bed, so it’s time to get up.” Astrid blew her nose and wiped away the tears, she had a terrible headache. Her grandma handed her a glass of water and an aspirin. “When your grandpa died, all I wanted to do was stay under my sheets and cry. And I did for a while. But sheets won’t keep you safe; at some point you realize it’s just a thin layer of cotton. She smiled at Astrid and brushed her hair back behind her ears. Do you know what got me through that time? Do you know what made me feel better and kept me going?” Astrid couldn’t think of what to say, so she tried to be funny. “Umm…Bingo?” she managed a weak laugh. “Well now I do love bingo, however that’s not it.” Astrid’s grandma wiped her own tears away. “It was you my love. I know it’s a great burden, but you are my happiness in life.” Astrid stared at her grandma in astonishment. “Well, I am pretty great.” She laughed. “Don’t get too big for your britches Miss Sassy…Bingo is a close second.” Her grandma winked. Astrid was extremely puzzled by how her grandma did seem to know just about everything. Her grandma got up and was opening the curtain to let some light into the situation, when Astrid asked again… “How did you know about the cemetery?” Astrid’s grandma threw a pillow towards her as she was looking for clothes to change into. “Simple. Jordan mows my grass, and he was worried about you.” Astrid’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness!” She squealed. Wait until I tell Waverly! She’ll want to be at your house every day!” Her grandma motioned for her to sit on the bed. “I wouldn’t do that my love.” Her grandma’s tone had changed suddenly. “Why not? We won’t be any bother at all I promise!” Her grandma smiled and patted her hand. “Oh, I know dearest, that’s not it. I don’t know how to tell you this but...well… I’m afraid that Jordan isn’t really interested in Waverly.” Astrid stared into her Grandmas hazel eyes, which mirrored her own. She thought that her grandmother must be wrong; Jordan would never tell her that he didn’t like Waverly. “How do you know? What do you mean?” She was so confused. “Astrid honey, I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, but, Jordan likes….you.”

  Chapter 9

  Astrid walked out into the bright summer sun to sit on the porch and wait for Waverly. She wasn’t quite sure exactly how to tell her best friend that the boy she liked…or loved…liked someone else. And that someone else was her. She was staring up at the ceiling fan as it twirled with the sky blue paint behind it when her mother stepped onto the porch. “So, did you and grandma have a nice chat?” Astrid could feel a tingling in the back of her throat, but she was not going to cry again today.
“Yep.” There was an awkward silence between them, and Astrid didn’t want to be the first one to speak again. “You know you can always talk to me or dad about anything at all….no matter what it is.” Astrid knew this was some kind of a trick that adults used to get kids to say something about anything, but the truth was that she just didn’t feel like talking. “Yep.” She said picking at the fringe on her jean shorts. “It seems like you guys had quite an adventure at the cemetery the other night, but at least you found Miss Molly safe and sound.” Her mother smiled. “I guess so.” Astrid said in a short way that she really didn’t mean. “Well, I don’t know how you girls knew that the dog would be there, but I have some potentially good news…I overheard Kate’s mom at yoga telling people all about how you and Waverly read Kate’s tarot cards, and that led you to the dog, so a few of the ladies who were there seemed interested, and I think one or two of them might be coming over for you to read their cards as well.” Astrid had a sick feeling in her stomach. “Really? I mean that’s great moneywise, but it was a fluke with us finding Molly, I mean I don’t know how we did it. I don’t know if we can read adults…for real.” Her mother straightened the fabric on the card table and arranged the porch a little bit. “If you want we can bring the wicker furniture from the back porch out here, it is a little nicer. It’s totes up to you.” “Mom! Don’t say “totes”! Astrid hated it when her mom used teen slang words, but she also felt bad and her mom was only trying to help. Sometimes Astrid didn’t know exactly why words came out of her mouth in a way that she hadn’t intended. “Ok, that sounds like a good idea, it will make it look more profesh…umm, I mean professional…to cover up for the fact that we have no clue what we’re doing.” Her mother laughed. “Well, whatever works best for you guys, I just want to be supportive…and as far as the readings go, it’s like anything else…practice makes perfect.” Her mother picked up the deck of cards and a card slipped out. “Oops, sorry honey, I just wanted to look.” She said bending to pick up the card. “No, it’s actually a good thing; the card picked you, instead of you picking it.” Astrid said confidently. Her mother handed the card to Astrid. It was the Wheel of Fortune. “Oh, is that a good one? Did I win?” her mother said laughing. “I’ll let ya know when I figure it out.” She smiled.