Eye Of The Fortuneteller

4

Kelsey and Drew pressed their backs against the building. Waiting. Waiting for the vicious dog to appear.

Kelsey held her breath and listened.

No barking. No snarling.

“Maybe we lost him,” she whispered.

“I don’t think so,” Drew whispered back.

Kelsey silently agreed. The alley went only one way. That dog would have to be pretty stupid to lose track of us, she thought.

“But why isn’t he attacking?” she asked Drew.

“I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head.

The two waited in silence. The blood pounded in Kelsey’s head.

Another minute passed – the longest minute in Kelsey’s life – with no sign of the dog. “We can’t just stand here, Drew,” Kelsey said, finally breaking the quiet. “I’m going to check.”

Kelsey tiptoed to the curve in the alley. She peeked around the corner. Slowly.

The alley stood deserted.

No dog.

“It’s gone!” Kelsey gasped.

“This is so weird,” Drew replied, making his way to her side. “How could it just disappear like that?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care. Let’s get out of here. Now,” Kelsey answered. “Um, you go first.”

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Drew said as he started down the alley.

They walked quickly but carefully.

Listening.

Listening for any sign of the deadly beast. But the only sound they heard was the soft thumping of their own feet.

The alley seemed even darker than before. And for the first time Kelsey noticed how sour it smelled. The stench flooded her nostrils and made her sick.

“Look!” Drew exclaimed. He stopped short, and Kelsey slammed into him.

“What?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat. She was afraid to hear the answer.

“I can’t believe it!” Drew shouted. “Look where we are!”

Kelsey inched alongside Drew and peered out of the dark alleyway – into bright sunlight.

She knew immediately where she was. But she glanced up at the street sign for proof.

Thirteenth Street.

Less than a block away from their house.

“I thought we were totally lost,” Drew said as he started toward their street. He let out a long sigh. “And all the time we were less than a block away from home. That’s the last time I follow you,” he added.

Kelsey was about to shoot back a smart remark of her own when she remembered something strange. Really strange.

“Drew, do you remember what the fortuneteller told you? You know, about getting into trouble if you follow me all the time? You don’t think…”

A shiver of fear crept down Kelsey’s spine. She stopped to glance back at the alleyway.

But it was gone!

You will believe. You will know fear. The fortuneteller’s words echoed in Kelsey’s mind.

I’m going crazy, Kelsey thought. The alley is there. It must be there. I probably can’t see it from this angle – that’s all.

“Come on, Kelsey,” Drew called. “We’re really late!”

Kelsey broke into a run. The two raced the rest of the way home. As they neared their house, they spotted their parents sitting outside on the front porch.

“Where have you been?” Kelsey’s mother asked.

“Do you know how late it is?” Drew’s mother added.

“Sorry,” Kelsey apologized. “We got…” She was about to say lost, but she stopped herself. If she told them they were lost, she knew what would happen. Their parents would never allow them to go out by themselves anymore. “We were having so much fun on the boardwalk, we lost track of the time.”

“We won’t do it again,” Drew added. “We promise.”

“All right.” Her mother forgave her more quickly than she ever did at home.

That was one of the best things about being on vacation. Parents were so much easier to get along with.

“Come inside and wash your hands for dinner,” Drew’s mother instructed. Then their parents led the way inside.

As Kelsey climbed the porch steps, she thought about the old fortuneteller again. Now that she was safe at home, the whole thing seemed pretty dumb.

“Fool!” Kelsey heard the echo of the old gypsy woman’s voice. Only this time she started to laugh at herself – for acting like one.

Kelsey was about to step through the front door when something caught her eye. Something falling from the sky. Fluttering. Fluttering. Down. Down. Down.

Drew spotted it, too. “What is that?” he asked, squinting as he gazed up.

“I can’t tell,” Kelsey replied, watching the object float down on a breeze.

And then it landed right at Kelsey’s feet.

She gasped.

It was the card.

The card that the old gypsy woman had tossed into the air.

Kelsey trembled as she stared at it. As she stared down into the face of the Fool.