Even though she denied her boredom, she found herself turning reaching into her coin pouch and handing the fortune-teller two gold coins. “Very well, woman. Work your magic.”
The woman bowed her head as she took the coins. “Of course. First, let me put on some tea. By the way, my name is Eustice.”
“Pollyanna, but I guess you already knew that.” Pollyanna replied sarcastically
The woman poured water from a pitcher into a pot, and then held the pot in her hands, closing her eyes as she brought the water to a boil by way of magic. Pollyanna bristled at seeing the magic. Something about magic always made her feel uneasy. Maybe it was because she had seen her hometown obliterated by black magic years ago, or maybe it was because she was too logical and down-to-earth of a woman to believe what her eyes were seeing. Regardless, something about it made her bones tingle.
The woman dumped tea leaves into the pot, and then she said, “Now, lie down while I finish the tea.”
Pollyanna obeyed wordlessly, closing her eyes. She was barely short enough to fit in the tent--her feet were right up against the fabric.
“Now, tell me what your biggest regret is. You must be truthful, or else the magic may not work.” Eustice insisted.
Pollyanna took a deep breath. “I don’t know what it is. I feel completely satisfied.”
Eustice giggled, shaking her head. “I don’t care if you have the world in your palms. Everyone has regrets.”
Because she knew Eustice would only keep pestering her if she didn’t say something, Pollyanna decided to tell the woman a regret that felt like it wasn’t her biggest one. “I wanted a man to love me in the same way I loved him.”
Eustice placed a cup of tea in Pollyanna's hands prompted, “Go on.”
“He was married three times throughout his lifetime, and I was always his mistress. I wanted to be so much more than that to him. I had to watch him love these beautiful women—women who had only just turned eighteen—while I remained a weathered old mistress, wilting away in the shadows. He made me feel like the most powerful woman in the world. No. He made me the most powerful woman in the world, but he loved me only during the night, and merely respected me during the day.” Pollyanna reluctantly explained.
Eustice nodded as Pollyanna explained. “I see. Well, now you will dream. And perhaps, in this dream your man will love you back.”
But Pollyanna was stunned to find that, when she dreamed, she dreamed of her unborn child, Deforest, and she was stunned when she awoke from her dream and felt tears running down her cheeks. She stared forward wordlessly—in disbelief that her biggest regret turned out to be losing her child.
She turned to the fortune-teller. “What was that? Some kind of a joke?” she stood up, looming over the woman with her fists clenched. “I want my two gold pieces back!”
The fortune-teller tsked. “You told me a lie, didn’t you? Your dream ended in a tragedy, didn’t it?”
Pollyanna growled. “I told you no lie! My dream only showed me what you wanted me to see!”
“The dream was honest; it can tell what your biggest regret is, and it zeroes in on it. I, however, have no idea what you dreamed. That is beyond my power. It’s a shame. If you had just told me the truth, your dream would have had a happy ending.” Eustice lowered her gaze in empathy, shaking her head at the foolish, old woman.
Pollyanna stormed out of the tent. “I can’t believe I spent good gold on that! Losing my child is not my…” Pollyanna swallowed. She couldn’t complete the sentence.
Pollyanna got back to work so she would forget the incident with the fortune-teller ever happened.
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