The Awakening

Prophecies

The morning sun streams its way through the blinds, slowly creeping across the carpet until it remains on Sera's face like a spotlight. The light is a gentle reminder that it's time to wake up. Sera rolls over to face the wall and escape the sun, which is growing brighter and brighter by the minute. She finds herself unable to wake from this new dream. For months, the handsome stranger was just out of reach, and now she can feel him somewhere within the deepest parts of her. She refuses to let that go. Not soon after she rolls away from the impending morning does she begin to hear the raucous noise of the garbage truck hunkering its way down her dead-end street. Sera clamps her eyes shut. Tin garbage cans are thrown around and the truck screeches into her gravel drive before it turns around and putters away. 

She's allowed a few blissful moments of silence before her alarm clock clicks on, blaring the news: "It's a gorgeous, brisk December morning in Angelica, the temperature at an all-time low like the county hasn't ever seen. Makes me wonder, Diane, if this is all going to catch up to us at some point." Sera sighs loudly, rolling onto her back to face the blank ceiling. "I sense a monster storm coming on. These quiet days are leading up to something, I can feel it." 

"Alright, alright, I'm up already!" She slams her palm on the off button. Her feet drop to the floor, and she swings out of bed. Sera hates waking up in general, but this dream—it was just getting good.

Sera's white sedan idles in the parking spot in front of Jack's Coffee Bean. Her fingers tinker with the keys a few times, debating whether to go inside or not. Sera tends to avoid awkward situations and confrontation in general, so her knee jerk reaction is to flee. Finally, she reaches across the console for her purse, grabs the cell phone, and types out a message to Amanda. Should she play hard to get? Should she just act normal? Should she swoon? What the heck is the protocol anymore? The message is only a few sentences long but her finger pauses, hovering over the send button. 

This is insane. Shaking her head, she tosses the phone back into her purse. I need to man up. I can do this, it's just Jack. The car door swings open with a gust of bravado. Sera briskly walks to the door, swings it open, and steps in before she can change her mind.

Once inside, she relaxes slightly, pausing to take in her surroundings. Something's strange. The shop is completely back to normal, not even a drop of water on the floor, the sprinklers have retracted, and there's no music playing. To add fuel to the weird fire, the store is completely vacant. According to her cell only moments ago, it was a few minutes after 8:30 a.m., prime-coffee-time. There's been mornings she had to wait in line twenty minutes for a cup of Jack's special coffee. That's not the case today. Sera uneasily makes her way to the counter, glancing back over her shoulder a few times almost expecting someone to enter soon. The shop is eerily silent; one could hear a pin drop. Anxiety bubbles inside her once more. She turns to leave, and Jack bursts through the double doors. They flap back and forth behind him as he pauses for a second with one hand on his hip and the other tangled in his curls. His face is blank when his eyes meet Sera's before a look of surprise and relief flood into his posture. Without a word, he walks over to her.

"Sera," he breathes like a silent thank you to the universe. "I didn't think you'd be back anytime soon." Sera revels in the fact that she is braver than they both thought.

She doesn't have the heart to tell him she almost wasn't. It might be the softness behind his eyes, or the way he appears just a little bit more vulnerable to her. The sexy Jack she idolized is no more. Now he's a china doll she feels will break with one wrong move. Sera doesn't like the feeling; there's something about that kind of power she feels uncomfortable having. "Well, after the excitement of that first date, it makes a girl wonder what could possibly happen next time..." She lets the sentence drift off between them. Jack's face brightens, but his hands are still hidden in the pockets of his apron. She turns her gaze down toward her shoes.

"Sera, I'm really sorry about last night. Never in a million years did I see our first date happening quite like that." His eyes barely meet hers when his hands slip out and clench at his sides. The silence between them thickens. Almost like a reflex, she reaches out to comfort him. Her fingers touch his bicep. 

"Don't worry about it."

"No, I'm serious." His eyes meet hers, blue-green, and deep like the sea.

"Jack," Sera's voice breathlessly calls from somewhere in the room, but it didn't come out of her mouth. Jack doesn't appear to question where the voice came from, but his eyes search hers expectantly. 

