The Fortune Teller

The old covered wagon creaked and rattled as it made its way up the dirt road. Dinner tonight would be slim pickings for sure. Bjorn and his mother knew that the small amount of money they had left would only last a couple more days before it ran out completely. But there was no stopping tonight until they made it into the next province; at least that's what the constable had told them earlier.

Madame Zelda and her traveling "seeing eye" show had hit almost every town on the local circuit. The last several carnivals they tried were complete flops with most people looking to be entertained; not informed. Of course Zelda could entertain if that's what they wanted, but she was also the real deal although no one usually seemed to care about that anymore.

Zelda had come from a long line of physics. Her grandmother and mother were both physic's and had come from the old country of Romania. Fortune telling in her family was a religion not a show, and it was always taken very seriously.

But, living in rural Austria in the early 1900's you had to do what you could to make ends meet. Zelda's field of expertise was palmistry and tarot. She had of course used the crystal ball for those who wanted it, but most of Zelda's talents came directly from her mind.

Tarot cards and palmistry were good to give the patron a visual image, but the real show began when Zelda held unto your hands. Everyone had a different vibration and Zelda connected to this vibration; like tuning into a television show. Some images she received were fuzzy, but others were like tuning into cable TV with high definition.

There was a little carnival in Linz near the German border and Zelda was going to try and make it if she could. But now a big storm was brewing and she had to get off the road to someplace safe.

"Whoa, whoa boys," Zelda said to the small ponies as she pulled on the reins. A large crop of oak trees in a field had caught her eye. These were the same trees she had seen in her mind a few minutes ago. The wind was picking up, and the rain had started to fall as soon as they made their way under a large oak tree.

"We'll tonight you're extremely lucky." Zelda said to Bjorn with a big smile.

"I am?" Bjorn asked, looking up at his mom with an enthusiastic grin.

"Oh course. You have a choice for dinner tonight. We can have beans and bread, or we can have bread and beans." Bjorn thought for a second then he smiled and looked up.

"You know mom, I think I like the second choice. I like the sound of bread and beans better," Bjorn said and grinned.

As they ate Zelda watched Bjorn and saw his father in him; his personality and his warm gentle smile. She thought back to the life before Bjorn's father had died, then quickly decided not to let her thoughts go there again.

Zelda's mind kept going back to a certain vibration; one she had never felt. This vibration almost seemed to be her purpose in life for some reason; like it was up to her for some reason to find this person's vibration.

Driving through the rain the next day Zelda and Bjorn arrived in Linz Austria. Several other tents had been set up and the storm looked like it might be breaking. Zelda hoped that this show would be the one that would change their lives.

The next day the sun came out along with a hoard of people. Zelda made more money telling fortunes that day than she had the entire year. Everyone wanted their fortunes told. As she held their hands she hopefully waited for that certain vibration; but it never came.

Just as she was closing up shop a woman and her two young children arrived. The boy looked to be around 12 yrs old and the girl around 5 or 6. The mother wanted a reading for her son, but the young boy was very domineering and protested violently. Finally the boy submitted after the mother bribed him with some trinket or another and the reading of Zelda's life began.

Zelda looked at the young boy's hands and was amazed at what she saw. When the young man laid his odd shaped hands on the table Zelda jumped back. She immediately noticed a circle on one palm and a cross on the other; which in her mind meant this young man was either an evil genius or the antichrist.

A circle on the palm of the hand without even touching any other lines of the hand was an evil sign. But, this young man's circle connected the heart line and also the life line which was almost unheard of. And then the cross on the other hand was definitely a bad omen being a sign of: trouble, danger and disappointment.

Looking at this young man Zelda had to take the true test to see what lie in this young man's future; she needed to feel his vibration. The moment she grabbed his hands an electric jolt ran through her entire body. Visions of mass destruction and dead bodies ran through her mind.

She saw this young man rise to a power almost unknown in her time. She felt like she was holding hands with the devil himself. This was the vibration she had been waiting for; but only ten fold.

The mother saw the look in her eyes and grabbed the young boy and the girl. She threw down some money on the table and got the two of them together. The young boy protested but the mother won this argument.

"Come Adolf," she said sternly. "We must go before your father finds out."

"What's your names?" Zelda asked. "I must know." The woman stopped and turned around and looked at her rather odd.

"My name is Klara. This is Adolf and Paula; we are the Hitler's," she said as she rushed them out the door. Zelda could still feel the tingling in her body and hands as she sat repeating over and over the young boy's name.