Monroe wasn’t used to being led around. He was the kind of man who still liked to drive himself to every destination no matter how much everyone insisted he should use a car service. Somehow Aria had convinced him to take a bus ride where they sat shoulder to shoulder with strangers. The things this woman could get him to do were limitless. Frighteningly so.

“We’re almost there,” she promised, squeezing his bicep and looking at him affectionately. “It’s a bumpy ride, but this a part of the island very few guests get to see.”

Monroe fought the urge to mutter he clearly saw why. He’d been to desolate corners of the earth. This wasn’t the worst location he’d seen, but it was in the top ten. “You said we’d have an adventure. It looks like we’re in the right place for one.”

“There,” she said through a wide grin. “That’s where we’re going.”

Monroe had to crane his neck past the other passengers to see what Aria was pointing at. There was a purple neon sign in the shape of a hand that was flashing on and off. The darkened windows were painted with white letters reading: Psychic.

“Are you pointing to that place?” Monroe asked, hardly holding back his look of unease.

“I knew you’d think it was stupid,” Aria said, completely deflated. “It’s just something I do.”

“Do you believe in this stuff?” he asked, trying to snuff out the cynicism. “I mean, obviously you’ve been there so you must. I took you for more of a skeptic.”

“It’s not like that,” Aria shrugged. “You’ll see. You just have to experience it to understand.”

The bus screeched to a stop, and the whooshing sound of opening doors filled his ears. Monroe stood and couldn’t believe this was where he was headed. A palm reader.

Aria tugged his arm as they crossed the street toward the small shack with crooked shutters and a sagging screen door. They moved quickly to dodge the lawless drivers speeding by.

“Gwen,” Aria said as she knocked gently on the door, “are you here?”

“I am,” a shaky voice bellowed back. “Come in, dear. Bring your friend.”

“See,” Aria said with wide eyes, “she knew I had a friend with me. I mean it could be that little security camera, but it could also be her powers.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” Monroe teased in a spooky voice. “What exactly are we trying to accomplish here?”

“Is that how things are for you?” Aria challenged. “Everything has to be part of a goal? A mission?”

“Yes,” Monroe answered flatly, knowing how rigid it made him sound. But it was the truth. If Monroe was doing something one could expect it was the equivalent of a chess piece being moved on a board. It was always with strategy in mind. Always with a purpose.

“Oh, isn’t he handsome?” a hunchbacked woman in a tattered sweater said as she drank him in. “And his aura is so vibrant. You must see this, don’t you?”

“I do,” Aria said, moving with ease into the house and taking a seat at a small round table. The room was dimly lit with colored lightbulbs. And every surface was draped in sheer fabric. Looking at the wobbly table, Monroe wasn’t sure one of the chairs would hold his weight. Gingerly he settled himself down and waited to see if it was followed by a crack. Luckily it held.

“I like your place,” Monroe said, clearing his throat nervously. “It’s very unique.”

“He is such a good liar too,” she said warmly, seeming to pretend he was not in the room. “What is it you’re here for today?”

Aria tapped her hands thoughtfully on the table as she seemed to consider the question. “Crystals,” she announced. “Yes, let’s say crystals.”

“Crystals?” Monroe asked, as Gwen reached into a drawer and pulled out a cloth bag. It was beaded on the bottom and closed with a purple velvet tie.

“Yes, that’s the right choice, dear.” Gwen poured some stones across the table. They skittered and slid until they all came to stop. “Oh, and look at this. Malachite,” Gwen said, tapping a stone that landed closest to Monroe.

“It’s beautiful,” Monroe commented, drawn in by the vivid swirling green color.

“The stones you need land closest to you. They tell you what you must acquire. What you are lacking.”

“Very interesting,” Aria said, nodding her approval. “Malachite is said to help you discern what is the truth. It’s considered a protective stone.”

“But that’s what I have you for,” Monroe laughed, but Gwen and Aria remained serious. “What does that stone mean?” he asked, anxious to direct the attention off himself.

“Charoite,” Gwen explained nervously as she tapped the stone closest to Aria. “A stunning purple. Rare. It is to cleanse. To move on from. To purify. It is for those who are lonely or marginalized. It is thought to be the stone you step on to get away from something bad.”

“I bet that gets a lot of use around here,” Monroe chuckled, but again it was only met with seriousness. “Do we roll the dice again if we don’t like what we got?”

“Skeptics are my favorite,” Gwen said, raising her shaking hand to touch Monroe’s cheek. “I don’t like when people make it easy for me.”

“I’m not meaning to be rude,” Monroe said quickly. “I don’t usually come to places like this.”

Gwen looked at him for a few extra beats and smiled. “Would you like me to tell you more?”

