Three Fortunes

I was always a quiet girl when I was young. When around unfamiliar faces I would simply keep my head down and my mouth shut and all the attention of others would drift past me without a thought. When spoken to by someone I did not know, I would nod and speak in brief mumbled sentences before making an excuse to leave. I was always the kind of person that you only noticed if you were paying close attention, and that was the way I liked it.

It is true that I preferred not to speak much, but what I did do, was listen. I had a way of disappearing into the background so that those around me would carry on their conversations as though I wasn't even there. I learned a great deal that way.

I would listen to mother and her friends gossip, and learn things such as how reckless Katherine Dawson's son had turned out to be, how Alice's wealthy fiancé in Chester was nothing but an obvious lie, and how Mr. Bennett that lived on 5th Street had lost all his money gambling.

From my brother and his friends I learned how to make sling a shot with limited materials, how to scale a tree in mere seconds, and where all the best hiding spots were.

One of my favorite people to listen to however, was my stepfather, Captain Lewis. From him I learned just about anything you'd need to know about living aboard a ship-he would go on about his days as a sea captain to just about anyone-and I would also hear tales of all the strange places he'd ever visited and crazy adventures he'd had.

Yes, I was a listener, I guess that's why Mary-Jane liked me. She was tough and short tempered, leading a lot of the towns children to fear her. She was fearless and confident, and spoke her mind whenever she felt it a good time to speak up, which appeared to be just about every five minutes. She was the kind of person that always seemed to find her way to a position of leadership wherever she was, because everyone-even those that had a good five years and two feet on her-looked up to her.

I'll never forget the day we met. It was a particularly warm November morning, only two weeks after my family had arrived at our new home in Corsica. I was seven years old and as shy as ever, making finding new friends a difficult task. Mother had sent me out to play with the rest of the village children, after encouraging me enthusiastically to get to know the other kids.

I wandered through the forest until I came across a group of several children about my age. They were huddled around an old tree trunk, atop of which sat Mary-Jane herself.

"Someone's coming!" One boy whispered frantically as I approached.

"I can see that, I've got eyes stupid!" Said Mary-Jane.

"Should we attack?" Asked another. At the suggestion all the children raised various sticks and rocks and clumps of dirt that served as their weapons. I stopped walking. Mary-Jane looked me over, perfectly aware that I was listening to the whole conversation.

"No," she said. "Let her come closer."

I could feel every pair of eyes on me as I approached them. The only sounds I could hear were the crunch of my footsteps through the leaves and the pounding of my nervous heart.

"Who are you?" Asked a tall boy, in his hands a stick that had been sharpened to a point.

I felt my heart leap as he brought the stick closer in a threatening manner. "Um… I'm…"

Mary-Jane hopped down from her thrown like stump and came forward. She stood tall and proud, as intimidating as ever as she approached me, but when she spoke her voice was genuinely kind.

"What's your name?" she asked.

I looked away and nervously tugged at the sleeve of my dress. "I'm Audrey." I mumbled."Audrey Summers."

"Well, Audrey Summers, my name is Mary-Jane Storey, but you can call me Mary." her voice must have been three times the volume of mine, making it sound much like a one sided conversation to anyone at a distance. "You've got an accent, where are you from?"

"I'm―"

"Speak up!" She prompted.

"I'm from Chester." I said, a little bit louder this time. Mary-Jane did not seem very satisfied with my slight increase in volume.

"Chester, eh? Never met anyone from Chester before. Well that's neat―my god, if you're going to speak at least speak so that I can hear you!"

I had begun to say something as she spoke, but my words came in a barely audible whisper and I'd given up before I'd even begun.

Mary-Jane sighed. "You are much too quiet." I was happy to hear she did not necessarily say this as though it was a bad thing. "Well that's alright," She smiled after a moment of thought. "I am much too loud. We make a good pair, I guess."

She then announced to the rest of her gang that she liked me, and that I would be "on their side", whatever that meant.

"I think it's safe to say the enemy won't be attacking today." she added after that. "You all are free to go." Upon hearing her words the children slowly cleared the area, forming their own groups and setting out to play in the forest.

Mary-Jane stayed behind, catching my hand as I tried to leave and making me wait with her.

"You're new here, aren't you?" she said.

"Yes," I answered. "I just moved here, and I… I haven't got many friends."

Mary-Jane laughed as though this was the funniest thing in the world. "Don't be ridiculous Audrey," she said. "You've got me, haven't you?"

