"But I don't want a reading!", Sophie kept protesting. "I don't even have any money!"
"No matter dear, I'll do it for free. Your future is a voice dying to be heard. All one has to do is find the right frequency."
"So you're a cosmic radio set", said Sophie skeptically.
Biana elbowed her.
The fortune teller, however, looked delighted. Exactly! You learn fast."
"So", she said briskly, setting the crystal ball on the floor and placing a wooden bowl on the trestle table.
"Have you had any previous encounters with the spirit world?"
The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads dumbly.
"No matter, no matter. I'll explain as I go along." She placed a small stem bearing grayish-green leaves and light purple flowers in the bowl.
"This is sage. For purity."
Then came cloves, "For protection". And nutmeg, "For luck".
And finally, the main, magickal element. Dried Ginger.
Sophie bit back a comment about gourmet flavour combinations and forced her expression into something resembling excitement.
The fortune teller, however didn't have to fake her excitement one bit. It was written all over her face as she looked up and smiled at them after igniting the contents of the bowl with a lighted taper.
The herbs burned surprisingly well for such a sorry looking bunch, and she bent low over the bowl to inhale the fumes.
The smell was interesting, spicy and somehow mysterious, and Sophie found herself breathing in deeply, the spicy warmth surrounding her like a blanket.
Suddenly, the fortune teller gave a loud gasp. She looked up, tried raising her hands, but they were shaking too much, so Sophie quickly put the still-smoking bowl aside before she could knock it off the table.
And not a moment too soon, because, she slammed her hands down on the table and started speaking.
"He is there! Right there! First thing... he says... says... from that...cherry wire?"
She paused for a moment, muttering to herself. "No..no..makes no sense." She looked at Sophie.
"You like watching movies?", she asked.
"Umm... sure."
"Is there movie called Cherry Wire? Or is it Jerry... Jerry Wire? Is famous."
"Jerry...", mused Sophie. And then it hit her.
"Is it Jerry Maguire?"
"Does it have famous dialogue?"
"Oh! Tons, actually!" She couldn't believe the lady was asking her about Jerry Maguire. It was one of her favourite movies, and she'd cried when she watched it after her breakup with Fitz, especially that line...
As if she was reading her mind, the fortune teller asked quickly, "Which line is special to you?'
Sophie hesitated for a second. Was this really believable? Witchcraft? Mind reading? Was the fortune teller actually on to something?
"It's pretty famous, actually", she said finally. "Special to a lot of people, not just me."
Sophie didn't know why she felt her cheeks warming, colour creeping onto her face. It somehow felt like she was admitting a secret, something personal.