“Sure,” Monroe said, comforted by the joy his response seemed to give Aria. If nothing else, it was making her happy, and he’d already established that meant something to him.

Gwen snatched his hand from the table and flipped it so his palm was up. She firmly flattened his fingers and then examined it closely. “You are a man of two worlds. You try to offer loyalty to both, but it’s impossible. That must be very difficult.”

“Life is difficult,” Monroe said. “But we all find a way through.”

“Yes,” Gwen agreed. “I have a warning for you.”

“Is my lifeline short or something? Eat more Kale?” Both women finally laughed, but Gwen fell serious again so Aria nervously did as well.

“The man who stands in the doorway will inevitably be hurt when the door slams shut. You must either walk through the door or back away. You’ve been given two books filled with instructions. You’ve read them both. You think you know where each set of instructions will take you in life. I’ll say you are probably right. The problem is you keep trying to follow both books. It’s soon time to choose.”

The room fell silent as Gwen closed his fingers and continued to hold his hand in hers.

“Thank you,” Monroe finally said, feeling like the awkwardness might make his head explode. Business had brought him to all different kinds of meetings and events. Some were painfully uncomfortable, but this topped them all.

“We should go,” Aria said, pushing her wobbling chair backward and rounding the table to hug Gwen. “Did you want me to change the water jug out?”

“Oh yes, please,” Gwen clapped with excitement. “It’s been empty since yesterday.”

“Let me,” Monroe insisted, moving to the corner of the room and yanking the rubber top of the large water jug. He flipped it over and rested it on the stand, the water glug-glugging as it filled the empty space. “Did you need anything else?”

“I wouldn’t want to put you out,” Gwen said, waving him off. “You’re likely a busy man.”

“Living in two worlds is exhausting,” Monroe teased. “But if you need something else, I think I can manage.”

“There is a stone,” Gwen started, gesturing for him to follow her toward the couch in the corner. “It fell, and I can’t lift the couch to get it.”

Monroe grabbed hold of the old green threadbare couch and lifted it easily. Aria bent down and retrieved the many things that had rolled under it.

“Gwen, you must have been missing this crystal dearly,” Aria said, handing it back over as though she were passing a newborn infant. “It’s very rare,” she explained to Monroe.

“The day it fell and rolled under there,” Gwen sighed, “was dark day. Rain. Thunder. I’ve been unsettled ever since. This might bring the sun back around to me.”

“I hope it does,” Monroe said warmly. “Need anything else lifted? Something on the top shelf I can get down for you?”

He watched as Aria pulled a few coins from her pocket and placed them on the table for Gwen.

“You’ve done enough,” Gwen assured him as she escorted them to the door. “Don’t linger where you are. Don’t get stuck in the middle and lose both worlds.”

“I’ll give that some thought. It was very nice meeting you.” Monroe walked tentatively down the steps of the porch, worried his feet might crack the rotting boards if he wasn’t careful.

“There will be another bus in about ten minutes,” Aria said, looping her arm in his as they walked across the street. “Thanks for coming. I could tell it’s not your thing, but you were very nice.”

“I like to see new things. That was new to me,” he said, loving the feel of her delicate fingers squeezing his bicep. “I don’t have to believe in something to understand why other people might. We all need something to hold on to, and if coming here gives you some happiness, I say take it. You should believe whatever you like.”

“I don’t believe in psychics.” Aria laughed. “There was another girl I worked with who took me there one day not long after I arrived. I was so lost. Hurt. Confused. Gwen was kind and reassuring. She taught me the very subtle art of analyzing people. When I realized her powers were more tangible skills I asked if she’d teach me. I’d come around and help her with what she needed, and she’d talk to me about what intuition meant to her. How she wielded it. She certainly believes in the power of crystals and palm reading, don’t get me wrong. But she pairs it with observation. With insight.”

“So that’s where you got your process for discerning good from evil?” Monroe asked with a wry smile.

“She’s part of it. I’ve been blessed by the kindness of many people here. Gwen is one. I will say though, there have been times when things she’s said have come to fruition. I’ve been dumbfounded. What did you think about what she said to you?”

Monroe considered it for a moment as he leaned against the metal pole of the bus stop sign. “I think she delivers her message in a very convincing way,” he said, attempting to be sensitive to Aria’s friendship with Gwen. “What does she tell you when she reads your palm?”

“She worries,” Aria explained. “She doesn’t want me to be lonely. I think she has this vision in her mind of my happily ever after. I actually hate to disappoint her when I come here and nothing has changed.”

“Things will change,” Monroe said, pulling her into his arms and kissing the crown of her head. “It’s not impossible for you to get what you want.”

“If you keep saying that, I might actually start to believe it. Be careful,” she said as she tipped her head up and kissed his lips passionately.

“If you keep kissing me like that, you’re the one who will need to be careful.”