I smiled for the first time that morning, and from that moment on I did indeed have Mary-Jane. We became an inseparable pair, always by each others' side through all the craziness of playing in the forest and battling the other children. While teams and allies changed on a regular basis, she and I always stuck together, and together we could do anything we set our minds to.

Mary-Jane had a way of making me talk, a task the was not easy at the time. She made me talk not only to her, but to others as well. Although I would never be nearly as charismatic and talkative as she was, thanks to her I slowly was able to have conversations, even with those that I did not know well, and my shyness slowly left me. When I look back on it now, I see why she was so kind to me. She saw me as a problem, the shy girl that can't talk to anyone, and she took on the responsibility of helping me, something she would do more than once in her lifetime. She had a way of bringing out the best in everyone she met, and that was the true reason she was so loved and respected by others. One day though, many years in the future, she would begin to question whether this was a blessing or a curse.

* * *

The sun had just begun to sink beneath the horizon as we walked down the empty road, reluctantly making our way back towards our homes. The echo of our footsteps through the forest and soft rustling of the wind in the tree branches created an unusual spooky feeling on this particular night. Three years had passed since we'd first met, and Mary-Jane and I were on our way home from yet another day out exploring the deep forest with the rest of the town's children.

"We were supposed to be home before dark." I reminded her, for it had been she that had resisted my attempts to leave earlier. "But there's no way we'll make it in time now."

"What's wrong, you afraid of the dark?" Mary-Jane teased, playfully punching me in the arm.

"What I'm afraid of is what my mother will say when I arrive home late."

Mary-Jane laughed. She happily took a berry from the basket she held and tossed it into her mouth.

"You worry too much Audrey." she said with her mouth still full.

"You can't talk, your father let's you get away with murder. He doesn't care what time you're back, as long as you come home eventually."

She brushed away the comment with a shrug and tossed another berry into her mouth. However, we both knew what I said was true. Mary-Jane's father was a good man, but not very attentive to her and her three brothers. They'd never had the money to hire a nanny, and so with their mother gone the four children were free to do as they pleased while their father worked. If it bothered Mary-Jane she wouldn't have said, but she sure seemed to enjoyed the freedom of her life.

"Follow me," she said a while later, perhaps growing uneasy with the fading light just as I was. "I know a short cut."

"A short cut?" I asked, as I followed her off the pathway and into the forest.

"Yeah, if you cut through these woods here you come out near Mr. Dawson's farm, then it's just a short walk back to the village."

"I know that," I said. She often underestimated my knowledge of the forest, thinking that she was much smarter, having lived here all ten years of her life while I'd only lived here since I was seven. "But what about the stream? It's too deep to cross over here, isn't it?"

"There's a fallen tree you can cross on. You got good balance, don't you?"

"Are you kidding? When we came to Corsica on Captain Lewis's ship mother must've spent half the voyage scolding us for climbing the rigging. She was always worrying we would fall. We never did though."

With that said we made our way through the forest of trees that glowed orange in the evening light, kicking down briers and trying our best not to tear our dresses as we went. We walked across the stream, holding our arms out to keep our balance as we crossed the fallen oak tree that served as our bridge. Once we'd climbed over the tree roots and landed on the opposite shore it should have been an short hike up the hill and into the village. However, as often does happen, that short hike became a wild and crazy adventure.

As we climbed the hill I couldn't help but notice the spooky old house that stood at the top, not far from where we were.

"Has that always been there?" I asked Mary-Jane.

"That abandoned house? Yeah, some think it's haunted."

I suddenly found myself all the more eager to get home. "Oh," I said uneasily. "That's silly."

Unfortunately for me Mary-Jane was exceptionally good at reading my emotions. "You're afraid!" she laughed. "You think it's haunted!"

"I do not!" I protested.

"Stop lying Audrey, I know you're afraid."

"I'm not afraid," I insisted. "I just think we should head home."

"If you're so unafraid, then why don't you go inside?" Mary-Jane challenged.

"Inside the house? No I― I couldn't do that." I stuttered.

"What was that you said? I thought you weren't afraid?"

Before I could say more she had grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of the old haunted house. I called out in protest, I dug my heels into the dirt trying to stop her, but she only silenced me and continued to pull me along.

