Tempting Fate

by A N Busch

  Her aunt said nothing and lifted her mug to take a drink, so Abigail continued talking never looking up at her, “The dreams were every night for a while. It was like each night it picked up where it had left off, and I remembered them more clearly than any before in my life. They had gotten really intense recently, and I really don’t remember knowing this man. Did I ever mention that name to you when I was in college?”

  Abigail glanced up at her aunt to see annoyance covering her face. She started to speak once and then glanced down at her coffee with a scowl, “Just forget about it, they were nothing.” Melissa sipped from her mug, never once lifting her eyes to meet Abigail’s.

  “But what do you think, isn’t it odd? Dreaming of this man and a love that is just... out of place? You must have some opinion about it.”

  Melissa gulped more of her coffee, and when she looked up at Abigail, there was nothing but anger on her face. “Yes Abigail I do. My opinion is that you should forget about Westly altogether. College was a very long time ago and you are a happily married woman now, so please just stop thinking about him and talking about him. Think about what you have now not then. I mean a dream of then that you had.”

  Melissa got up from the table abruptly and got more coffee. She would not even look in Abigail’s direction when she spoke again, still with a sharp tone in her voice, “You need to get going Sugar; it’s getting late and the car service will be here to pick you up soon I’m sure.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I just have to go into the office and make sure I grabbed everything. Can you look out and see if it’s here?”

  “Yeah Sugar I can do that, now go make sure you have everything you need.”

  Abigail started to ask her aunt about the way she was acting, but when she opened her mouth to speak, Melissa shook her head quickly and put up her hand. It was a clear sign that her aunt did not want to discuss things any further.

  Why was she acting this way? Had her words upset Melissa that much? Abigail was at a loss; her mind was running over everything that was said again. She just could not figure it out. She wasn’t dreaming about him on purpose. Rachel had acted strange about it, but her aunts’ reaction was much harsher. She felt so much guilt over the dreams as it was. Now she was feeling even worse. She wanted him to go away, for the dreams to stop. If only someone had said. ‘Nope, don’t remember that name.’ She thought answers would be the key, but she was only left with more questions now. Why did Rachel and Melissa act the way they did about Westly? Was there more to the story that they were not saying?

  Abigail had thought back on that year in college over and over again in the past week. If she remembered doing something and Westly was there, it was part of the dreams she had. Many memories she had from then had nothing to do with him at all; things she had remembered or reminisced with her friends about over the years. She had never thought of him or included him at those times. If he were really a part of her life then, he would have been part of those memories. Wouldn’t he? How would she have only thought of him now?

  Abigail shook her head before heading to the front door, bags in hand. It had to be that they simply didn't like the way she talked about dreaming of another man. She never guessed that the two of them would be so upset with her. Had the tone of her voice said something; was there a sound to it that had made them think there was more? She knew the feelings she had in her dreams for him were wrong; she was a happily married woman. Was forgetting him truly the way to make it stop? Maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough to push him out of her mind. Could she forget him?

  Aunt Melissa’s attitude had somewhat changed as she helped Abigail get her bags into the trunk. Abigail checked one last time that her flight ticket was in her purse and that everything else she needed was also. Melissa smiled as she gave her a hug and then wished her luck. Abigail waved through the window as she was driven away. She thought it odd how her aunt watched the car pull away for so long. Melissa was a big believer in old southern wives’ tales. Even the wild ones - to get rid of a wart have someone buy it from you; keep an acorn on your windowsill and it will keep lightening from striking inside; if the cow’s tails are in the air it is going to rain; if you drop a fork a man is coming to visit you. The two Abigail would never forget in her life - see a penny pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck, and never watch a person you love drive away, it's a curse that you may never see them again. Maybe Melissa had finally given up all that nonsense. She shrugged and didn’t give it much more thought, instead concentrating on her trip.

  The flight went quicker than Abigail could have hoped. No delays or waiting on the runway; even getting through security was a breeze. The only down side was that the movie they had was awful, and she was disappointed she spent the money on the headphones. After gathering her bags she found an empty taxi right outside the door.

  Abigail got to her hotel in what seemed like no time at all. It could have been an hour drive, but she wouldn’t really have noticed. She was looking at everything with amazement as the taxi drove through town. This was her first trip to New York and the city was beyond what she could have ever imagined.

  By the time she got into her room, it was almost seven in the evening. She unpacked a few of her things and took her travel bag into the bathroom. At first she was just going to wash her face but quickly decided to take advantage of the endless hot water with a long quiet shower.

  When Abigail got out she called home to talk to her husband and say goodnight to the kids. The conversation was easy and short with the kids, but she took her time talking to her husband. Her stomach was practically yelling for food by the time she was done. She got dressed and headed downstairs for something to eat at the restaurant in the hotel.

