I was starting to hate more and more Erica's decision to have come to this bloody festival, or whatever it was. First of all, because it was crowded with weird people and annoyingly loud five-years old kids, but also because it was probably a hundred degrees outside, and I was starting to sweat and to feel sticky and gross.
On the other hand, Erica seemed to thoroughly enjoy every second of it. She didn't even seem to notice how annoyed I was, she'd just grab my hand and drag me into whatever shop or booth she wanted to check out. That was exactly what I hated the most about my best friend: wherever I saw problems, she saw fun. She was much more outgoing and friendly than me, too.
"Ohh! This one!" she squealed next to me as I felt myself get grabbed by the hand and then dragged into some vintage, dusty store for the thousandth time today. Once we were inside, she let go of me and started checking out a stack of antique dresses. I just stood in the door frame and looked around me.
It was definitely a very, very old building. The wooden floor had so many cracks that it was almost completely torn apart. The shelves were so dusty and rotten that I suddenly wondered how in the world Erica had plucked up enough courage to actually touch the merch that was resting on them. The ceiling was painted a faint brown and decorated with stars, which almost made me smile. How much bad taste does it take to decorate a ceiling in such way?
The whole shop was filled with antique bookcases (bookcases that had undoubtedly been picked up on the street, given their appearance), and the merch messily rested on their dilapidated shelves. Silk scarves of colors varying from dark red to light brown were hanging from the tacky ceiling in certain corners of the room and other scarves were tied up to the bookcases.
"Are you coming in or are you going out?"
I blinked at the sound of the high-pitched voice who had pronounced this sentence, wondering who was its owner. It only took me seconds before I found out.
To my left, a very old and wrinkled lady was sitting at a desk that was just as dilapidated as the rest of the furniture in the room. Her long, deep crimson velvet dress was so oversized that I couldn't even see her feet, and her impressively long white hair was falling down her shoulders and back, and as she got up on her feet (pulling her dress up and thus revealing a pair of black leather boots) I noticed that the ends of her hair were curled up in tiny ringlets.
"I beg your pardon?", I finally answered.
"I said, young lady, are you coming in or are you going out?" she repeated, frustration noticeable in her voice.
"Why do I absolutely need to do either of them?" I answered with an equally frustrated tone. "I'm waiting for my friend."
"Then wait inside, I don't like it when the door stays open", she muttered as she shut the door.
"Why?" I questioned.
"Because those fools outside are selling ice cream and candyfloss, and it attracts the wasps. And then the wasps nest into my shop instead of someone else's"
I'm sure they do, given the sullen character you both have...
"I'm sorry, what?", she said as she turned around.
"I didn't say anything."
"Yes, you did, you just insulted me!", she snapped. "Now, young lady, if I were you, I wouldn't say that, given the fact that you have a sullen personality yourself!"
Did she just... read my mind?
"I sure did", she said. A faint smile filled her thin lips as she watched my jaw drop in amazement.
"How did you do it? That only happens in... in... in the movies! And in stories!"
"Why don't you just sit down and cut the questions?" she muttered.
She pulled a second dusty wooden chair from under her desk, obviously for me to sit down. After one minute of looking at the chair and thinking to myself that this might be the thickest layer of dust I've seen in my life, I mustered enough courage to sweep the stuff with the back of my hand and sit down.
"Does it bother you if your friend hears what I have to say?" she asked.
"Erica's my best friend." I stated. Given the look the old lady threw my way, I felt the need to add: "I don't hide anything from my best friend."
I lifted my head and noticed Erica standing a couple of meters across from us, questioning me with her light green eyes. "I think she's got a story to tell us", I mouthed. Erica immediately understood and came over to listen.
The old lady was suddenly concentrated on the task of mixing and then placing a pack of cards into three different stacks. She then raised her head and asked: "Do I remind you of some fairy tale character?"
What kind of question is that?
"An important one", she answered.
Erica shot me a confused look, not understanding what that statement was for, but I didn't take time to explain. I just tried to answer: "I don't know... an old stepmother?"
Instead of being offended, the old lady chuckled. "No, silly... look at my dress. Which fairy tale character wore black leather boots and a crimson dress... and a hood too, while we're at it?"
"Red Riding Hood?" Erica questioned from behind me.
The old lady nodded. "Now, you're going to ask me: why did I question you about that?"
