Anne always drove too fast. It was after midnight now and the road home was hazy with fog. There were no street lights here in the “old” side of town, just cracked, glowing paint, and the occasional rusted railing reminding you where the cliffs were. Anne had been staying later and later at the shop since she started working there, preferring its armchairs and views of downtown to the quiet and dark of her own apartment. Anne yawned, keeping her eyes dead ahead where her high beams bounced off of the fog, her eyes burned with concentration and tiredness. A burst of dark brown fur rushed into view and Anne slammed on the breaks.

The deer stared at Anne, nostrils flared and eyes shining in the darkness. It was too thin. Everyone was always building new shit way out into the woods these days. Anne didn’t really see the point of it all, it wasn’t like they would be winning any metropolitan awards anytime soon. The construction was scaring all the animals further into town. The poor thing was starving, it was probably trying to get someone to put it out of its misery. The deer tilted its head, a curious expression on its face. Everyone said you were just supposed to hit them, rather than risk swerving off the road. Anne beeped her horn and the deer sprinted the rest of the way across the road, disappearing again into darkness.

Madame Irva’s Tea Room specializes in Psychic Tea Leaf Readings. It had all the essentials: dark curtains, burning incense, and a large crystal ball on the reading table that no one ever touched except to dust. This was only Anne’s second week working alone. Irva had left for a vacation to Florida with her husband and had loaned Anne some dark lipstick and a couple of her blouses with the long, flowy sleeves.

Anne was learning more about the art of tea leaves every day; the problem was there were just so many symbols and they always looked way clearer in the manual than they ever did in a teacup.

Now, there was a young woman across from her. She was chewing on her lip, tapping well-manicured nails against the table. She had asked about where the tea they used was sourced from. Anne was also chewing her lip, trying to build a sense of mystique as she tried to determine what she was looking at.

Was it an apple? Or a circle? Maybe a lumpy smiley-face? What did those ones mean? The woman was staring. Anne plastered a smile to her face, trying to look like she was communing with the spirits themselves, and gently shook the cup. Then, she carefully tilted it until some of the leaves spread out, thinner and thinner, keeping her sleeve out to cover the movement.

“Alright my dear, you see the arrow here at the top of your cup?” Anne turned the cup around so the woman could see. The woman’s brow creased and then smoothed again.

“Yes, I think so.”

“An arrow at the top of the cup means good news is coming your way.”

“Does this mean I’ll get the promotion?”

“Well, an arrow can mean a lot of things. It can be a cautionary symbol, you may need to tread carefully with revealing your goals, but it can also mean that you will be succeeding ahead of others. It’s not pointed down, which is good. I’d say aim high but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” The woman drummed her nails on the table,

“So do you think I should ask to meet with my boss and ask him directly?”

“I would say let your work speak for itself for now, but don’t be afraid to take an opportunity that presents itself to you.” The woman must have decided that was an acceptable answer because she tipped Anne with a ten before leaving.

Anne blew out the candles and switched on a small lamp. It was getting late and she doubted there would be any more walk-ins. Just as Anne got comfortable in her armchair, the bell jingled at the font. She watched through the reflection on the crystal ball as a man walked in, tall and thin with his face hidden by hunched over shoulders.

This was the most important part of any reading. Anne watched him stand, stock-still in the shop, taking in his appearance. What would this man ask about? Money? Family? The man stayed stock still, almost like he was hoping to just melt into the floor. No tells so far, the man didn’t even call out to see if anyone was in.

“One moment dear, I’ll be right with you,” Anne called out. The man did not look up. Well, he would be a surprise. Anne put aside her book and went to the front, pulling aside the velvet curtain. “Welcome sir, are you here for a reading?” The man nodded, still not lifting his eyes from the floor.

“Wonderful, you can follow me back here and make yourself comfortable.” Anne waved at the man to follow her; she thought about relighting a couple candles but he did not seem the type to mind.

They walked back to the reading table, the man dragged his feet when he walked, Anne noticed. He was dressed in a large black sweater and loose, ill-fitting jeans with frayed bottoms. Maybe this was about a bad breakup?

The man sat down, finally lifting his head. He was pale, with deep circles under his eyes and a sort of tiredness that was plastered to his face, giving his skin a sallow color. His chin and neck were stubbly and his lips were chapped. Anne startled and cleared her throat, a little embarrassed. She was nothing much to look at either, she had no right to judge.

