A Trinity

Ami sighed as she touched the cover of the book. Embossed, dark, fancy. She suddenly became self conscious about having touched it. Just be normal, she chided herself.

She didn’t know the librarian’s name. Ami only knew her by sight. The middle-aged blonde gave off a hippy vibe that Ami found lame but she was polite and non-judgmental when she helped Ami find the book. Ami had been on guard while requesting a book on dark magic. The librarian did not seem fazed, only focused on efficiency. If only her dumbshit teachers could take a note. Ami studied the symbols and tried to brand them into her memory. The box had arrived earlier today and Ami wanted to know the secrets in the book now.

The library closed at six and she shuffled her feet as she placed the book on a return cart. She would come back for it. She couldn’t very well steal it after needing help to find it in the first place. The librarian smiled at her as she slinked toward the exit. Creepy, Ami thought.

Ami walked home in the cool air that vaguely smelled like forest fire. The package was waiting on the porch, half-covered by the front door mat. Brilliant camouflage, she thought to herself. Package dude must have been a real genius in school.

Her dad would be pissed if he knew that she had ordered something. She hesitated before she scooped it up, knowing it was supposed to be powerful and she should show respect for it. She cradled it to her chest, taking care not to bump it as she made her way inside. She felt herself breathing heavily with nervousness as she set the box on the counter. Ami sighed and steeled herself to face the darkness lurking within.

The physicality of slicing through the tape and unwrapping the deck of cards was deeply undignified. Ami accidentally dropped the bubble-wrap shrouded item at least twice while trying to pry scotch tape off of the ends. When she was finally finished, Ami held the tarot deck in front of her, maintaining a sanctimonious silence as she did so. She would not draw tonight. She would draw when she was prepared to, after further study. She hid the package box away in the outside garbage. Her dad would never know.

Her father arrived home and Ami, annoyed, retreated to her room for solitude, taking the last of the Doritos with her. As she devoured her prize, Ami turned to Facebook to entertain herself. Things were fine, some posts were even vaguely amusing. Then she saw the photo. Jesse had his arm around Val’s waist. She wasn’t thin but she was shapely. “Thicc” people called it. Jesse was constantly squeezing her ass in the hallways while teachers weren’t looking. He loved to do it when he knew Ami could see.

Ami looked at the velvet bag on the nightstand, her fingers eager to feel the cool cards instead of her warm phone. She had used her entire gift card to buy the cards their own velvet bag. She thought carefully before rolling across her bed to retrieve them. The bag came off of the deck easily. It might be too big, Ami worried. She already knew she was too lazy to return it.

The cards were still bound in cellophane. Ami peeled the wrapper away and began studying the images on each sleek face. They were soldiers in her war...her weapons. Ami returned them to the bag after a time. She slept heavily.

Ami returned to the library the following day after school. The book was no longer on the return cart. She assumed it had been reshelved in its proper position and went to find it. It wasn’t there. Sighing, Ami went to get the librarian to help her find it again. The librarian looked at her with a serious face and informed her that the book had been pulled from circulation. Frustrated, Ami stalked out. She would just have to Google this crap.

That night Ami had dark dreams. She didn’t remember the details but in the morning she still felt the residual fatigue and stress of them. She was brushing her hair when she felt the snap. It was like a rubber band being plucked. She was one anchor and the other...she looked around herself, confused. The cards. They had needed to wake up and trust her. They were calling to her now. The cards were like noisy baby birds, obnoxious in their sudden need.

Ami stared at the bag before slowly walking toward it. She was frightened to touch the deck but she knew she wasn’t allowed not to. Unsure of what to do, Ami seized the bag and shoved it unceremoniously into her backpack.

Nervous and debating the possibility of the early stages of schizophrenia, Ami showed up to first period. She skated by without being called on by appearing to be looking at her book each time her teacher’s eyes darted to her corner of the room. Finally, thank God, the bell rang. Ami closed her book quietly. She slid it into the main pocket of the book bag gently, afraid to upset the cards. She had already been careful to put the bag on the floor with the modicum of respect she could create in a public school classroom.

Ami walked down the hall toward her locker. Her mind was dark as she wondered if she had made a mistake buying the deck. She did not see Val before the impact. Jesse’s eyes lighted up with amusement as she collided with Val. He seemed to yearn for Val to escalate with passive Ami. His fun was cut short, however, as they all heard the flutter and clipping sound of the cards hitting the floor.

Ami spun in horror and even Val managed to shut the fuck up. Most of the deck fell into a staggered cluster facedown. Three cards were face up. Val seemed confused as Ami rushed to scoop them back up.

“She’s a fucking witch!” Val yelled. Ami, entirely fed up, paused over the three upturned cards. She stared at them, memories from the book chiding the edges of her brain. As she lifted them Ami realized the three were worn at the edges and their backs were red. Her new deck only had black backs, she knew without a doubt. She looked at Val and smiled. She was just getting started.