CHAPTER ONE
The Last Day of Summer
"C'mon Arnold, it'll be fun." Gerald smiled at his best friend, and raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"Stop that, Gerald. You know I don't believe in fortune telling." Arnold said, completely opposed to the idea of wasting his money on some nut-job with a glass ball. Arnold was an accomplished amateur magician himself, he had even made Helga disappear once, and his friends could attest, that was no small feat. Because he had a decent knowledge of staged magic, he knew all the old tricks. The ball was electronic, and a trigger ran from under the table to the psychic's palm. When she pressed down on the trigger, the lights would flash, change colors, etc.
"Don't you want to know your future?" Gerald was almost begging Arnold to follow him into the tent.
The fortune telling itself required far more primitive technology. The human mind was the only tool a 'psychic' needed. Say something vague, a common name, mention a lost pet, the average person is more than willing to find attachment in obscure predictions.
Anyone smart enough to see through the facade wouldn't bother wasting money just to disprove a prediction, so gullible fools kept the Fortune Teller's reputation alive.
"Arnold! Pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeee!" Gullible fools like Gerald.
"Fine, but do you promise to stop talking about it?"
Gerald made a gesture as if to zip his lips together, then waved his arm in a circle toward the tent's entrance. He all but sprinted in through the fold, and Arnold reluctantly followed suit.
The inside of the tent was dark, and dimly lit by scented candles. Arnold almost choked on the overpowering aroma of lavender. He pressed his nose into his sleeve, and waited with Gerald before a large draping curtain.
"Come een." A woman with a clearly fake accent of unidentifiable origin beckoned to the boys from behind the veiling curtain. With his free hand, Arnold motioned for Gerald to go first. Gerald shook his head, and pointed at Arnold.
Arnold shook his head violently, and thrusted his arm to the curtain once more. His eyes flashed at Gerald, their intent clear. This was your idea, you go in first, they said. Gerald inhaled deeply, and strode forth. As he pushed the veil aside, and shuffled into the center of the tent, Arnold followed.
"Goot afternoon, gentlemen." Sitting at a bare, brown, hardwood table, was a woman in gypsy-like clothing. There was no crystal ball, no poorly hidden wires, just a woman in rags in a chair. She moved her hand like a wave across the table, and Arnold noticed two chairs he hadn't seen before. They stood opposite from her at the table.
"Please, boys, sit down." The Gypsy Woman spoke, her face mostly hidden under a silk scarf, and Arnold and Gerald did as she said. The chairs weren't uncomfortable, but they forced the boys' backs to be straight. Arnold shifted, but his posture remained unaffected, for the chair would not let him slouch.
"Forgive my, archaic furniture, but I have had them for all my life..." The Gypsy waved her hand, "They are... precious to me."
"We understand." Arnold nodded politely. The Gypsy Woman's face broke out into a smile under her veil, and Arnold averted his eyes from her gaze.
"Now, let us get down to the business, no?" Her accent was thick, and almost ever-changing. Arnold couldn't get used to it. From her deep pockets, she pulled large cards, and laid them out on the table, face down, "Now... Arnold."
Arnold jumped slightly as the woman said his name, but he reassured himself through his fears. Surely she had been tipped off, or maybe she knew the boys. Either way, there was no possibility that she had 'predicted' Arnold's name. It just wasn't possible.
She flipped a card over, revealing a top hat and cane.
"Oh... oh my." She touched the card at its center, and it burst into a blue flame, "The magiker."
The card turned to purple smoke that drifted up toward the tent's ceiling.
"Tell me, Arnold. Are you a practitioner of the dark arts?" She asked, chuckling slightly.
"What? No. Of course not. I don't believe in that stuff." Arnold said, almost trying to convince himself.
"Believe it or not, I sense a great power in you. The power to change lives. The power of the magiker."
"What's a magiker?"
The woman twisted her fingers around, and the smoke from the ceiling flew downward. From within the smoke, the image of a magician appeared.
Holograms, Arnold thought to himself. Obviously.
The magician twirled in circles, and started doing magic tricks.
"They may appear as mere tricks to the mortal eye, but the magiker is a holder of dark power. He is no sorcerer, no wizard. He needs cast no spells, no incantations, no curses. At his fingertips, he can summon flames, alter gravity, freeze time. His power is limitless, beyond imagination."
The Gypsy cackled, and the smoke vanished.
"What? Are you saying, that I can do all those things?"
"Interpret how you may... I sense a great destiny in you."
Arnold looked over at Gerald, who was raising an eyebrow, and smirking.
The Gypsy woman turned back to the cards, and flipped one over at random.
"Ah... the woman."
The card had an image of a faceless woman, with flowing hair. The Gypsy touched the card, and it turned into a strand of blonde hair. She took the hair, and from her sleeve pulled out a match. Igniting the strand, it turned into a pink smoke.
"There is a woman tied to your destiny..."
Arnold blushed.
"... A woman you think you know well, but have never truly seen."
"What do you mean?"
"Shh! The last card, it is deciding." The Gypsy flipped the last card over, and revealed the image of a crashing train, "Ohh... the catalyst."
"The catalyst?"
"Soon, your destiny will begin to unfold. That is all I can say." She slapped her hand down on the card, and when she took her hand away, the card was gone.
"Whoa." Arnold whispered.
After hearing Geralds vague and slightly less imposing fortune, the boys left the tent.
"Well... that was interesting." Arnold said calmly.
"Interesting!" Gerald said, disbelief in his tone, "Interesting? All you can say is interesting? That woman told you that you had some, special destiny and what not, and you say interesting?"
"It wasn't real Gerald."
"I don't know Arnold... I always thought you were special." Gerald shoved his hands into his pockets, "And you made Helga disappear that one day."
"That was a trick Gerald." Arnold said, only slightly lying. He knew that Helga had disappeared longer than he expected, but she had left out of the back of the box, hadn't she?
"Whatever man, I'm just saying..." Gerald mumbled.
They returned to Arnold's house for a while, before Gerald went back home.
Just before Arnold went to sleep, he felt something strange move from his toes to the tip of his head. Like some strange energy was passing through him. He shook it off and went to sleep, not knowing what awaited him the next day.
