Page 5 of Song For His Siren
She woke the next morning, cinched herself into her corset, and set out for another day of singing. Once again, as she stepped out of her campervan, she felt something foreign underneath her feet, only this time, it was squishy and furry. What the hell? Under her foot squished a dead squirrel. She screamed and picked the thing up by the tail and threw it into the bush beside the camp.
Michael scrambled out of the camper next to her, still fastening his kilt, his hair a mess with sleep.
"Calli? What's the matter?" he asked, jogging over to her.
"Nothing..." she said, shaking her head. "There was a dead squirrel on my step, and I stepped on it."
"On your step?” he asked with a baffled expression, crinkling his brow.
"Yeah," she said, still trying to wrap her head around it. Her body shuddered at the thought of the dead squirrel squishing under her feet. "Gross. I'm wearing shoes from here on out."
"I'm going to finish getting ready, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said as he turned to head back tohis camper.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll be ready to head into the fair when you are."
The bar wench was back today, so Calli decided to clear her head with a stroll through the fair.
She made her way down the main strip, taking in the familiar sights and sounds she had come to know the past couple of years. These fairs had served as a home as much as anything else in her life had. From the familiar faces selling fairy wings and dragon necklaces to the new booths that popped up every season selling quills or extravagant face painting, this had been her home, but it felt like even this was coming to an end.
Before she knew it, she found herself in front of the familiar purple tent. As she walked in, Bridget was already seated at the little table in the middle.
“I was wonderin’ when ye might be by,” she said with a cocked eyebrow. Then, she shuffled the cards and let them dance from hand to hand. “Have a seat, lass. Let’s see what the cards have to say.”
Calli sat at the table across from Bridget. Having her tarot cards read was not new, but something about this reading felt different. Maybe it was the uncertainty of the band breaking up, but something electric was in the air of this small tent.
“Cut the deck,” Bridget said as she set them on the table in front of her.
Calli picked up half the card, cutting the deck. She needed to get herself under control; she could have sworn she felt an electrical current coming off those cards, but then again, it was Bridget. Something about her did seem purely magical.
“Should we begin?” Bridget asked.
Calli just nodded, her nerves starting to get the better of her.
Bridget flipped over the first card. “The Star,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
The card showed a woman with two pitchers of water. She was pouring one into the stream and one into the green grass next to her. Above shone eight stars.
“Well, this is fitting. It looks like ye have made life yer own. Ye didn’t like where it was going, so ye changed it. Ye’ve created yer own path, and ye shine brightly for it, my dear.”
Calli gave a small nod, waiting for the next card.
“Now, let’s gain some insight into yer present predicament.”
Bridget flipped over the next card: Death.
There before her lay a card of a skeleton knight in black armor on a white horse. Her eyes flew to Bridget’s. Panicking at a tarot card was silly…right?
“Never fear, my dear. The death card is the most misunderstood card in the deck,” she said as she reached across the table to squeeze Calli’s hand. “It is a card of transformation, a card of letting go of the past and embracing the new adventure that lies before ye. It can be scary sometimes, but I’ve learned that the fates usually know what they’re doing.”
Calli nodded. Some of the panic subsided, but they still had given her many answers.
“Now for the future, my dear. Are ye ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Calli answered.
Bridget flipped over the last card, the World. On the card, a beautiful woman danced in the sky, surrounded by a flower wreath and clouds. Something about this card settled the panic. She took a deep breath. Glancing back to Bridget, Calli found a contented smile stretched across her face.
“It is as I thought, lass. The world is yers. While ye do have some big changes coming your way, trust yerself, and I have no doubt the world is yers to claim.”