"Don't worry about it." Sera shrugs it off, trying to shake that chill again. Maybe the radio was right—there's a storm brewing. "Trouble seems to follow me wherever I go." That's the truth. Since she was little, Sera would drive her mother crazy. Walking around the mall, she would take in lost toddlers, and while playing in the street, stray animals would flock to her. It wasn't her fault they followed her. What was she supposed to do with them? There was also that time a hurricane blew through. Hurricanes in New York are rare, but it's not unheard of. Actually, the weather seems to be getting increasingly unpredictable.

Dark weather makes her uneasy as it is. The one memory that still haunts her is that time she spent during the hurricane. Young Sera got caught in this storm walking back from the bus stop. Her high school had a problem with closing unless there was a state of emergency. She still remembers how the winds whipped her hair around and stray garbage cans rolled past as the rain drenched her clothes. She made it to her street just as the storm peeked. A tree dropped in front of her, cutting her off halfway down the dead-end street. To this day, she can remember the way the Earth quaked under her feet and the crunch of glass when the tree slammed into her neighbor's Buick less than a foot away. The tree was huge, blocking her off from the safety of home. She turned to head back down the street to a neighbor's house when the second tree fell, missing her by inches. The air from the fall was fresh on her face as branches wound into her hair like snaky fingers. She curled up in the space between the two trees, trying to regain her composure. Sticks and branches scattered around her, trapping her legs between branches under the tree she rested, dry and silent until the storm passed. The branches cradled her close, almost protectively. It took twelve hours before they found her in the misty heat. The cops sawed the tree and pulled her out from between the branches. The town newspaper ran the headline: An Angelican Miracle: Girl Survives Outside During Hurricane. A miracle, that's what they called it. Seraphina Cross – the miracle child. No one could believe she had survived in the storm for as long as she did. Even with the proximity of the fallen trees, they said she was lucky she wasn't a pancake. Sera didn't feel lucky. She remembered the fear, the anxiety, and feeling fragile between the two trees. The time spent with no space to move, has made her a little self-conscious in enclosed spaces to this day. Goose bumps sprout along her arms whenever she remembers falling asleep to faint singing. She's not aware where it came from and wasn't even familiar with the song, but the melody still comes to her sometimes. When it does, it becomes stuck in her head until she can't help but hum it.

"You're not kidding," Jack mumbles. Her eyes blink toward him, standing across the counter. How long had she zoned out? "So, Sera, what can I get you today? I hear through the grapevine you had a bad date last night." 

"Oh," she giggles, "I had a date like you wouldn't believe." 

"That good, huh?" 

"He wishes." The harsh sarcasm tumbles out before she can stop it. 

"Ouch!" He pretends to stab his heart with an invisible knife. The laughter allows the awkwardness to dissipate between them, returning to their friendly, fun banter once again. "What can I do to help make this day better?"

"A cup of your world famous coffee should do it." 

"Ah, you sure know how to make a guy blush." She stands back, admiring Jack making her latte in the sexy way only he can, while he turns every so often to shoot her a smile. His biceps bulge when he shifts the machine's handle down and up again, causing Sera to turn her head to hide the blush from her own face. When he places the cup on the counter between them he states, "It's on the house." 

"No... Jack."

"You're money is no good here," he says with a shake of his head.

"I want to speak to the person in charge." Sera leans over pretending to look for a manager and taps her fingertips against the counter top. "You seem to be giving me a hard time." 

"I'll relay the message." He leans close, "But I'm pretty sure he'll agree with me." Jack winks, the sweet smell of coffee beans radiating from him to Sera. "You can pay me back by letting me take you on a real first date."

Something unsettling anchors in her stomach. What is wrong with her? This is Jack, the same person she's been flirting with and daydreaming about for months. Only, the remnants of their date lay uneasy on her heart. If she didn't know any better it's as if he were keeping secrets from her.

