Cursed

"Yes," Skyla had responded to Yvette's question. Skyla wasn't ready, though. She could never have been ready for what Yvette had to say.

Yvette began. "Well, obviously you know that you are a witch. I can see that you know that about yourself. I see that you are a very powerful and insightful witch. It runs on your mother's side, of course. You are the most gifted, though. I see your aunt was quite a talented medium. She often had premonitory dreams. Is this right?"

"Yes. That's probably Aunt Terry," Skyla said. Skyla knew that the females in her family were special. Skyla's mother, Vera, always brushed the stories off. The last time Skyla had approached her mom was the night before high school graduation.

"Mom, have you ever ... known what someone was going to say before the words came out," she'd asked. "You know, have you ever ... read someone's mind?"

"What kind of question is that?" Vera snapped. "Always asking about that damn curse," Vera mumbled as she walked straight to the liquor cabinet.

Skyla's father, Joseph, was scared to death of Aunt Terry, from what Skyla understood. Skyla remembered her grandmother and Aunt Terry giggling about him from time to time.

Skyla knew that strange things often happened in her own life. She thought that Yvette was greatly overestimating her abilities, though. Nothing really spectacular had ever happened.

"Hmmm. Look at this card." Yvette tapped the third card with her pointer finger. It jumped a little under her touch. "Yes, there is also a type of sickness in this line. You worry you will suffer, too. Don't. You will be fine. Do you understand me?" Yvette looked up to wait for an answer.

"Yes." That was all that Skyla could get out.

Yvette looked back down at the cards. "Yes. You are going to escape the sickness. It is not a true genetic disorder that these women in your family suffered from. They were afraid of their gifts."

Skyla knew what Yvette meant. She had never said it out loud. She had never allowed herself to explore the idea fully, but Skyla knew she shared talents with some of the women in her family. She knew that a couple of these talented women didn't handle the gifts well. A contradiction existed in these women's lives. The nuns in Catholic school taught that insight into other worlds was not a gift from God; it represented the workings of dark forces. Skyla had heard stories of her great-grandmother's being beaten with rulers in school. Then after she graduated from high school, she had been in and out of hospitals. It wasn't that these stories were told-Skyla had just picked up bits and pieces over the years. Shock treatments were used, along with heavy drugs, to stop what doctors called "the hallucinations." One of her grandmother's sisters had also been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Skyla's mother spoke about the "family curse" only on rare occasions, one of which had been Skyla's thirteenth birthday. Vera told her that she believed an illness plagued the lineage. She swirled her wine in a goblet and looked right into Skyla's eyes. "Something evil lurks about this family. Too bad your great-grandmother is not around to ..." Vera took a sip. "I dare you to ask your grandmother about how my gift showed itself."

Skyla had never dared. She thought about it often, though. She came to the conclusion that eventually one could become insane with doubt and guilt. She wasn't entirely convinced that her great-grandmother and great-aunt did not have a true sickness brought on by their own fears. However, Aunt Terry had obviously found a way to rectify the gift with her faith. She was always giving Skyla crucifixes, medals, and rosaries as gifts. Skyla carried one of the medals in her wallet even though she didn't feel inclined toward any religion. It helped her remember that Aunt Terry thought it was normal to have abilities that no one else seemed to have. Skyla tried to hold on to this view.

"You okay, Skyla?" Brooke had interrupted her thoughts again.

Skyla looked up, but her eyes were far away. Yvette's image blocked the view.

"Skyla? What about those energy vampires? Do you remember any more about that?" Brooke prompted.

Skyla blinked hard and tried to pick up where she had left off. "Well, the vampires would work off of my energy. They really required my presence to be able to party and dance all night. They got some kind of charge off of me. It is hard to explain, because Yvette kind of lost me after vampire." Skyla took a deep breath. "I know these old souls miss me. Anyway, they want me back with them. I guess some of my old friends are stuck between lives. They are searching for me, coming for me. That is why I should avoid anywhere that ghosts might linger. Did I tell you that part before?" Skyla looked at her apologetically. She knew that part had been left out. This was the part that was truly frightening.

Brooke's face turned white. She obviously thought this part was the most terrifying as well. "Where would ghosts linger?" Brooke spoke so low that Skyla wondered if she really wanted to know.

"Well, I should stay away from graveyards for sure. I explained that this was difficult, since there was one outside our window. Ha!" Skyla tried to force a laugh again. Again it didn't work. "Yvette warned me I need to be extra-careful right now."

