A uniquely powerful fortune teller with a crumbling sense of reality gives anyone listening a glimpse into their mind. Inside looms a moral conflict, a life-altering decision, and the complicated system that makes up fortune telling; known as the Tr...
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My client's tea stirred itself, sending thin waves of steam into the air. I waited for it to be cool enough for them to drink as I stood at the window, sipping from my own mug. It wasn't tea that I drank, of course, but hot chocolate with a bit of clarity brew for perception enhancement. I could sense the client's eyes flicking from me to the self-stirring spoon and back again. They wondered how long it would be until their fortune revealed itself.
"Should be ready about now," I said in a quiet voice.
The spoon stopped stirring, tapped itself on the edge of the mug, and settled on the table. Eager, the client reached for the tea, gulping it down as fast as possible. I took a deep breath, turning away from the view with a frown. Unlike other tellers, I didn't smile or present the Leaves to my customers in positive lights. Clients came to me for the truth. Well, most of them, anyway.
"So? What's my fortune?" The client asked, impatient to begin. I gave them a look, setting down my mug on the table with a chink. They shifted, uncomfortable, pushing their cup forward for me to read.
These Leaves formed a simple pattern. The sight swept through my mind for a single moment, whispering this stranger's fortune. Every telling stayed the same, even though the stories and people always changed. The feeling stayed. Power. Purpose. I didn't know this person's name but could set them on dozens of paths that would alter the course of their life forever.
To me, this held the thrill of the read. The settled dregs in the base of the cup, forming shapes and words only I could discern. Only those the sight inhabited could tell: other's minds couldn't make sense of the Leaves. Sight comes to those in need on occasion. It usually sets the lucky recipient on a brighter course. Those rare instances are few and far between, leaving most to resort to tellers.
This is how the telling practice came to be, why my client was here now. Tellers could set their customers on brighter or darker paths. All with access to the sight could translate the Tree. Each section of the Tree contains the client's paths. It switches between the sections with each decision that could affect their fortune. Everyone starts at the Roots, the formative years, making their way up to the Trunk. The Trunk takes up most of their life after the basic choices have occurred in the Roots.
At any point in the Trunk, a person can switch to a Branch—the foremost turning point in their life. These Branches split off into smaller, distinctive paths throughout each person's life. Most tellers know on which Branch their client resides. That's how readings and fortunes take place. The Leaves are our window into the Tree, showing us the remaining splits the client will take. This client, I saw, didn't have many left.
Most customers, including my current one, are already on a set Branch. Almost none that come to a teller are still in the Roots. Only skilled tellers such as myself can find close Branches to switch our customers to. Some tellers claim to specialize in switching their customer's Branches. I find, though, that most of these tellers turn out to be charlatans.
