Day in the story: 31st December (Wednesday), early night
“That woman almost strangled you in that hug, Pete. Both of you, actually,” Zoe said, as Peter scratched the back of his head in total, honest dismissal of his deed.
“She was just thankful for getting her son back, as far as I understood her broken English,” he replied, while all of us moved into the crowd per his wishes. He didn’t want to cause any more commotion or draw more attention to himself than he already had.
“Can’t believe you jumped as well,” Tyler said to Jason. “Haven’t you told that you’re afraid of water like that?”
“Like what?” Elena asked, pulling on the sleeve of his jacket.
“Dark as fuck. Not seeing what’s underneath.”
“What can I say?” Jason replied, puffing his chest forward. “Couldn’t stop myself from helping that boy, you know? No fear can stop from being a—”
He stopped mid-sentence, as if his thoughts drifted away.
“A what? I didn’t hear.”
“He didn’t say anything,” Hannah added. “Probably brain freeze from the cold water.” Then she froze herself. “Wait! Right—you guys should be freezing!” She put her hand on Jason’s jacket, only to recoil instantly. “What the—!? It’s warm and dry!?”
Her confusion prompted Elena, Tyler, Evan, and Peaches to check whoever was closest to them at the mont—so hands landing on Pete, so on Jason.
“We must’ve dried from the amount of people in here,” Jason replied quickly, before Peter could say anything damning.
“That’s not possible. It doesn’t work like that,” Hannah pressed, while we kept moving closer and closer to the main crowd gathered beneath the Eiffel Tower looming above us.
I moved to Nick and Sophie.
“You didn’t jump,” I said to him.
“No. Figured I wouldn’t be any better than Peter anyway.”
“Good call.”
“I saw the lights, Alexa.”
“What do you think about that?”
“Feels like confirmation of what I already assud to be true.”
“You’re talking about the golden and purple?” Sophie asked, watching Nick’s mouth intently.
“Yes,” he replied, as the three of us ford a smaller group, drifting a few feet away from the rest while still keeping them in sight and earshot. Jason was gloating, making sure everyone knew how great a human he was, while Peter clearly wanted to move on.
“We assud Jason was accepted into our friend’s Domain, but because of what happened to it, we weren’t sure. He also never confird it—until now. The shadowlight had the sa color as Malik’s.”
“That in itself is strange,” Nick whispered. “It didn’t have to be that color. Shadowlight is an expression of ourselves; it isn’t tied to the subject of the Domain in that way. Almost everyone in my Domain has a different color, especially at the beginning, right after joining, when our differences are strongest.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“No idea. Could be nothing, really.”
“You wouldn’t ntion it if it were nothing.”
“I think I have to speak with him, although I don’t know him very well.”
“It would be better if it were who spoke with him, wouldn’t it?”
“Better for . Much worse for him, though. You turn nuclear every ti the two of you speak to each other. I can’t believe you were actually together.”
“Not every ti,” Sophie tried to defend . “Alexa, I will be there with you, and Nick will be as well. Even if I have to drag him there. You are not alone in this world, girl. You don’t have to do everything by yourself, especially if this is just a talk. And all four of us were in that Domain when he touched the crystal.”
“I…” Nick sighed. “That’s right. I don’t like being confrontational, especially with people I don’t really know, but it’s true that I’ve been getting used to letting you deal with everything because it’s convenient.”
“Oh honey, you were listening to !” Sophie exclaid, happiness clear in her voice as she patted his chest.
“You were talking about this?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m trying to teach him how to be decent—well, even more decent a human being than he already is. He’s close enough to being pretty great already.”
“I’d say you’re even closer, despite having an influence on you.”
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“You wish, Ali. You wish!” She laughed it off as we naturally—step by little step—joined the rest of the group, approaching the plaza beneath the Eiffel Tower.
Saying it was full of people would have been an understatent of the century. We were nothing more than a small cell of ten in a massive organism of thousands, all of them self-organizing into arteries that carried us closer and closer to the beating heart—which, in our case, was a stage set up near the base of the tower, where a band was playing French hip-hop. People jumped and waved, and everything felt both surreal and amazing at the sa ti.
Moving along the edges of the main body of the crowd, we passed various food stands that had been allowed to set up here, with lines longer than what seed worth any waiting. But there was one smaller stand under a tent that appeared to have no line at all, with a single person seated there—a Black middle-aged woman with colorful beads woven into her dark hair and a myriad of green, blue, and teal scarves wrapped loosely around her, paired with sothing akin to traditional African yellow-and-gold attire. She had an English and French sign with a crystal ball painted on it, and it was obvious she was a fortune teller.
“I want to know what is written in the stars for ,” Elena said quietly. “Can you guys wait for ?”
“She is a fraud. I know people like her,” Ty replied.
“Be more open-minded,” Nick told him. “You never know—maybe magic is real at best, and at worst it’s just a few euros lost and a fun story to tell.”
“You don’t know El. Whatever she hears from that woman will beco the word of God and the holy truth,” Ty said.
“You fear for your status in this relationship?” Sophie asked, half-mockingly.