“Have you ever had a tea leaf reading done before?” The man shook his head. “Well, I’m going to brew some tea and give you a small cup. I’d like you to drink most of it and think about what you would like to ask. Leave a little liquid at the bottom of the cup but not much, okay?”

The man nodded.

Anne turned on the electric kettle and placed a pinch of dried leaves into a small teacup. “A lot of people ask about the future if you’re having trouble thinking of something. It doesn’t have to be too specific so don’t worry.” The man nodded again, hands folded stiffly on the table. His cheeks were gaunt and the shadows cast from the dim lamp accentuated them. Anne poured the water over the leaves and handed it to the man, still steaming. He drank in a slow, long sip, and handed the cup back.

Anne knew this one. A skull at the bottom of the cup, small, scattered leaves around the rim. Danger coming from all sides. Beware. Emptiness. Doom.

Anne risked a quick look back to the man across from her. He had his eyes glued to his long, bony hands folded on the table.

Anne shook the cup. She shook it until the leaves pulled in from the sides meeting at a lump in the middle. She tilted part of the lump until it fell away, creating a cleft in the middle. Anne cleared her throat, but the man still did not look up. “You’re going to fall in love soon,” Anne declared. The man’s head whipped up.

“What?” His voice croaked out. He cleared his throat and coughed a couple times into his sleeve. “What did you say?”

“Do you see the heart in the middle of your cup?” Anne tilted the cup towards him. The man shook his head.

“It just looks like mush to me, sorry.”

“It’s okay, here I’ll show you.” She traced the outline of a heart around the clump of leaves. “This means romance will be coming into your life, and from the placement in the cup, I would say it’s coming soon.”

“I’m going to fall in love?”

“You’ll have the opportunity to fall in love, yes. These readings are not promises, but they can show you what’s coming so you can look out for it. You don’t want to miss any opportunities, right?”

The man sat silent for a minute, brow furrowed. Anne wasn’t sure what he had asked in the first place but hoped that her own divine intervention had at least made sense. The man suddenly hit his hands on the table, making Anne jump as he hastily stood up.

“Oh, I need to pay you for the reading. Sorry, it’s so late, I’m sure you need to close or something.” He started to walk briskly towards the front of the shop.

“It’s okay, I always stay open late.” Anne followed after him back to the front. “I’ll make you a deal okay? Come and see me again for another reading and you can pay for that one. This one will be on the house,” she said.

The man extended his hand. He smiled too, a small awkward thing but he was making eye contact.

“Cody. Thank you.”

“Cody, a pleasure my dear. Have a good rest of your night and remember, be open to opportunity.” Cody nodded and walked out into the night with his hands in his pockets. Anne watched him disappear from view and locked the door for the night.

Melanie was a regular on Wednesdays. She was an awful woman. Bubbly, gaudy, and completely knowledgeable on all the symbols and meanings that Anne was only learning, she made Anne want to tear her hair out. Melanie was obsessed with dissecting the meaning of the most arbitrary moments of everyday life. She sat at the table with her long, red nails wrapped around the sides of a long-cooled teacup as she continued to talk about, whatever she was talking about.

“You know, my dream last night was very insightful. I was surrounded by the color red and the sounds of birds were calling out to me in the distance. I cannot figure out what sort of bird was calling though, what do you think? I painted my nails red this morning just in case I’m supposed to be keeping the color near me.” She wiggled her fingers. Anne fought a grimace off her face. At least the woman tended to talk her way through her own sessions without Anne having to gamble on saying the wrong thing. Melanie took a sip of tea, leaving a lipstick print on the side of the cup. “I think it might have been a dove. You know, divinity and hope? Something good and magical is coming my way. I can feel it. Maybe I should dye my hair red? Or go to church? Oh, but the bird could have been a swallow or a parakeet. They all sound the same. Maybe I should get a pet bird?” Anne knew better than to try and interrupt her. “I need to figure it out. If it is a dove, then maybe I need to work harder at being, you know, pious or whatever. But, if it was a swallow, maybe now is a good time to travel and I should ask for vacation time. Maybe I should go to the park and feed the birds there.”

“Maybe it was a gull?” Anne offered.