Skyla saw Yvette in her mind's eye. Yvette sat with her finger touching the fifth card. It was the card closest to Skyla in the middle column. Yvette looked up at Skyla and tapped the card deliberately. Skyla could clearly see the bold print underneath the picture: "THE WORLD." A topless woman stood proud with a globe below her.

"Ahhh," Yvette said. She leaned over the cards and touched Skyla's trembling hand. "This card shows potential. It symbolizes a wonderful completion of this part of your life's journey." Skyla watched as Yvette stroked the sixth card. "The Knight of Wands" was written underneath a proud man on horseback. Yvette took a deep breath and said, "A young man will come to you. His energy will trigger your own, and your life will change drastically. This happens in the near future, maybe a few months from now." Yvette stared at all the cards for a long time after that. She was silent.

Skyla sat twirling her hair and watching Yvette in her mind.

Brooke cleared her throat and Skyla looked up and focused her eyes on her friend. The two sat quietly while Skyla attempted to go on. Brooke bit her lip and waited.

Skyla remembered Yvette running her fingers up and down the final column, which contained the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth cards. Their print read: "Temperance," "The Lovers," "The High Priestess," and "Transition." Skyla heard cars passing by outside her window. She listened to some girls laughing in the dorm room next door. The room where Skyla and Yvette sat was filled with silence. After a long time, Yvette looked up.

She pointed at the card that said "Transition." She let her finger hover over the drawing of a cloaked woman who stared up at the sky. Yvette began, "Some decks mark this as Death." She paused. "It symbolizes a new beginning. You must beware that this new beginning does not mean the end to this life. Channel your inner patience, your temperance, and make sound decisions."

Skyla's eyes swept to the picture of a beautiful woman with flowing blond hair. She focused on the word Temperance.

Yvette spoke slowly. "I can see in these last cards that someone is trying to get you back." Yvette waved her hand over the cards.

Skyla saw the one with a naked man and woman, "The Lovers." She saw the "High Priestess" sitting regally on a throne. She could not see how Yvette could divine any meaning from them.

Yvette warned, "Be careful around here. The cemetery is too close."

"How would this ghost be able to hurt me anyway?" Skyla quickly asked. "It's just a ghost, right?"

"Hmmm?" Yvette closed her eyes and was still as stone.

A few minutes passed before Yvette spoke again. "I taste poison on my tongue. I fear the biggest danger will be a type of toxin. Yes. I can see you swallowing it. I see one of your friends from your past connected to this. I sense male energy. It is intertwined with the energy of at least one other man. It isn't as if one of these men wants to cause harm to you. In his eyes he just wants you back." Yvette paused for a moment. "I see the letter 'R' for a female's name. Maybe it's Roberta, Rachel, or Rebecca. That is all there is." Yvette nodded. "Now, you will see me very clearly for the next few days. I will be with you as a protector. My words will linger very clearly. Try to listen over and over again so that you may heed my warnings and learn from this reading." Yvette clapped her hands and said in a totally different, less ominous tone, "Now go get us both a large cup of water. Then you can ask me some questions."

Later that night Skyla would reprimand herself for not asking the obvious follow-up question: How could a ghost feed her poison? She suspected a possession was involved. Maybe it was best that she did not know.

Skyla got her bearings and spoke to Brooke. "I guess no more jogs around the neighborhood. I don't think it's a great idea to run by the cemetery."

"Well, I think the part about ghosts coming for you is the scariest," Brooke said. She shifted and lay back in the grass.

"Yes. You are quite right. Evidently, Yvette sees someone lurking around me now. She can tell he is near. I should keep aware. Watch out for those watching me."

Brooke was always very matter-of-fact. "Well, it isn't the first time that someone said you were a witch. I used to say it all the time. Freaky things always happen around you, especially when we were younger. So no big deal, right, Sky? And the vampire thing is pretty cool."

"Easy for you to say. The psychic prophesied you were going to find everlasting love and become part of a large family, just like you always wanted. Ooh, intense! I just want to get out of here. After graduation I am gone. New England is creepy."

"Ha. Some would say you were creepy. Just kidding. Where will you go? To New York with me, right?" Brooke sat straight up to pout at her friend.

So Skyla Jane Judge would go to New York. How could she not? It figured that her one friend in the world was bent on living in a run-down one-bedroom apartment on Avenue C. Well, at least Skyla would not be the strangest one in the neighborhood anymore.