Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Obha and Takeshi Obata.
Cards and Alleys
Chapter One: Queen of Clubs
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It was one of those overly disgusting days that made it known that the street was dirty. Crap and garbage littered the side walk and abandoned paper and plastic bags flew through the air. The sun beat down on the people walking along the road. Some complained. Others wished that they had worn lighter clothes. Most people just walked around, trying to find a place to cool down. Mihael Keehl stood on the sidewalk, his hand clasped in his father's. He didn't understand why his father had brought him out that day. He wanted to go home to his mother. It was too hot. In the distance, Mihael heard a bell ringing and it reminded him of Church. His father didn't like Church, but his mother took him there sometimes. Mihael was only eight and didn't understand much, but Church made him feel like someone was there for him. Like someone was watching over him. Him and his mother. Maybe even his father, as well. And that fact made him feel safe.
There was a tug on Mihael's arm and he followed his father across the road. The boy felt his sweat trickling down the side of his forehead and he wiped it away with his free hand. He followed his father into a small store and was told to wait by the door while his father did some grocery shopping. He looked around the store in fascination. Candy and gum boxes were sitting on a rack next to the cashier. Mihael thought about asking his father for a candy bar. Just one measly chocolate bar. Of course, there was no way his father would buy it for him when they didn't have much money to begin with. Oh, how much Mihael loved chocolate. His mouth started watering from just looking at it.
His father returned and paid for the groceries. When he was finished, they walked out of the store and turned left. They passed by an alleyway were a woman sat at a table with a crystal ball on it. The woman wasn't that old; maybe thirty at most. Her brown hair fell down her back in waves. She wore a purple Indian-style dress. Her eyes were a cloudy blue and her skin was lightly tanned. She had small bags under her eyes and Mihael could tell she was trying her best not to look bored. At the sight of the two of them, the woman looked up and smiled.
"Why, hello, there. Do you want me to tell you you're fortune?" asked the lady.
Mihael, for some reason, wanted to say yes. He knew the act was completely fake, but he still wanted to have his fortune read by that woman. He didn't understand why, but something drew him to her.
"No. No, that's alright. Come along, Mihael," said his father.
"Dad, can I get my fortune read?" asked the little boy.
Mihael's father sighed and gave up. "How much is it?"
"It's ten dollars for one reading," said the woman.
"Come on, Mihael. I'm not wasting my money on something like this," said his father and started dragging the boy away.
"Wait. Come back. I'll give you a reading with my cards for free," pleaded the woman.
"Can I, Dad?" asked Mihael.
His father sighed and said, "Fine." Miheal ran back to the woman with his father following. The woman gave him a smile and started shuffling her cards. The first card she pulled out was a Nine of Spades.
"You or your family are dealing with misfortune and you are probably pour. You desperately wish for the predicament you're in to change. " The next card she pulled out was a Jack of Hearts.
"You either have or will meet a friend in the near future. You will or do see him as someone with all the solutions and will expect him to be there for you and to help you. You will probably meet other people along with him, but they probably won't seem as important or you may even dislike them."
Mihael smiled. The woman was pretty accurate and he already liked his second card. She glanced at him and then pulled out another card. She flipped it over and there sat the Ace of Spades. The woman's face grew worried. Mihael twisted his head sideways and looked at the woman, curiosity written all over his face.
"The Ace of Spades is a symbol of misfortune. It's usually associated with death or usually a difficult ending," said the woman, forgetting for a moment that she was talking to a little boy. Mihael felt his father's hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Mihael. Let's go," said his father, leading Miheal away from the woman. The boy followed, but he kept sneaking glances back at the woman. He saw the woman shake her head and sigh.
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Mihael woke up and wiped the sweat that had built up on his forehead. He sat up onto the side of his bed and wondered why he had just dreamed that. It had happened three years ago. Really, what the fortune teller had said was complete bull shit. Mihael had believed it for a while, but then he realized that it was kind of obvious. He had been wearing really dirty clothes that had been ripped and most of his clothes were like that. It wasn't had to know that he was pour by just looking at what he had been wearing. And he would probably meet someone some day that will seem important to him. Also, death happened to everyone. It's a fact that was hard to forget.
Mihael changes into his clothes and walked down stairs. His father sat at the kitchen table, looking at Mihael.
"What took you so long?" asked his father.
"I was sleeping," snapped Mihael, but quickly wished that he hadn't. His father lung for him and grabbed him my the hair.
"What did you say, you little bitch?" said his father with a tug on Mihael's blond hair.
"Ow. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
His father let go of his hair and said, "Make breakfast!"
As Mihael started making eggs for his father, he remembered the time when his mother was still alive. His father had been a kind person who cared about him, but when his mother died, his father started going out with his friends more often. He would come back in the middle of the night drunk and wake Mihael up just to beat him. Mihael had multiple bruises all over his body which he covered up by wearing big clothes. He would have run away a long time ago, but he missed his old father. Sure, he was mad at the man, but not enough to leave him. If it wasn't for Mihael, his father would be dead or starving some where on the street.
He supposed it could be worse. He lived in a house, even though it was small, dirty, and seemed like it would fall down in seconds. He had lived in this house ever since his father had lost his job five years ago. After that, his father couldn't get another job even if he tired and his mother was their source of income. After his mother died, his father stopped trying. It was a complete accident how she died. She had just been taking a walk when there was an accident. Mihael didn't know much; he hadn't listened to the police officer after he told him that his mother was dead. He didn't know the detailed and didn't want to.
Mihael finished making the eggs, making sure to burn them slightly, and plopped them onto his father's plate. Then he grabbed his backpack and ran out the door towards school before his father said anything.
To be continued…
A/N: Hi. To everyone that's new to my stuff, I'm . My real name is Abby, but I also go by Rasko.
Well, this is a new story and it's a lot different then the other stories I've written on this site. Basically, this isn't a humor story. For a while, I didn't know what to call it, but then I thought, what if I have a theme or a topic that I will refer to on and on through out the story? My next idea was how about make the theme cards? Then I tried playing around with a translating web site to see if I could make the title in another language. That didn't work and then I settled on Cards and Alleys. Also, the chapter titles will all be named after cards. There is a specific meaning to them, but then you'd have to know what each card means when used in Cartomancy (or fortune telling with cards) to really get it. And even if you don't get it, it doesn't matter. It's not really that important. If you're interested in what the cards mean, though, search fortune telling cards and the first one that isn't "shopping results" is what I'm going to use.
School has started so I won't be able to work on this too much. I will try to update as much as I can, though.
Please review. I want to know what you think of this story.
