Captured

Prologue

The ride to Sarabend seemed like forever. It was half past one and the metro was close to empty. My eyes danced around the bus to all the advertisements that danced above me. My body played tricks on me from the liquor from the previous hour. I still felt light as a feather but my instincts were in tact. I was good enough to drive, I had done this before, and it was a short drive back to my neighborhood anyway. The only passengers besides me was an elderly woman and a homeless man. The man was asleep in an oversized coat, covering most of his face, only revealing his five o' clock shadow. The elderly woman sat directly across from me. She stared at something in her hands that she twirled in between her fingers. It danced between her knuckles as the light reflected its dark toned surface. It looked like a rock of some sort.

She watched me. I could see her glance up at me from the corner of my eye and I wanted to speak to her, yet something told me I had better keep my mouth closed.

"I don't bite." she speaks softly.

I catch her eyes and she smiles at me, continuing to flip the stone in between her fingers.

"You are lost."

"No I'm not. I'm going home." I speak quickly.

She nods and watches me longer.

"What is that." I ask, referring to the stone in her hands.

"Tourmaline."

I stare at the rock in confusion as she rubs the surface with her thumb. Her face remains the same as she stares back at me. The rock sits in the center of her palm and she stands suddenly. She moves from her side of the bus and sits directly next to me. Instinctively, I scoot further away from the woman as she stifles a small chuckle.

"I told you I don't bite."

I relax in my seat, but keep my distance as she stashes the rock away in one of the folds of her dress.

"I am a Seer."

"What?" I state more than I ask.

"Seer. A teller." She replies, her accent is unrecognizable.

I stare back at her as she eyes me intently. Now that she has moved closer to me I notice more of features. She is maybe mid 50's if I had to guess. Her eyes are a dark hazel and her skin wrinkled with age. She smelled of essential oils, and mothball. Her hair was a deep brown and she allowed her natural gray to take over her roots. It sat in a bun on the back of her head, tied in a clip. She looked averagely normal, the only thing that stood out was a scar that set in beneath her left eye. It was an old scar, but set deep and ran all the way to her mid cheek. She had honestly put me on edge, yet interested me at the same time.

"Would you like me to read you?" She breaks the silence.

I don't know how to respond or what to say. She seemed odd but it wasn't like she was giving me much else of a choice.  Her hand extended slightly and she reached for me. I complied by placing my hand into hers.

She opened my palm and drew a line across the center with her thumb.

"You have low self esteem."

I take my palm away from her and eye her intently.

"Excuse me?"

She rolls her eyes with a sigh and takes my palm back into her hand.

"You feel as though no matter how hard you work, it never pays off." True that sister.

She curls my hand up slightly and studies each and every crease.  A moment or so passes by before she flashes a small smile.

"You are in love."