I awoke that morning to the sound of a rooster calling the morning sunrise. I yawned, stretched my limbs and swung out of my bedside, landing on the hard wooden floor, startling my cat who was sleeping in his basket on the adjacent wall in front of me. I chuckled at him.

"Morning Sebastian." I said, walking up to him and stroking his back, causing him to purr and stretch his body and yawn in a distinct feline fashion. As I got dressed, I looked outside my bedroom window from where I was standing: it was a beautiful autumn morning outside. The maple tree just outside the windowsill was already orange and red, the leaves gently falling from its branches in the slight breeze. A sparrow chirped in the midst of this wash of color, sitting in a knob of the tree itself, possibly trying to keep warm in the chill air. As I looked on, I saw a younger sparrow try to fly out of the tree's knob, and take to the air. It made me think of my mother at home, and my father...

I shook the thought away, not wanting to have anything to do with my family at the moment; they were past, and my father I hated especially. I finished dressing myself in a hoodie, jeans and a t-shirt and I was about ready to put on my work shoes when I heard a knock at my door downstairs. It's probably the mailman delivering his daily rounds I thought to myself. That is before I looked at the clock, which said 12:28, which was odd because the mailman didn't come until about 2:30. What could this possibly mean? Was it a visitor? Was it a package?

Curiosity took a hold of me and I rushed downstairs to the living room, where I unlatched and opened the door to see who it was. Surprisingly, there was no one there. Instead, there was just a small package with an envelope attached labeled "To Jonathan Felix II". I picked up the package, and looked it over. I wasn't expecting something like this for quite a while, and I hadn't ordered anything recently, so why would something turn up out of the blue like this. "Eh, might as well." I said to myself as I opened the envelope and took out the contents: A letter, and a small skeleton key. I started to read the letter whilst looking over the key.

Dear John,

This may sound weird and all, but I need your help.

"Oh boy," I said to myself, "Another donation/prank letter..." I continued to read.

I have heard about your "strange" dreams you have been having lately, and they are connected to what I may be trying to find.

Hold on, how did this person know about my dreams I've been having?

I would like to meet you in person. Take the key included in here, and don't open the package. Go to 3736 Maple Ave in your hometown at precisely 10:31pm and open the door with the key. Make sure you are alone and have the package in hand. We will talk more there.

Sincerely, AnonymousHelper.

"That is just plain weird..." I said to myself as I placed the letter on the table beside me and put on my coat and opened the door once more to go to the market to pick up some supplies for this winter's season.

When i arrived at the market, it wasn't as busy as i would thought it would be: there was almost no activity, there were almost no vendors up, and those vendors that were up weren't doing anything but being on their smartphones and talking amongst one another. But i went to the usual places i go to whenever i go to the market: the seed shop, the soil shop, and the bakery for some fresh flour so i can make bread in the meantime. As i was walking back to my car to load up my groceries, i heard a familiar voice call out to me.

"Hey Jon!" An elderly voice called from outside a gypsy's tent, "Want your fortune today?" I chuckled.

"Not today Grace." I answered before starting my way back again.

"How bout if i do it for free?" Grace responded, causing me to stop and think for a bit. I used to go to her for my fortune every time i went to the market when I first came to this small town. And i haven't really gotten one in a while, let alone the chance to do so. And to get one for free...

"Alright." I answered her, walking to her tent with the groceries still in hand, following the gypsy lady inside.

The tent was just as i had remembered it to be when i was last here: roomy for a tent of it's type, drapes of many shades hanging like curtains on the walls and from the ceiling, a small table in the center with two chairs on either side facing north and south. Grace was seated on the one adjacent to the one in front of me, motioning me to sit.

"How long has it been since you had your fortune taken here, Jon?" Grace asked, shuffling her deck of unique tarot cards.

"I honestly lost track of time," I answered her honestly, "I haven't been since fall two years ago, and i really haven't had the time to get one taken..." Grace chuckled, placing the deck in front of me face down.

"Cut the deck into three piles when you are ready." She said, cracking her knuckles as she said so. I remembered this deck: it was that strange deck of horses that she used quite often when i was younger, and its been God knows how long since I've seen her pull this deck out of it's place. I wonder why she was pulling it out again...?

I cut the deck into three piles, and then placed them back into one pile, which Grace then took and started to deal the cards.

"Lets see what your past has experienced..." She said as she placed the card down, which depicted a stallion and a mare with a young foal, and was inverted. "This is The Couple." Grace explained, "It represents fellowship and friendship of those that you were close to. When it is inverted, it means that you have gotten astray from that fellowship and friendship, and want to drive all sources of that feeling away from you."

She was right. Actually, she was dead on. I watched as she drew the next card and placed it in front of me, depicting a pegasus with one hoof in a lake, and one hoof on a lakeside rock, wings outspread. Behind him was a sky half day and half night, with the sun and the moon on either side respectively.

"For your present," Grace started, "You have The Traveller. He represents the course of change and new discoveries within one's self, and can very well mean the turning point in your life."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked curiously. She smiled at me.

"That is for you to find out, Jon." Grace explained, drawing the last card in the process, "I alone cannot answer that question for you. You must find it within your travels." When Grace played the last card, her eyes grew wide and seemed very intrigued or very frightened. I couldn't tell which one.

"Whats wrong with this one?" I asked Grace, pointing to the card depicting a purple and blue swirling tempest tearing through a tower made of wood and stone, with a pair of red and orange eyes within the tempest itself. She then fixed her own, pale blue eyes on me with a stare that could very well frighten a grown man like myself (believe me, it did).

"You have the Tower for your future." She explained, "and you're on your way to a cataclysmic event. Something big is going to happen, and i don't know what. But all i can say is that it may not be good for you..." I trembled a bit at that statement in pure fright. What could possibly happen to me? And those eyes within the tempest did not look very friendly or peaceful at all. Grace then placed her hands out on the table, palm up. "Give me your hands." She commanded.

"Why?" I asked her, cautiously placing my hands on top of her's whilst doing so. Grace didn't respond other than closing her eyes and breathing in deep.

"I see a house." She started, "A house in the suburbs…were you told to go to this house, Jon?" Dumbfounded I nodded my head in reply. "I see a pathway through the door to a forest of darkness and gloom…" She continued, "And you shall find yourself in a world not like ours…A phrase keeps popping up in my head: 'Time is short, lone ranger, for the kingdom's six are in grave danger…'." She then paused for a little bit, and I admit, I got a little antsy.

"What else is there?" I asked her. She sighed again, then continued her reading.

"You are in some room with an altar, with you upon it, and six figures are surrounding you in a circle. Each one carrying an amulet of some power. You too have an amulet, but it's…shrouded in a fog; I cannot see what it is. The altar has an inscription upon it, but I cannot make out what it is saying…" She then opened her eyes and withdrew her hands from under mine. "Very good." She announced with a smile.

"What's good?" I asked Grace, confused by her announcement. Before she could answer, my phone in my pocket started to buzz. "Excuse me." I said before getting up from my chair and walking outside the tent to answer the call.