“What do you mean?” Melanie asked.

“Well, maybe the call you heard was a gull, meaning freedom. Maybe you should be stepping back from looking for signs and remain open to adventure. Becoming too set on a single plan often leads to trouble.” Malanie picked at her nails, taking another sip of her cold tea. “It sounds to me like you owe it to yourself to be on the best path, sometimes that means letting things come to you as they will instead of seeking them out constantly.”

“It could have been gull, actually, yes. I’m sure it was a gull.”

“Well then, just relax a little more and remain open to possibilities, my dear.”

“You are so right, thank you so much.” Melanie talked all the way back to the front about what she could do to relax more. She had it down to an hourly schedule mapped for the next month before she turned to leave and walked right into Cody, who was shuffling his way inside.

“I’m so sorry,” Melanie said.

“Sorry, my fault,” Cody stammered out. Melanie patted his shoulder.

“No, it was me, really.”

“Cody, good to see you again,” Anne said. He smiled

“Thank you again,” Melanie said. She moved past Cody and left. Cody stared after her and Anne cleared her throat behind him.

“I wasn’t expecting you back again so soon.”

“Sorry, I didn’t remember the name of the place to look up and see if you need an appointment. I can come back another time.”

“I’m free Cody, did you want to come back for another reading?”

“Yes please, thank you.” Anne led him back and he sat at the table. He was still wearing frayed jeans and a tattered, black sweatshirt, but his hair looked cleaner and his eyes a little less sunken as well.

“You look well,” Anne said.

“I’ve been getting more sleep.” Anne came back and handed him the teacup.

“Good to hear, now remember, think about what you want to ask. Drink the tea and leave a little bit at the bottom, okay?” Cody nodded and took the cup. He drank quickly and handed it back.

Anne was more excited about this reading than any before. She was sort of on a roll today, getting Melanie to slow down a bit. She hadn’t even lied with that one, who knows what bird was in her dream. Besides, Melanie was smart and pretty, whatever she wanted she would probably get sooner or later. Cody was another story. He needed a push in the right direction. Melanie peered into the cup and her smile dropped.

Small leaves scattered around the rim and a skull at the bottom. Danger coming from all sides. Beware. Emptiness. Doom.

“Do you still see love?” he asked softly. His eyes were fixed once again on the table. Anne sighed and shook the cup, bunching all the leaves together in a twisted knot.

“I see the possibility,” Anne replied. “You need to work on being open, place yourself in the paths of others, and commit to being receptive to meeting new people. You will find the love I saw last time as long as you don’t fall back on old habits. The leaves can’t give you anything. At the end of the day, you have to go and get it for yourself.” Cody exhaled in a long, slow breath.

“Thank you,” he replied. He didn’t ask any other questions.

“I hope you come back again,” Anne said after Cody had paid at the front.

“I’ll try my best.”

After Cody left, Anne sat reading, trying to enjoy the daylight. Her leg kept twitching. She needed a walk and a cigarette. Instead, she got up and made some tea. Pouring the water over the leaves and leaving it too steep much longer than she did with clients. Anne gulped down the tea until she tasted the bitterness of the leaves. She pushed her cup to the side without looking at what was left. Anne grabbed her purse and decided a walk was best after all.

The park down the road had a crowd gathered around it when Anne walked past. There were the flashing lights of an ambulance along with a couple officers spreading yellow tape in front of the onlookers, pushing them further back. Anne crossed over and tried to see what was going on. An older woman turned to her,

“There was an accident,” she said.

“What happened?”

“There was a young lady standing on the bridge. A goose flew right at her and she fell back off into the water. A young man jumped in after her. They fished her out okay, but he died, I think. He hit his head on the rocks I bet, the water in that pond is pretty shallow.”

Anne looked past the woman to the park with a funny feeling in her stomach. The bridge was arched over a small lilypad pond and painted bright red. There were EMTs standing over someone laid out on a tarp. Anne had only just gotten sight of a black sweatshirt sleeve when the noise of all the geese honking and the sirens made her suddenly feel ill.

She decided to leave the shop closed the rest of the day. She drove home slowly, looking out at the half-construction apartment complexes and chunks of woods. The sun was shining through the trees. As she passed around a bend she saw the dead body of a deer slumped off to the side. Anne sped up.

– Eliza Marley