Memoirs of a Witch (In Bloom Book 1.5)

Yasmina Fireworks Part 4

"Wait a second," I tried to contain my laughter, "Jamil would hide in a vase whenever he got in trouble?"

Najma nodded, "He would turn the vase upside down and walk with it. Our mom thought the vase had grown a pair of legs."

While the artists worked on the hennas on our hands, Najma told me childhood stories about her and her older brother. However, the way she described Jamil did not match with the description of the one I knew. The Vice-Dorm Leader of Scarabia was not a trouble maker. He would never cast out his fire magic to kill an insect he found on a date and burn a portion of a tent in the process.

"Don't get me wrong, my brother is incredible. He's very caring, intelligent, and talented in so many things, it's just that..." her cheerful expression slowly began to fade.

"What's wrong?"

"I sometimes worry about Jamil. He gets really serious about things and I don't want him to push himself too hard."

"It's very sweet of you to look out for your brother."

"Isn't that natural? He always looks after me, no matter how much trouble I cause."

Hearing Najma's stories about her and Jamil made me reminisce through mine and Cassiano's childhood. I did not have one good memory of the two of us. He was always doted on by the family while I always had to look out for myself. Any time I tried to get along with him ended with us fighting and me being grounded. He never asked how I was doing or tried to get along with me. After some time, I decided to use my time and energy towards him was pointless.

Although we were twins, Cassiano Salvatori was not by any means my brother.

Najma then changed the topic, "What I find really amazing is how you're surrounded by boys 24/7 and you still haven't lost your marbles."

"It would be a lie if I said those guys don't drive me up the walls sometimes. Still, they're really caring and they're the closest thing to family I have."

I still remember during my first couple of weeks in school, Ace told me he, Deuce, Trey, Cater, and Riddle would be my brothers. Though I was extremely touched by the gesture, I did not expect for them to follow through with their declaration. They would ask me how I was doing, offer to help me with my classes, and even keep me company. Of course, we would have our fun teasing and joking around with one another.

Pretty soon, I had brothers in Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, and Diasomnia.

After our hennas were done, Najma took me to another popular shopping area of Silk City called Zahab Market. Unlike the Camel Bazaar, the vendors were inside of a massive copper-colored stone building and specialized in selling textiles, antiques, and other hand crafted products. Street performers could be seen in different corners of the market showing off their acts like dancing, juggling, balloon art, and singing.

Najma and I linked arms in order to prevent ourselves from getting separated as we navigated through the massive crowd. I still had the urge to get out of the market as soon as I could, but it was not as bad as before. I took that as a sign I had become accustomed to the busy bazaars.

In the midst of buying souvenirs for my friends and Grim, I noticed a palm reading stand. A dark skinned, middle aged man was in the middle of a session with a young couple.  After he finished, the boyfriend put a few pieces of gold coins into the wooden chest at the corner of the table. As the couple left the stand, the girlfriend leaned onto her man's shoulder and began to cry.

The Land of Hot Sands was a paradise for divination witches. It was the birthplace of practices such as palm reading, fortune telling, and tea leaf readings. Palm reading was designed to analyze personality traits and reveal aspects of someone's future.

My nosy self wanted to know what the man told the couple to make them so depressed. 

While Najma continued to search over the jewelry, I walked towards the stall. The palm reader smiled as I approached.

"Ahlan, young miss," he greeted, "How are you doing this wonderful day?"

I recalled the way Jamil and Kalim taught us to greet locals,"Ahlan biki. I'm doing well, thank you, sir," I took a seat across from him, "I was hoping I could get a palm-reading done."

"Of course, of course," he scooted his seat closer to the table and offered me his hands, "May I?"

I caught sight of a triple moon mark on the back of his hand as he began to examine my palms.

"Let's start with your life line," he traced along an arc near my thumb, "You were greatly loved as a child. You're very outgoing, but you need to be careful with your health. Now, your heart line...hm...interesting...." his fingernail traced a line near my pinky, "you will fall in love with several people. Your relationship with each one will be very short lived." He then moved on to a line in between my thumb and index finger, "Your head line tells me your mental concentration is not exactly the strongest. Lastly, for your marriage line," he sighed in disappointment as he pointed to a single line underneath my pinky, "Your marriage life may not be enjoyable, my dear."

Even after he removed his hands, I stared at my palm lines in disbelief, "Really?"

"I'm truly sorry, my dear. Sometimes there are those who aren't as fortunate," he leaned closer and whispered, "Tell you what, I'll make this session free of charge to you."

"You will?" I sounded hopeful, "Thank you so much, mister!"

"Of course! It's a special day!" he shook hands with me, "Enjoy the rest of the festival."

I dipped my head in gratitude before I left the stall and rejoined Najma.

"So, how did it go?" she asked.

"It was an experience I definitely won't forget."

"Maybe I should try it," she began to walk towards the stall.

Before she could get too far, I linked my arm with hers and guided her in the opposite direction, "Actually, there was something I saw earlier I wanted to get your opinion on."

Najma and I were looking at some cobra bracelets when a speck of teal caught my attention. Not too far from where we were standing, were Kalim and Malleus

"What are the two of you doing here?"

"After you left with Viper's sister, we walked around the bazaar for a bit. I got separated from the group and Asim found me," Malleus explained, "He's been very delightful company."

Kalim nodded, "I helped Malleus buy some souveneirs for our friends back at home."

Malleus' gaze shifted down to the intricate reddish-brown flowers decorating the backs of my hands. He offered me his hand, "May I?" With my approval, he carefully took of hold of my hands to get a better view of the henna. He murmured, "Lovely."

Najma took out her buzzing phone from her pocket. "I gotta go. My friends are waiting for me. It was so nice meting you, Cassie," she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, "I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival."

"Thank you for the girl's day. I had a lot of fun."

Not too long after Najma left, we were joined by Trey, Cater, and Jamil.

With the entire group re-united, we continued to look for souvenirs for our friends back on campus. As we continued looking over the merchandise, I could not help but look again at the palm reading stall. The man remained focused on his work as the stream of costumers continued. My mind kept going back to all of the things he told me. I also noticed the chest of gold becoming more full.

"Hello? Twisted Wonderland to Cassandra?" Trey called out, "You okay? You're zoning out."

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Malleus asked, "Do you want to sit down somewhere?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," I tried to relieve them, "I was just...thinking."

Cater became curious, "What were you thinking about?"

I replied, "I had an idea, but in order to pull it off, I'm going to need your help."