The skeleton hovered above the white mist and floated a while until gently breaking it's brittle structure and slowly dissolving into a ivory white sand. The image soon began to fade, reality closing in around her. Zafina felt a warm euphoria carress her soul as she slammed back into reality and through the corner of her eye saw the flicker of her candle light. The two American tourists sat in front of her in aguish.
"So, what is it?" asked the plump American, his cheeks blothced blood red and his eyes puffy from the heat in the tent. Zafina's younger sister Amelle shuffled around in the back with pots and pans. Zafina sighed and eyed the man with great regret. The woman sat next to him seemed to be at bursting point with excitement, grinning from ear to ear and staring enthusiastically around at all the hanging trinkets and bottles of medicine.
"The Skeleton - A symbolism of near and unfortunate death. The dreaded day is near. I cannot give you the exact day of your death and therefore no date of the day before, but on the morning of the penultimate twenty-four hours of your life, a sense of fear and utter despair will wash over you. This will be the defining moment when you realise your fate is close."
The man's face dropped, as did the woman's grin.
"The-The skeleton? DEATH? NONESENSE!!" shouted the man, his face pale with shock. Amelle scuttled in with her money box; "That'll be $12" she hissed.

"Dollars?" asked the woman, standing and gazing down at Zafina's 'crystal ball'.
"We like to have an arangement of currency for our collection."
"Well we don't have dollars with us ..."
Amelle stepped forward and grasped the silver necklace dangling from her neck. "Then we'll take back our jewellry. Goodbye ..." she whispered as she coiled the piece of metal around her fingers and ushered the two Americans out of the tent. Zafina clasped her hands around her ball and carefully placed the shperical object into it's velvet box.

Amelle walked back in backwards as she watched the Americans fumble down the road in a rage towards their car. A few passers by looked from the tourists to the tent, at this point Amelle slammed the door shut and turned to Zafina. With short brown hair just licking the tips of Amelle's shoulders and golden studs dotting the eyebrows of her small and petite face, Amelle looked the sight of a stereotypical gypsy. Her eyes were water-melon green and her lips pursed, golden brown. She was a beauty for sure, but Zafina kept her by her side with suspision.
"Did you really see the Skeleon?" Amelle asked, folding a piece of parchment and stuffing it into a drawer.
"Maybe" replied Zafina, picking a mirror shard from the floor and wiping a little smudged eye liner from just under her olive eyes.
"Why are you so cryptic all the time?" asked Amelle, sitting in the seat the American woman was previously sat minutes ago.
"Why are you so nosey?" replied Zafina in a carm and intimidating tone. Standing from her seat, Zafina turned her back on Amelle and left the tent. Opening the door, sunlight poured onto Zafina's body. Wearing a piece of shimmering golden cloth around her upper half, revealing much of her robust pair of breasts and a skirt loosely pinned together, white and decorated with maroon lotus flowers, she looked like a goddess. Her oil black hair was glossy and fell all the way down to the small of her back. Men working on the buildings around stopped, some making gestures Zafina simply sniffed at. As Zafina shut the door behind her, she began to walk steadily down the street to a small stall selling what smelt like fresh chicken. As she approached the stall, the old lady poking the meat with a rusty looking fork gave her a wry smile and scanned her items of clothing.

"Finally, a woman." she rasped behind her meat.
"I'd like an entire chicken please."
"Untouched?"
"I'll give cooking one from scracth a try" she answered. The woman rolled a few sheets of grease proof paper off a nearby stand and bent down to pick a pink chicken with the feathred head still on up so she could wrap it up for Zafina. "What brings you to this here village? Been visiting this part for 43 years in the Autumn and it's always looked like it's seen better days. Wouldn't think a flower like you would want to wander around it?"
"It's a passage to the Sphinx a few miles ahead, you know, where tourists like to visit. They usually see the signs on our carriage and come for a prediction. Buy some of our pieces of jewellry, stones, trinkets, anything we care to sell in our collections."
"Anything worthy of an old dog like me?" chuckled the woman as she pushed a paper clip through the paper to hold the chicken in place.
"I could bring the rack of ruby's over for you, a lady of any age always looks a picture with one of those"
"I don't doubt you. But i don't have the money for a jug of milk a morning, never mind a ruby. Why you travelling in a bitty old thing like that anyhow? Them horses look a little scuffed. Look like a palace bird you do."
"How much?" Zafina asked, ignoring the woman's flattery.

"2 Egyptian Pounds and i'll throw in some seasonings. Bit out of date mind, boosts the flavour."
"2 Egyptian Pounds ... Forget the extras." replied Zafina, throwing a few bronze coins at the woman who failed in her attempt to catch them. Tucking the wrapped meat under her arm, Zafina headed back to her tent and carriage, scanning her horses as she went. The woman was right, her favourite horse, a black mare called Azula and Amelle's father's (whom died months ago), a stallion into his later and more than likely final years; Ben, looked hot, worn and exhausted. Both stood together touching noses and quivering in the hot breeze. The thought of staying around this village for the next few nights wasn't a very nice idea, but it was something Zafina knew she had to settle on.

Opening the door, the heat of the tent hit her as hard as it did when she left the connection with her crystal ball. Placing the chicken on the edge of a nearby table, Zafina looked around for Amelle.
"Sister?" shouted Zafina, storming through the back of the tent into the clearance between the carriage and the edge of the tent opening. "Are you in the riding bay?" There was no reply. Turning around, the chicken slid off the table and fell out of it's packaging onto the floor of the tent.
"Jesus" mumbled Zafina.

"Z! ZAFINA! Z! Z!" screamed Amelle, stumbling into the tent and slamming the wooden door shut behind her.
"HE-HE" wheezed Amelle. Zafina stepped over to her sister as she trod on the chicken and whimpered at the grease now dripping from her foot.
"Breathe Amelle, has one of the men outside hurt you?" she asked.
"No, No. It's Sophia, she's here. She's found us. She's got soldiers Zafina ... TO KILL US!" screamed Amelle, clambering backwards and looking through the glass at the two approaching soldiers carrying swords.
"I'll Lock up the tent and get in driving bay whilst you strap up the cabinets and furniture. As soon as you belt everything up,shout and i'll whip those steeds and get us the fuck out of here. I don't know how long those horses are going to last, but i'm not dying in this son of a btich village."

With that, Zafina snatched the tent key from the wall as Amelle scrambled for the belts swinging on the wall.