A Thoughtful Life

Time for a new Flash Fiction.  This month’s theme is “Fool”.

Madam Genevieve

It was little more than a tent, set off to the side of the carnival, away from the throngs of people.  It bore only a small wooden sign, hung from a rusty pole, that squeaked eerily in the evening breeze. “Madam Genevieve’s Tarot Readings and Spiritual Guidance”.

Kayla pushed aside the heavy brocade curtain and peered in.  The room was dim.  It reeked of incense with the faint undertone of mildew.  The walls were covered in the same heavy curtains that concealed the door and the floor was bare to the grass below.  A small wooden table and two chairs were centered in the room, under an elaborate chandelier dripping with crystals and candles.

Kayla chuckled to herself and prepared to enjoy the show.

Madam Genevieve waited a full minute before swirling into the room.  She was a riot of colors and textures, sensual and sleek.  Her flowing skirt pooled and shimmered, and the bells aroundoptical communications her ankles chimed with each sinuous step she took.

“Come, my dear.  Be seated” Madam Genevieve intoned.  Her voice was deep and rich, full of mystery. “You seek answers, and I shall help you find that which you need to know.  But remember this… you will not receive that which you do not require.  Some things in our lives must remain a mystery for there to be any happiness and desire to continue pursuit.”

Kayla did her best not to roll her eyes. She moved to the table, stifling a cough as a wisp of incense assaulted her nose.  The chair was no more comfortable than it looked, and Kayla shifted from side to side awkwardly.

Madam Genevieve sat down with a flourish and produced a pack of tarot cards.  She pointed to a small fishbowl sitting empty on the side of the table.  “The spirits require a small token of your willingness to believe before they will agree to help you in your quest.”

Kayla dug a few bills from her pocket and dropped them into the empty bowl.

“Good.  Let us begin.”  Madam Genevieve quickly cut the deck of cards and shuffled them together.  She fanned them out across the table top, touching each card briefly and smiling to herself.

“You must clear your mind of everything but your one true question.  If you do not have a question, then simply clear your mind and my spirits will reveal their will to you.”

Kayla nodded once to indicate that she was ready.

“Good.  Good, my darling.  Now, you must choose five cards.  Run your hands over them and stop only when you feel the kiss of the spirit.  You will know then that they have chosen the cards of your destiny.”

Kayla quickly pulled five cards from the deck and thrust them toward Madam Genevieve.

“Really?  So quickly you felt the hand of my guides?  You must have a strong future ahead of you.  Let us see.”

With the swipe of a hand, Genevieve cleared the table of the remaining cards.  She flipped each of Kayla’s cards face up and placed them in a straight line in the center of the table.

“I must now meditate on the meaning of these cards.  I ask you for absolute silence while I begin to reveal the nature of your destiny.”

Kayla resisted the urge to drum her fingers on the table top as she waited for Madam Genevieve to open her eyes.  Instead, she concentrated on peering into the dark corners of the tent.

Madam Genevieve did not open her eyes, but simply began to speak in a quiet, flat voice.  “You have seen the heartache, my dear.  That man just isn’t ready.  You need to stop your pushing, he won’t change for you and he won’t make you happy until he finds his way.  Too long you have already stayed, hoping for a new start.  You are a fool.  You must stand and walk away.  Give him the chance to follow.  If you are always pursuing him, then he must continue to retreat.  Only when you stop and pursue yourself, will you find what you seek in him.”

Kayla blinked in surprise.  The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and stood on end.  She didn’t understand everything Madam Genevieve had just said, but she certainly recognized Martin in those words.

“How could you possibly know that?  And why didn’t you read my cards.  Look, I pulled the five of Pentacles and the Hanged Man and the three of Swords, and whatever those other two cards are.  What do they mean?”

Madam Genevieve simply shrugged.  “I don’t know, my lovely one.  Sometimes the spirits give me messages that are far more important than the cards you have pulled.  You must go and reflect on what the spirit world has given you.  They have been generous, and have blessed you with advice.  I suggest you take it.  Now, I must rest.  Communicating with the great beyond is terribly taxing.”  She stood abruptly and strode from the room.

Kayla sat quietly, staring at the cards still sitting in the center of the table.  “I have indeed been a fool.  I should never have come in here.”  Kayla rose and started for the door, before remembering the money sitting in the fish bowl on the table.  She quickly dug it back out and stalked from the room.  She’d lost her desire for the circus.  She was going home; back to Martin to give it all one more try.