“Of course I do!” he answered, prompting my laughter.
“I want to do it as well,” I said, breaking the tension even more. I wasn’t a believer in fate, but who knew—maybe this woman was a real mage, and I could use the input. Elena lit up when she heard that I wanted to join her and, catching by the arm, dragged toward the chair.
“We’ll wait for you guys,” Peter said.
“Bienvenue, les sœurs. Vous cherchez à connaître votre avenir, c’est ça ?” the woman spoke in a very raspy tone.
“Do you speak English, perhaps?” Elena asked as she took the chair for herself. The rest of the group talked among themselves about the music, the people, and the lights, though they were watching intently as well. It was warm here, despite the winter.
“Yes, my dear, I do. Would you like to know what the future holds for you?”
“Yes, yes, of course! How much will it cost?”
“Thirty euros and so of your ti.”
“Okay, I want it,” she said, as she placed the money on the table. The price wasn’t too steep for a chance at entertainnt.
“Can I watch?” Jason asked as he moved closer. The woman looked at him with strange intensity, and for a second their eyes t. I could swear Jason recoiled a bit after that mont—his jaw hardened, his teeth grinding as he stepped back slightly.
“If the lady doesn’t object.”
“No, he can watch. Everyone can. I’m excited!”
“Good,” the fortune teller answered, staring at Jason a mont longer. Only after that passed did she turn her gaze toward Elena. If she was acting, it was one hell of a performance. I was excited for my reading now as well.
“My na is Monique.”
“Do you know my na already?” Elena asked, which made the woman laugh.
“No, I do not know all. All I see are threads of fate and how they move and twist, but for that I need your hand.” Elena extended hers, palm up, taking off her glove. Monique took it gently in her own unprotected hands and rested them against the table. She closed her eyes for a second, and soon a small mist of purple shadowlight appeared around their clasped hands.
Jason’s eyes widened when he saw that. Mine probably did too, but I tried to keep it cool. It could be so form of ntal magic, a way of searching for clues to shape her reading. It didn’t an she could see the future.
[But it can an that as well.]
Shush, Spidey.
“There is passion in you, young lady. All you do, you try to do one hundred percent and then so more,” she began with sothing fairly basic, her face twisting as if it took effort. Elena couldn’t have been more excited. She nodded constantly. “There is a man you love very much. There is a man you are with.” Monique continued, and Elena stopped nodding, her expression turning to terror. “They are not the sa person.”
“What!?” Tyler shouted, confirming he’d been listening as well.
“Please be quiet during a reading,” the fortune teller said. Elena’s guilty face turned back to her. “That man you love—he died so ti ago, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did,” Elena answered.
“Oh,” Tyler said, his built-up aggression cooling slightly.
“I can see there is a decision in front of you. You will have to choose whether you follow the dream set up by the dead man, or build a life with the one you are with.”
“What will happen when I make that choice? Can you tell?”
“I can.”
“Could you tell then which choice I end up making? And if it’s a good one?”
“Why would you want that?” I asked. “Make your own choices.”
“The other woman is right. Knowing the future can hinder you. You are better off setting the path for yourself.”
“But isn’t it already written for ?”
“Yes, it is.”
“So why are you saying that I have a choice, when you know what I will choose?”
“I believe it to be true, young lady. The future I see already written—I believe you are destined to write it, and telling you which line you will put down on paper would be cheating you out of discovering it for yourself.”
“But that’s why I ca to you.” Score. Good job, Elena. Press her.
“You will choose the dead man in the end, and his dream for you, but it will not be anyti soon.”
“So I will stay with Ty?”
“Why are you asking her about that?” Tyler asked, clearly distressed. “This is exactly the kind of scam I was afraid of.” Monique looked at him, sadness on her face, then turned back to Elena.
“Yes, you will—for a ti.”
“Will I be happy?”
“Not always.” Elena’s good humor vanished like a candle blown out. “You will live a good life, young lady, if that is any consolation.”
“What is she talking about, El?” Tyler intervened, taking Elena by the arm and helping her stand. “Happy with ? Life with ?” he asked Elena, but she seed absent-minded. Then he turned to Monique. “Well, thanks for that bullshit. I hope you’re happy with it.” His voice was so full of emotion I wouldn’t have recognized it if I hadn’t been there.
“Thank you,” Elena said quietly as she left the place for .
“That’s certainly good New Year’s Eve entertainnt,” I said as I sat down. Now our entire group was watching intently—everyone except Hannah, Elena, and Tyler, who had stepped away to discuss what had just transpired.
I offered her money and extended my own hand toward the woman, focusing on my additional brains, prompting them to make sure I wasn’t going to be manipulated here.
She looked into my eyes, and I held her gaze. She was searching for resonance within . I felt it—felt her reaching into my soul through that window of opportunity. But I closed it. Didn’t let her through.
“Will you let look at what the future has in store for you, young lady?” she asked, reaching out for my hand but not touching it yet. “The threads of fate for a person like you can hold secrets you might not want to share with everyone.”
“You’d know then not to speak about it,” I replied.
She simply nodded and took my hand.
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