-=+Fiction5+=-
"Madame Venga was already seated in her reading chair when I got into the room. The crystal ball and all the crap she put out for the tourists was gone, and only the solid grain table remained, with a deck of cards on top, so ancient the backs had mostly worn off. What you could still see was a wierd-looking collection of circles tied together with lines that didn't mean anything to me.
"She pointed to the cards and I picked them up and started to shuffle. After a while I felt like I was about done and laid 'em back on the table. She looked at me then, and her eyes seemed to open up just a little wider, and I could see a little glint in them that almost reminded me of stars, just for a second. And then she took the top card and flipped it over.
"'This is your past. It is the you that once was, the you that may never be again. It talks of your base nature and root causes.'
"The card she flipped was of a poncy-looking guy standing in front of a table with a cup or something on it, with one hand up and a sideways figure eight over his head. An infinity symbol, I realized.
"'This is the Magician. It speaks of taking action, of concentrating, and of experiencing power.' She looked at me a little funny and I gave her a half-grin.
"'Must be from when I was a cop,' I said, 'but the only power I remember experiencing was from the brass, kicking me out.'
"She didn't look real satisfied, but she flipped another card. This one looked like a queen from a normal deck of cards, except not split in half, and this one was carrying a sword and a pair of scales.
"'This is your present. It is the you that is here now, and it is the focus of your current actions. It talks of your predicament, but not of how to get out of it. This is Justice. It speaks of assuming responsibility, preparing for a decision, and understanding cause and effect.' She went on this time without pause, and I was just as happy. I knew these two, it was the next couple that I was interested in.
"'This is the first branch of your future, if events are not favorable to you. It is the likely outcome of you only react to the doings of those around you.'
I knew as soon as the card hit the table that it was a bad one. It had good old goat-legs satan on it, with two little demons at his feet and a pentagram above him.
"'This is the Devil. It speaks of experiencing bondage, staying in ignorance, and feeling hopeless.'
"Yeah, that was about right. Jail, I never find out what's going on, and I can't do anything about it. Sounded great. 'So what's my other option?' I said, and she flipped the last card.
"This is the second branch of your future, if events are favorable towards you. It is the possible outcome if you are proactive in solving your predicament.'
"It was a guy in armor in some kind of cart that looked like it was being pulled by sphinxes.
"'This is the Chariot. It speaks of achieving victory, using your will, and asserting yourself.'
"I pondered it for a second. It seemed to be an obvious choice. Let things slide and wind up in jail, or keep slogging and beat 'em all. But it was too pat. I didn't like thigns to be so cut-and-dried.
"And then the guy in the cart winked at me. I mean, the one on the 'Chariot' card, he turned his head to the side a little and winked at me in a real exaggerated way, like someone in a bad play - or worse, a car commercial.
"I looked at Venga to see if she was paying attention, but she was lighting up a nasty smelling cheroot and was puffing furiously, head held high. I looked down again, and the guy was writing something on the side of the cart..."
-=++=-
(Lucael here)
Wicked loud thunder outside, scared the crap out of me, am going to turn off computer before it blows up, bye!
Lucael
"She pointed to the cards and I picked them up and started to shuffle. After a while I felt like I was about done and laid 'em back on the table. She looked at me then, and her eyes seemed to open up just a little wider, and I could see a little glint in them that almost reminded me of stars, just for a second. And then she took the top card and flipped it over.
"'This is your past. It is the you that once was, the you that may never be again. It talks of your base nature and root causes.'
"The card she flipped was of a poncy-looking guy standing in front of a table with a cup or something on it, with one hand up and a sideways figure eight over his head. An infinity symbol, I realized.
"'This is the Magician. It speaks of taking action, of concentrating, and of experiencing power.' She looked at me a little funny and I gave her a half-grin.
"'Must be from when I was a cop,' I said, 'but the only power I remember experiencing was from the brass, kicking me out.'
"She didn't look real satisfied, but she flipped another card. This one looked like a queen from a normal deck of cards, except not split in half, and this one was carrying a sword and a pair of scales.
"'This is your present. It is the you that is here now, and it is the focus of your current actions. It talks of your predicament, but not of how to get out of it. This is Justice. It speaks of assuming responsibility, preparing for a decision, and understanding cause and effect.' She went on this time without pause, and I was just as happy. I knew these two, it was the next couple that I was interested in.
"'This is the first branch of your future, if events are not favorable to you. It is the likely outcome of you only react to the doings of those around you.'
I knew as soon as the card hit the table that it was a bad one. It had good old goat-legs satan on it, with two little demons at his feet and a pentagram above him.
"'This is the Devil. It speaks of experiencing bondage, staying in ignorance, and feeling hopeless.'
"Yeah, that was about right. Jail, I never find out what's going on, and I can't do anything about it. Sounded great. 'So what's my other option?' I said, and she flipped the last card.
"This is the second branch of your future, if events are favorable towards you. It is the possible outcome if you are proactive in solving your predicament.'
"It was a guy in armor in some kind of cart that looked like it was being pulled by sphinxes.
"'This is the Chariot. It speaks of achieving victory, using your will, and asserting yourself.'
"I pondered it for a second. It seemed to be an obvious choice. Let things slide and wind up in jail, or keep slogging and beat 'em all. But it was too pat. I didn't like thigns to be so cut-and-dried.
"And then the guy in the cart winked at me. I mean, the one on the 'Chariot' card, he turned his head to the side a little and winked at me in a real exaggerated way, like someone in a bad play - or worse, a car commercial.
"I looked at Venga to see if she was paying attention, but she was lighting up a nasty smelling cheroot and was puffing furiously, head held high. I looked down again, and the guy was writing something on the side of the cart..."
-=++=-
(Lucael here)
Wicked loud thunder outside, scared the crap out of me, am going to turn off computer before it blows up, bye!
Lucael