The Fortune Teller

A Plan

He had made an amazing catch, she looked perfect, was a successful influencer and designer worth millions and was heiress to a large fortune as well. He was made.

He had slipped an engagement ring on her finger, but she had said that her parents had advised her to have a pre-nuptial agreement before the marriage took place. He told her that he felt that meant she did not trust him and if she really loved him they did not need to sign a piece of paper like that.

She said she would think about it, but he was sure he had her. Maybe a year together and he would take her for all she had, he was going to be a millionaire.

The Telling

She was out with friends and they saw a Gipsy Fortune Teller's caravan and they persuaded her to visit her and find out how perfect her marriage was going to be so she went into the Fortune Teller's caravan and sat down. The caravan was full of lots of esoteric jars and mysterious ornaments, she began to wonder if the Fortune Teller was a Witch as well.

The Fortune Teller took her hand and froze when she saw the engagement ring.

“Who gave you this?”

“My fiancee, we are planning to get married”

“You cannot trust this person, they only want to take what you have and leave you destitute”

“How can you say that?”

“Has he asked you to trust him, without showing you any reason to trust him?”

“Well yes, he has but I am sure I can trust him”

“You can’t, he only wants what he can take from you. You push him out of your life or you will be destroyed by him. It will not be enough to make you destitute and destroy your friendships, he will want to show his conquest to others, and with what he takes from you he will be able to do it”

The Fortune Teller convinced her that action needed to be taken.

That Night

It ended in a huge argument and her walking away. She asked him to show her that he was independently financially sound. He refused. She told him he would have to sign a pre-nuptial agreement, he almost hit her but managed to stop himself.

He asked her why she was being like this, and she told him about the Fortune Teller. He slapped her across the face and called her a stupid bitch. That was enough, she walked out realising that she had had a lucky escape. He had a nasty temper and could not control it. She was well out of it.

Finding The Fortune Teller

He would have his revenge on the one who had robbed him of his easy fortune. That wooden caravan would be an easy target, a few gallons of petrol and some matches.

The caravan was in darkness, so he threw the petrol over it and lit his handiwork. The flames caught and it was soon an inferno. He laughed, at first, and then the door opened, and The Fortune Teller stood there.

He didn’t know she was in there, the blood drained from his face, murder had not been his intention, but he was sure she was going to burn.

Then she was wreathed in flame but not burning, like some kind of demon or angel.

“YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, I PLACE A CURSE ON YOU, I SEND YOU TO THE SHADOWS”

He ran

Home

He got home and finished off a bottle of vodka. He was scared that he’d been seen and he had killed the Fortune Teller, but it was weird that she didn’t seem to be touched by the fire just surrounded by it, and she cursed him. What did she mean that she would send him to the shadows?

But he didn’t believe in things like that, but he was still mad that she had caused his fiancee to break off the engagement.

He got into bed and that was it, he was gone.

Awake

He woke, at the top of his stairs, he didn’t remember getting out of bed and decided to go back to bed, but he couldn't move. He tried but he couldn't move from where he was like he was stuck to the wall, or in the wall. He tried to cry for help but he knew he could not be heard.

Was this The Shadows that the Fortune Telling Witch had cursed him with?

Police Report

There were complaints of a Gipsy Caravan set on fire, but on investigation, the caravan had not been touched and the Fortune Teller who lived there said a young man had been drunk and shouting but then gone off.

She actually had an address for the young man and when officers were sent to the house they found it deserted but one of the men remarked that there was a strange shadow that seemed to be coming out of the wall when they walked up the stairs.

The man has been logged as missing, and the house has now been put up for rent by the landlord, who is looking to sell the house.

This is a precursor to my story “The Shadow” which you can read below.