Muddy Waters

Wings of Darkness

Chapter 5

“Welcome to Shantas's House of Voodoo,” the woman behind the desk greeted.

“Hello,” Rhyan said in response, smiling back at her.

“Let me know if you need any help,” the woman replied. The girls looked around. Strange items all over the counters and hanging from the ceiling. There were altars set up to give offerings to the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau herself. One glass display had a human head that had been petrified into stone. There was incense, crystals and stones, candles, tarot cards, spices, books, all kinds of things.

There was a room toward the back of the shop that had a sign hanging off to the side. The sign read “Tarot card readings. $30 for career/financial-focused readings and general life guidance. $50 for love, relationship, and fertility-focused readings. No refunds.”

“Let's get card readings,” Betsy said, also seeing the sign.

“Yeah, that would be neat,” Rhyan said. “I have been learning how to do readings myself but haven't had one done on me by someone else,” she explained. “This will be so cool,” she said with excitement.

They walked up to the counter and the woman stood up to help them. “What can I do for you, ladies?,” she asked cheerfully. She was abnormally tall with long dark brown hair, some of it braided, almost like dreads. She hard a very dark complexion, making her undoubtedly beautiful.

“We wanna have tarot card readings done,” Betsy said, almost sounding rude.

“Sure thing, sweets. Let me tell Madame Despoina you are here,” she said before she disappeared behind the black curtain. Lorraine had chills up her spine. The way the woman worded it was almost like Madame Despoina was expecting them. Like she was awaiting their arrival. Weird. Rhyan looked over at Lorraine and gave her a half-forced smile. Rhyan was excited, but she found the choice of words to be a little eerie, too. Maybe that was all part of the show. They probably did that purposely to enhance the experience. Lorraine guessed that Rhyan was thinking the same thing. They always seemed to be on the same page as one another. And it was, at times, almost like they could reach others' minds. Their eyes connected again and Lorraine raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

“What is wrong with you two?,” Betsy chimed. "Always making weird faces at each other. Like you're trying to f**k with your eyes. Fuckin weirdos,” she added harshly.

“Ladies, Madame Despoina is ready for you, but she takes one client at a time,” the woman said as she came back through the curtain.

“I'll go first. It was my idea,” Betsy urged, stepping in front of Rhyan and Lorraine.

Jingle. Jingle. The door opened at the front of the store and the bells indicated that someone was coming in to shop. A tall handsome man with dark hair and a perfectly chiseled chin walked in and began looking around.

“Hello, Roman. What will you be needing for this go round?,” the woman asked, immediately assisting him. Betsy looked back and her mouth dropped.

“Oh, s**t. He is so sexy. I'll let you girls go first. Be back,” she said as she turned and started toward the new shopper. Flaunting herself around, of course.

“I'll let you go, Rhyan. You are far more interested in this kind of stuff than I am,” Lorraine said as she stepped back, allowing Rhyan to go forth.

“Thanks, Raine,” she said, still half smiling as she walked through the dark curtain.

“Hello, young one,” the woman on the other side of the table said as Rhyan walked into the room. The walls were painted black and there were no lights on. Only candles lit, casting dancing shadows across the wall. Several candles of all different shapes and sizes.

The woman she stared back at wasn't much older than her. She did have quite more wrinkles than Rhyan, but you could see her undeniable youth through them. Her hair was a very dark brown, similar to that of the woman at the counter. And also, like hers, her skin was very dark, but this woman, Madame Despoina, had several freckles all across her face. She was a very pretty woman.

“I am Madame Despoina. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?,” she asked, motioning for her to take a seat.

“My name is Rhyan,” she said calmly despite her rising nerves. The hair stood up on her arms and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, yet calm at the same time. It was the oddest of sensations. How could you feel both at the same time?

“Rhyan, what kind of reading are you searching for?,” the woman asked, staring right at her eyes, never breaking contact.

“Um, I really don't know. I guess I would like to have a general life reading. I wasn't really prepared, so I don't know what else to ask for guidance on,” Rhyan said.

“Okay, we can do that if you wish,” Madame Despoina said as she shuffled her cards together and banged them on the table a couple of times. “Tell me, Rhyan, why do you feel so uneasy?,” the woman asked her, still looking straight at her.

“W-what do you mean?,” Rhyan asked in shock. How did this woman know what she was feeling?

“I can feel the raw, tense emotion flowing off of your body, young one,” she said, taking her gaze away from Rhyan's eyes and looking her up and down.

“I'm not sure, honestly. I feel calm, but I also feel....not, at the same time. Does that make sense?,” Rhyan said, confiding in her, even though she didn't know her. That wasn't like her to do that, either. What the hell was going on?

“It does. Sometimes, what is happening to our bodies and our minds conflict with each other and communication is lost. You need to ground yourself and get in touch with your inner being, Rhyan,” the woman explained.

“Well, how do I go about that?,” Rhyan asked, now intrigued by what Madame Depsoina had to say.

“First,, let's see what the cards tell us, young one,” the woman responded.

“Okay,” Rhyan agreed, eager to see what the reading would say.

The woman cut the deck of cards and held the majority of them in her hands still. She set the other ones face down on the table. “Now, choose one,” she directed Rhyan, and she selected a card as told. “Set it on the table face down and choose another,” she directed again, and Rhyan did so. “Pick one more card and do the same,” she said. Rhyan obeyed and selected a total of three cards and set them face down in order as picked. They were beautiful cards. They had a very detailed image of the moon. A crescent moon.

She turned the first card over, and it read “Temperance” but it was upside down, which meant that it had a reversed meaning. Rhyan had an idea of what it meant but was interested to see how this stranger would interpret the message behind it. She turned over the second card, and it said “Death”, but Rhyan knew that more times than not, the death card didn't necessarily indicate that you were going to by dying. And finally, she overturned the third card, and it read “The Wheel of Fortune”.

“Very interesting spread we have here, young one,” the woman said, looking at Rhyan. “The message the cards have for you is this: in the past you battled extremes. More ups and downs than anyone should have in one lifetime. You have the strength to overcome anything, and you are more resilient than you give yourself credit for. You have been through more than a person your age should ever have to go through, but you did it. Of course, you had help and support along the way, but you have had many hindrances, all the same. For you felt no balance, you felt no meaning and purpose in your life. You searched for a path that only you could follow. Finally, you came out of your trials, like a phoenix from the ash , rising with your colors shining through the smoke... And now you will go through yet another phase of this life. You will have many things ending as you know them. Change is coming. A big change that will alter your life forever. And with that change will come more trials and tribulations, but know this, child, your fate is inevitable. This change cannot be undone once the cycle has started. You must follow through with the new happenings of your life and embrace it, help others as you can along the way, for along this path, you will find who you truly are, who you were born to be,” the woman ended her reading and Rhyan looked down at her arms. Her hair was raised on both arms, and she was visibly shaking.

“What does that mean?,” Rhyan asked. “A change? What kind of change?,” she asked, needing to know more. She needed to know how her life was going to change. Was it for the better, or for the worst? She almost feared knowing the truth.

“That is part of your journey, Rhyan. Good luck,” the woman said as she began collecting the cards and shuffling them.

“Thank you for the card reading, Madame Depsoina,” Rhyan said, knowing the woman was kindly indicating it was time for her to go.

“You are more than welcome, Rhyan Edwards. Send your friend in, if you will,” she said as Rhyan stood up and turned toward the curtain to exit.