Maybe she can give Jack one more chance; last night wasn't completely his fault, right? Furthermore, what does she have to lose? "Well, I guess I gotta do what I gotta do to keep this place in business, seems like everything is falling apart around here as it is," Sera calls over her shoulder and retreats toward the door. Jack's laughter fades as she opens the shop door. The December morning air clears her head while she walks to her vehicle. She rounds the edge of her car and something tells her to glance back. Jack's eyes are still on her through the front window of the shop. His back tenses when their eyes meet, Sera shoots him a wave before climbing into the car.

 Throughout the morning, Sera finds herself reminiscing about touching the handsome stranger from her dreams. Those eyes haunt her, piercing through her until she returns to admire them again. She doesn't think she will ever be able to forget them as long as she lives. There's something about them, almost like he is trying to tell her something. She's wondering what his voice would sound like when Amanda breaks up her private party.

"Okay—you don't stop by my desk all morning and you have a cup of coffee." She points to Sera's coffee cup sitting beside her on the desktop. "So, you did see him again." Her eyebrows rise with her tone, "I'm dying here! Are you going to tell me about the date, or do I have to pry it out of you?" She's sitting with her perfect legs on her desk once again, hands braced on the edge, knuckles white with anticipation. "Because I'm not above a tickle war, or beating it out of you—or I could tell Nancy, she'll get it out of you." 

"No, no, not Nancy!" Sera's hands fly up dramatically announcing defeat. "I'll tell you, just keep Nosey Nancy out of my business." 

"Spill." 

Sera collects herself, trying to remember the date through her web of daydreaming about kissing the handsome stranger. Maybe her dream boyfriend is the reason her date with Jack felt odd. Her auburn hair falls from her bun from slightly shaking her head at the turn her thoughts have taken. 

"That good, huh?" Amanda has started biting her nails now, impatiently waiting. Sera blinks, realizing she was staring for a few seconds longer than normal. 

"Sorry, I just don't know where to start," she covers, trying to figure out a way to put things into words, well words Amanda would accept. "Um, you were right." She shoots a look that screams I-told-you-so. "He closed the shop early, there were holiday lights, and a table for two—" 

Amanda begins cooing and kicking her desk in excitement causing Sera to pause. "Go on! I need more tea!" 

"He made Panini's and coffee. He told me he's wanted to ask me out for a while—"

"I knew it!"

"Will you let me finish?" Sera scolds and Amanda pretends to slide an invisible zipper across her thin, perfect lips before her arm sends an invisible key flying over the cubicles. "Then weird things started to happen after that." 

The mention of 'weird things' make Amanda's eyebrows quirk up, her interest peeked. "Weird how?" 

"Pots and pans fell in the kitchen, the register kept chiming, then a fire broke out in the kitchen, and the fire alarm went off." An uncontrolled shiver escapes Sera again.

She takes a few seconds to collect herself, but Amanda breaks into hysterical giggles. Sera's eyes bore into her, but Amanda continues to slap her knee, bubbling over in laughter. 

"Oh," Amanda says through more giggles, "Oh my—Sera, your first date in ages, and it's a total fail!" The laughter continues to rack through her. True, it's mildly ironic. Slowly, Sera breaks into laughter alongside her best friend. One giggle leads to another, until their boss Mrs. Valentine passes by shooting them a stern look. The girls shape up, pretending to talk about a patient's file.

"So, Mr. Green, we need to re-bill with a letter of medical necessity and..." When she is out of earshot again, both girls cover their mouths to hide the remaining snickers. 

"But seriously," Amanda gets herself under control first, "I made an appointment with a psychic today at lunch, you should come with me." 

"What? No, you know I don't like that kind of stuff. It's true; my parents raised me believing witchcraft is wrong. No one should know the future but God himself."

"Oh come on, just come with me, and check it out. I don't want to go alone." 

"I don't know." 

"Please." She gives Sera the doe eyes again. Damn it! How does she always manage to get her to cave to her whims?

"Fine." 

"Yesss!" She slinks back to her desk in victory knowing if she stayed, Sera would end up changing her mind. Sera's eyes return to her computer screen. The codes swim before her because her mind once again retreats to the eyes of the handsome stranger from her dream.