We stopped at the steps and stared upward at the building. The wooden paneling was faded with age and slowly rotting away, the windows shattered and caked with dust and dirt. The stairs gave and unsettling creak as we stepped up onto the porch. The sun had finally surrendered to the nighttime darkness and disappeared beneath the horizon. It wouldn't be long before all we had to light our way home was the stars and the thin crescent moon.

"Please Mary, let's go home." I said. "I told you, my mother wants me home before dark."

"You and your excuses. Come on, I just want to have a look around. We'll be home before your mother has a chance to worry."

She ran to the door and pushed on it. Much to my disappointment it swung open with little effort. From where I stood I could see nothing but darkness. I hoped the lack of light would encourage Mary-Jane to turn back and wait to explore the house in tomorrow's daylight, but if anything it added to her excitement.

She stepped inside and motioned for me to follow. However hesitantly, I did. At first I could see nothing, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I began to make out the room around me. We stood in a large living room. In the center sat a worn sofa and chairs that looked as though they had once been quite lovely and coffee table piled with towering stacks of books that I worried would fall over at any second. In the far corner there was a wooden desk which, unlike the table, was nearly empty, with the exception of an open notebook. A quill lay across the page next to an open bottle of ink, as if the writer had left it there only moments ago. Two of the four walls around us were lined with bookshelves, each one impossibly crammed with dusty old books and journals.

A sudden gust of wind slammed the door shut behind us and darkened the room again. Slowly our surroundings became visible again, as another light filled the room. The light came from up the spiraling staircase on the far side of the room. Without a second thought Mary-Jane raced up the steps, leaving me frightened and with no choice but to follow.

The room we entered next was completely empty, with no doors or windows. The only thing there was a single candle that sat in the middle of the floor.

"I don't like this," I said. "You've had your chance to look around, let's go."

I heard a voice that sounded like a whisper, it was coming from behind us. Mary-Jane heard it to, and we both looked back down the staircase into the darkness. No one was there.

When we turned back, the room was no longer empty. In the middle, with the candle now sitting atop it, was a wooden table. It had three chairs, one at the head and two at the foot. The furniture had appeared out of nowhere. This in itself was enough to frighten even the bravest of people, but what was the most unsettling was the fact that only two of the chairs were empty.

I wanted to run away screaming and leave that ghostly house behind forever, but in my state of shock it was a difficult feat just to speak, let alone try to move. Mary-Jane recovered much quicker, and being the daring girl she was she stepped forward to question the cloaked figure that sat before us. The figure pulled back the hood that concealed her, and candle light illuminated her face, revealing a pair of emerald eyes against frighteningly pale skin. A braid of dark brown hair twisted around her neck and sat at her shoulder, tucked beneath her cloak. In that moment my fear subsided ever so slightly, for although the strange woman had appeared from nowhere, she had the sort of kind face that made you want to trust her without reason.

"Mary, I…I think we should leave." I said when I'd finally regained my voice.

"You have no need to be afraid child," she said, her voice soothing and calm, comforting like a mother reassuring her child. "I only wish to speak to you."

For a brief moment her eyes met mine, and I could see the deep and never ending sadness in them. Under her gaze I could feel the weight of whatever tragedies she must have faced. She turned away quickly and did not look directly at either of us ever again.

Mary-Jane stepped closer still. "Who are you?" she asked. When she got no answer she decided to try a new question. "What do you want to talk to us about then?"

"Your unfortunate fates," came the woman's quick reply.

Mary-Jane gave her a quizzical look, more confused by this whole experience than she was frightened. More than once in the years to come I would wish I had that kind of bravery. "How would you know anything about our fates?" she asked. "And why would you want to tell us?"

The woman took a moment coming up with her reply. "Because I've seen this play out before." she answered. "Brothers forced against each other in a fight for power, a battle that will bring so many others down with them, and a battle only one can win."

Mary-Jane did not let her finish before she asked her next question. "What have we got to do with that?"

"Time will tell, my dear." the woman said. She was admirably patient with her. When she spoke again her tone had changed. No longer did she sound polite with her sadness underneath, but rather serious. "Now, I will give you three predictions, let's call them fortunes. You get three fortunes and no more." She looked at the pair of us and motioned for us to sit, then asked who would like to go first. Not surprisingly to any of us, Mary-Jane volunteered.