"Why?" me and Erica asked at the same time.
"Because it was an introduction to what I have to say. You, young lady... your name is Amanda Le Damay, isn't it? You were born in France... grew up here in England since you were four years old... and now you are twenty-one, aren't you?"
All I could do was stare at her. How does she know? Did she read my mind to know all of this? Well, she obviously went a little too far now... I'm not comfortable knowing that a stranger like her reads my mind and knows everything about me. She raised an eyebrow, still waiting for an answer. "How do you know all that?" I finally managed.
"The prophecy." she simply said. Before I could ask her what the hell that was, she kept speaking: "If I look like Red Riding Hood, that is because that's who I am. A long time ago, five witches cast five spells on five families. The spells said that, family after family, one member of each family would have to become a fairy tale character and manage to bring the fairy tale to a happy ending.
"The spell makes you become a certain fairy tale character, but that doesn't mean you always have to follow the story of that precise character. Your story can be a mix like it can be the original story. And sometimes, your story can even be improvised. You never know. But you can have three clues: every clue is a card from each of these three stacks", she said as she motioned to the cards she had been holding minutes before. "Pick a card", she then added as she pointed to the first stack.
I reached out and picked a card, not sure what to do. My hand was shaking and I was scared. All of this was unbelievable. It couldn't be real.
"Read what's on the card", the old lady said.
I looked down at the card, and read aloud the words written on it in black ink: "An evil woman lives at the other end of town. Her daughters are horrid and so is she. Soon, your stepmother she is going to be."
"Just like in Cinderella", Erica murmured. "But I don't see how your dad could marry such a woman. Ever since your mom died, when you were eight, he said he'll never marry again, let alone marry with a horrid woman."
"It will happen, sadly", the old woman said. "If the card says so, it will happen. Pick a second."
I picked a second card and, this time, I read it immediately:
"The stepsisters will hate you very much. They'll try to stop you from succeeding. Stay away from them as much as you can!"
The old lady immediately handed me the third stack, and I picked a card.
"One beautiful man you've already heard about will soon become the one you cannot live without. But be careful with everything you do, because the stepsisters will want to have him too!"
"Cinderella, without any doubt", the old lady said. "If you want this story to end, you will have to find the prince the cards have been talking about and make him yours, or you'll be miserable for the rest of your life."
"Wait", I suddenly said. "Is this real? It doesn't seem real. Look, don't get me wrong, but... I don't believe in spells, or in magic, or in fairy tales... I don't know how you managed to find out so much about me, but..."
"I've told you, girl. The Prophecy." the old lady said, cutting me off. "Once you finish your story, you will receive a message telling you about when and where the next fairy tale character will appear, so you can help them out. Luckily for you, you are of the fifth family that the spell was cast upon. That means when you finish your tale, the spell will go away."
"Okay, but this whole thing just can't happen." I stated, now getting up from my chair.
The old lady stayed seated and muttered a "You will see it by yourself."
I chuckled in return. "I'd really like to thank you for the story and all, but this really can't happen and I refuse to believe it. Have a very nice day."
I swiftly turned around and walked out the door, Erica following me from very close. We finally got outside and I was overly relieved to breathe in fresh air instead of dust.
"Amanda... that woman didn't look like she was joking."
I turned around and looked at my best friend. "Are you kidding? Do you really believe in what she said?"
Erica raised her shoulders in answer. "All I know is, I saw the look she had in her eyes, and she did not look like she was kidding."
"Yeah, right! And I am Cinderella, I will lose one of my shoes and whatever Prince Charming is coming my way will pick it up and then we'll marry!" I huffed in annoyance.
"Well... fine" Erica said. "Do you want to keep checking out the festival?"
I sighed. "Erica... I really wanna go home. Don't get me wrong but... I'd love to keep hanging out with you, I'm just tired..."
Erica smiled. "That's alright. You can go home. I'll just check out the rest by myself."
"Thank you. See you soon", I said as I turned around and headed for the bus station.
Happily, the bus was already there. I climbed in and crashed on a chair, ignoring the spiteful look I got from an old woman across from me. The bus started and I closed my eyes, only opening them when I got home.
I inserted the key into the lock, opened the door, closed it, kicked off my shoes, jumped on my sofa and instantly fell asleep.