  After dinner she decided to take a short walk and see some of downtown on foot. She was glad she brought her camera with her; she was snapping pictures one after the other. There was so much going on around her. She had been downtown Houston many times and even spent a few weekends in Dallas, but those cites were nothing compared to New York City. She was only a few blocks from the hotel and she couldn’t even imagine what the rest of the city held that had to be seen. She would have to ask about some site-seeing tours or other things offered at the hotel. If she had more time and was not bogged down with changing many things on the project over the next few days, she would love to take in as many sites as she could. The kids would enjoy seeing all the photos she had taken when she got home. She looked at her watch and it was almost ten-thirty; she needed to head back to the hotel and get some rest. Looking around she had to laugh. She was lost with no clue how to get back to the hotel. She hailed a cab and gave him the name of the hotel, thankful she was in a city where one could hail a cab and they knew just where to go.

  After getting back to her room and changing, she pulled out some queue cards for the project and started to go over her presentation again. Her brain started to feel hazy from the day and it wasn’t long before she was yawning. Abigail got out of bed to get a bottle of water from the mini-bar and went to the window. As she looked down on Central Park, she felt as if she had been there before, like it was calling to her in a welcome home kind of way. She shrugged off the feeling and went back to her bed, reading through her presentation again. Her eyes soon fluttered shut and she was fast asleep, cards in her hand and the bedside lamp still on.

  Chapter 18

  “Seriously Rach, a Tarot card reading?”

  “Oh Abby, would you stop whining. It will be fun I swear. Come on don’t you want to know what your summer holds?”

  “I know it holds a D in my history class, that’s for sure. Besides you got me a birthday present on my birthday, you can’t call this another present.”

  “Look you’re doing this and Daddy’s paying, call it what you want. I have not had mine done in forever! I’m so overdue, it’s not even funny.”

  Abby quit fighting and just rolled her eyes; there was no getting around it. Maybe it was just her, she just cou
ldn’t see how anyone could believe in this stuff. It was a joke and a waste of money at that. She would go and sit through it if it would appease Rachel. Unhappy and skeptical as she was, she put a smile on her face for Rachel and would put one on for the women who would tell her future in a matter of minutes. It would be months before they were going to see each other again.

  As they walked in the door of the small shop, Rachel pulled Abby with her towards a display of crystals. Abby almost tripped twice over her own feet. Compared to the sunlight outside, the light of the shop was not much more than that of a candle. She coughed twice - the smell of the thick incense in the small shop was over-powering at first.

  Rachel grabbed a small pouch and handed another to Abby. She was going on and on about the different colored stones on the table in front of them and what they would do. Abby had no interest in them but Rachel was filling up her own little bag as if she had done it a hundred times before. When she was done she pulled Abby towards a bookshelf.

  Rachel scanned the books as Abby looked around the small space. A glass case held crystals and an odd assortment of amulets. A shelf behind it was coved with candles of all different colors, packs of incense, and small bottles of pure incense and oils. Abby started to walk over to see if there was any jasmine oil on the shelf when Rachel grabbed a book from the shelf and Abby’s arm at the same time. “Oh Abby, you are so going to have to read this after me.”

  “What is it?” Abby was trying her best to read the fancy script engraved into the leather binding.

  “The Powers of Love and Spells to Invoke it.”

  “No thanks. I think I’ll pass,” Abby just shook her head. Her love life was wonderful, but since when was Rachel looking for love?

  “Ok, fine. We are going to both read this one though,” she said grabbing another book with one hand while placing the first one back on the shelf with the other.

  “What is that one?” Abby sighed, maybe it contained a spell to turn frogs into princes right before your eyes.

  “It’s a book about Zodiac signs.” Rachel flipped through the first few pages scanning over the print as she moved over to a small couch and sat down. “Look at this it goes really into detail with like where the moon was at the time you were born.”

  Abby sat beside her on a small, dark red velvet covered couch. Rachel turned to the back, read a paragraph, and started looking at a chart of numbers, “Ah, here I am - page 269.” Rachel flipped quickly to it and began to read. “Wow look at this; it’s so me!” Rachel said shoving the book into Abby’s lap and pointing to a paragraph.

  They sat for a few more moments when a woman came out of a room crying and hugging the lady that followed her out. Abby watched as she paid at the counter and walked out the door.

  “Rachel?”

  “That’s me.” She never took her nose out of the book, just waved her hand in the air.

  “I’m Claire. I will be ready for you shortly. I would like to cleanse myself of any lingering energy from the last session. A cleansing of the mind, body, and soul if you will.” Claire’s clothing reminded Abby of the photos she had seen of protesters in the seventies. The leather cord around her head with feathers dangling from the long ends, and a strange large symbol hanging from a chain around her neck were a little over-the-top in Abby’s mind.

  “That’s fine Claire, thank you.”

  Shortly after that Rachel disappeared into a private room with Claire. Abby was left alone, if only for a few moments, before she too was shown into another small room.

  “I’m Isabella. I know you came in for a Tarot reading today, but I prefer a different method. Do you mind? No extra charge or anything; I just feel I see more clearly with Runes, and after my meditation this afternoon I see that it is very important for me to use them today.”