"What is your name child?" she asked. Mary-Jane gave her name and then she continued. "Well Mary-Jane, you seem like a brave girl. I dare say that will serve you well." She placed her chin in her hand and stared at us, her eyes first focusing on Mary-Jane, then me. "Your first fortune Mary-Jane, deals with love. You shall fall in love with a man of wealth and power. A man with a dark past, but a hope to redeem himself and live a brighter future."

Mary-Jane interrupted to point out that she would not be falling in love with anyone, especially not a rich and powerful man.

The woman laughed, a bit stiffly I noticed. "Perhaps you will think differently in a few more years. And I might let you know that it is not his fortune that you will fall for, but his troubled yet kind heart."
Mary-Jane did not seem satisfied, but that wasn't uncommon for her. She was more often dissatisfied than not.

"The second fortune is about friendship, and applies to both of you." When I heard this I listened intently. With all my fear nearly gone now, I was happy to hear anything she could tell me of my future. "You two girls are good friends I've noticed, but the time is coming very soon, when your paths will split. They will, however, cross again, in the most unlikely of places."

Mary-Jane could not think of any protests to this one, or else was too eager for the next fortune to voice them. Whatever the reason, she remained silent.

"And the third fortune, what a tragic one it is. You shall stay with your love long enough to bear him a child. Not long after he will be driven mad by a need to seek revenge, and you will be left all alone."

"I don't care," Mary-Jane said confidently. We were both far too young to understand the tragedy in Mary-Jane's future. "I can manage just as well on my own."

The woman gave her a weak smile, deciding not to explain anymore. "I don't doubt you will."

Both Mary-Jane and the woman's eyes fell to me.

"I don't believe I know you're name dear, you've been awfully quiet." she said.

"It's Audrey," I said uneasily. "Audrey Summers."

"A beautiful name." she replied. "You're very quiet Audrey, but you've been listening haven't you. You're the sort of girl that says little, and instead listens and learns from what you hear. That can be a good and bad quality, depending on the situation." She smiled before returning to her serious tone. "Now, your fortunes are not unlike your friend's. The first dealing with love, the last with tragedy and the second being the same. Shall I begin then?" I'd barely had time to nod before she did. "Fortune number one; you will also fall in love, with a sailor aboard a cargo ship, or so he will seem. You will eventually learn he is not the person you thought him to be, but you will fall in love all the same."

"Not the person you thought him to be, what does that mean?" Mary-Jane asked.

"If Audrey has any questions, she may ask them herself." The woman scolded. Mary-Jane sank in her chair. If I'd had a question I wouldn't have been brave enough to ask, and she seemed to know that.

"You're second fortune has already been told, for it is the same for both of you, so I will jump straight to the third." She looked at me sadly. "Oh my dear, I can't tell you much of this. I see it; a fallen hero, a frightened child, and a horrible, tragic ending."

A wave of fear washed over me as she spoke. "What does that mean, a horrible, tragic ending?"

"Oh you poor child, your ending." she said.

I didn't get it, I didn't want to. Until now I'd believed what she said to be true, but this I could not believe, I would not believe it. She couldn’t possibly know the life that lay ahead for me, and how it was to end.

A door opened downstairs, at the sound she stood up. "Oh dear, I'm out of time. Goodbye girls, and more importantly, good luck." She walked to the far corner of the room and disappeared into the darkness.

The sound of footsteps downstairs could be heard, and they were now making their way up the steps. With the woman gone my fear returned, even Mary-Jane seemed uneasy.

I followed as she blew out the candle and hid in a dark corner. We sat in terrified silence, clutching each other as the footsteps climbed to the top of the stairs.

A figure appeared before us, impossible to see in the blinding light of the lantern they held. He lowered the light and slowly his face became visible. Relief surged through me as I made out a boy's face, with ocean blue eyes and curly blonde hair just like my own.

"Richard!" I scolded my older brother. "Don't do that! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

I stood up and dusted off my dress, offering a hand to help Mary-Jane.

"Sorry," he said kindly, forgetting for a moment he was here to scold us. He put on a rather unconvincing angry look and continued. "Well, what were you doing here anyway? You should have been home a long time ago!"

"It was my fault!" Mary-Jane said, before I could explain the story. "She tried to get me to go home, but I wanted to explore the haunted house in the dark. I'm sorry."
He accepted her apology and led us back downstairs and out of the house.

"Best not to tell anyone," Mary-Jane whispered to me as we walked home. "They wouldn't believe us anyway."

My heart was weighed down with fear as I remembered the woman's last words, your ending.