  “Um, sure, I don’t know what those are but whatever works for you I guess.” Did it really matter anyway? Abby was committed to doing this, but it was all a joke anyway. There was no way to tell the future from crazy cards or anything else for that matter. Isabella’s short stature was not as noticeable at the small table as it had been when they were both standing. With her white hair in a bun and her small, round, rose-colored cheeks she could have passed for Mrs. Clause at any holiday party more than a fortune-teller.

  “Runes are the oldest form of divination. They date back as far as second century B.C.E. I am of Nordic decent and this has been passed down from mother to daughter for well over five generations.” As she continued to talk, she laid a white cloth out on the table and brought out a small black pouch and began to open it. “A lot of the history of how my family came into using these has been lost over the years do to the fact that it was never written down. I crafted this set myself at about seventeen.”

  Isabella held out her hand and Abby leaned in to get a closer look at what she was holding. It was a rounded piece of rectangular wood that was about the size of a quarter, which had a carving on it that looked like two arrows pointing in different directions next to each other.

  She placed it back into the bag and handed it to Abby. “What I would like you to do is think of a question you would like the answer to. Reach into the bag and pull them out one at a time. Take your time; roll them around in your hand one at a time inside the bag. If you get the feeling you should pull it out and place it on the table, then do so. Do you have any questions for me?”

  “No, well yes. I’m not really a believer in any of this stuff; I have never done this before. What kind of question should I ask, and should it be a different question for every ruin?”

  “It’s pronounced Rune, like dune if you will. It’s ok that you have never done this before. I have done it thousands of times over the years and I am very in tune with my Runes and what they are telling me. One question will do, just be sure to keep it on your mind while your hand is in the bag. I don’t need to know what it is before hand. I generally know what it is you are wanting to know about just by looking at what you have pulled and laid out.”

  Abby shook her head and then looked down at the bag. This really was a joke but she would play along. Just put on a smile and enjoy the entertainment of it all she told herself. She hesitated as she reached into the bag. What question was she going to think of? A smile crossed her face as Westly popped into her mind. Why not see what the future holds for them.

  She closed her eyes and thought of Westly as she placed her hand into the bag. The wooden Runes felt surprisingly smooth in her hand.

  As she was touching them, she heard Isabella speaking to her, “Relax and try to think only of your question. As you lay them out place them in a row of six from left to right. For the seventh and last Rune, place it below the row in the middle.”

  Abby felt more like she was daydreaming of Westly then thinking about a question. As she pulled one into her hand and rubbed the smooth indented surface, she felt nothing special about it and dropped it back into the bag. The second one she touched felt like it shocked her and she dropped it right away. The next one made her feel soft and warm inside so she pulled it out and placed it onto the cloth in front of her. It was strange, but she was quickly starting to think maybe there was something to these Runes.

  She thought it was odd how some of them felt like they had been chilling on ice for hours while others felt like fire in her hand. Sometimes when she touched one, it was like she had a mental block and could not even think of Westly but others would bring him right back into her mind. As she pulled out the second Rune, she opened her eyes only for a second to place it to the right of the last one and then closed them again. Abby continued through all the Runes the same way. It was strange that some of them she just knew she should pull out and others she could not get out of her hand fast enough. When she was done, she handed the bag back to Isabella and leaned in to look at what she had pulled. Though she really didn’t know what she was looking at.

  Isabella turned the cloth slowly as to not disturb the Runes. She looked up at Abby and smiled, “Ah
, you asked about love?”

  Abby looked at her and didn’t say anything. There was no way she was going to feed any information to her, Abby thought. If she is as good with these Runes as she says she is, she shouldn’t need it. She had given into what Isabella had asked of her while she was picking them, but she was still a non-believer. Isabella placed a finger under the first two and looked up at Abby.

  “The first two Runes are a representation of the problem or the question, depending on what you have asked them to tell you.” She moved her fingers to the next two. “These represent the factors of the recent past, generally the past three months or so.” She moved her fingers again as she continued to speak, “The fifth and sixth ones represent advice that is given to you and the last one here is the result.”

  Abby nodded, crossed her arms and leaned onto the table with them to get a closer look as Isabelle spoke.

  “Any questions?”

  Abby kept her gaze on the Runes and just shook her head slightly.

  “All right then let’s get started. This first Rune is called NIED, it is in reverse and it has been paired here with WYRD.”

  Abby looked at the Runes and their symbols. To her they looked like a strange crooked cross and the other was blank.

  “NIED in reverse represents and warns of inevitable failure and despair. Seeing as it is paired with WYRD this says to me it will be from the forces of fate.”

  Abby stayed quiet only looking at the Runes. What did this have to do with her and Westly?

  The look on her face must have conveyed her question and confusion because Isabella answered it, “Let’s keep reading; everything may start to make more sense once you have heard everything. Now let’s go onto the next two - the factors of the past. This one is GIFU, a gift to gladden your heart, a new relationship I presume. TIR, the next one, is a very masculine Rune. The two together tells me that you have recently become involved with a man and are very happy together.”