Sera pauses on the sidewalk taking in the small store with royal blue curtains draping across the front windows. The door chimes when Amanda opens it and disappears inside, waiving for Sera to follow suit. Sera lets out a sigh and follows her into the dark shop. She just has to survive ten minutes of this junk, and then she can get back to work. Walking inside, Sera's immediately hit with the aroma of incense and lavender. It soothes her slightly, on the outside. Her insides have been doing weird backflips since she walked in.

"Good afternoon, lovelies, what can I do for you today?" An older woman approaches, her voice soft like clouds and eye shadow as bright as one.

"Hi." Amanda's excitement renews, "I have an appointment with Daphne."

"That's me, dear, and your friend?" 

They both glance back at Sera, touching a figurine of a black cat on the desk. She snaps up immediately, caught. Amanda leans in closer to whisper, "She says she doesn't believe in this stuff."

"I can hear you," Sera mutters, looking at the glass display case of pentagrams. 

"Oh well, dear, the arts aren't for everyone," Daphne whispers back, no hint that she's offended at all. "Well, come with me, dear—I will tell you all you need to know." 

They slip through a beaded doorway and leave her alone in the small lobby. The shop is tiny, cramped. The room would be more spacious if it didn't have these ridiculous displays of incense, voodoo dolls, potions, and crystals located all around. Sera feels slightly overwhelmed. Eventually, she plops down onto a red velvet couch sandwiched between two, three-foot displays of glass figurines. This is not at all what she expected. She had pictured a creepy, middle-aged lady donning a headdress, telling Sera to gaze into her crystal ball. 

Above the store counter, holding a cash register that looks like the first one ever invented, sits a painting that grabs Sera's attention. It's a simple painting, midnight blue with one perfect circular moon in the center. Breaking her train of thought, the beads rattle as a woman passes through and walks behind the counter. She doesn't pay Sera any mind, and she digs below for something. When she finally pulls out an embroidered shawl, the woman wraps it around her tall, slender frame. Sera watches as her back straightens, shoulders tensing slightly. Their eyes meet, Sera feels herself tense in response. The uncomfortable expression on Sera's face must be apparent, because the dark eyes of the slender woman soften as she makes her way around the counter. 

The woman is strikingly beautiful. Long, dark hair drapes down her back and big, dark eyes have a wisdom behind them that seems impossible for her age. The woman slips onto the couch beside her. Sera begins to fidget her hands in her lap. Even sitting, the lady has to glance down at Sera, trying to make eye contact again. 

"I know I'm being forward, but I feel like I must talk with you." 

"Oh, I'm just here for my friend. I don't want a reading, thank you." She tries to be as polite as possible, but she still comes off as dismissive.

"I don't mean to alarm you, Seraphina, but I think it's best if we talk."

At the sound of her full name—the name not even her parents use anymore—Sera's head whips back to meet the strikingly beautiful eyes of this psychic vixen. "How do you know my name?" 

The woman's smile is shy as she responds, "Not all of us are a sham, you know?" 

She extends her hand forward, "My name is Anna, and your energy is calling me." 

"Well, I'm sorry—I'll tell it not to do that next time."

"I can see what all the fuss is about." 

"The spirits are all worked up around you. I'm getting so much." Her eyes close, the smile still on her face. Sera can only curiously stare. Goose bumps have begun to spring up along her arms, when suddenly Anna's eyes fly open. "I've never witnessed anything like this! It's so inspiring."

Sera's nerves lately make her a little anxious, but she can't help but also be curious. "Well, you already know my name. What else is my aura giving away?" 

"Your aura is bright, like a sunset with beautiful yellows, pinks, and oranges. It tells me you are beautiful on the inside and outside. You are very fun, humorous, and generally a happy person. Like a sunset, people are drawn to your beauty." She pauses; her eyes close lightly as her head twists to one side. "But I think it's more than that. Your spirit, it calls them, too. There's something unique and special about it, almost like they can sense your destiny." 

Sera's eyes are wide. This girl is good; she'll give her that. She can see why they call her Amazing Anna, but if she thinks she will get ten dollars out of Sera for a reading, she has another thing coming.

"It's crazy, I get this great feeling of protection over you; this force protecting you from harm. I think it even goes back to before you were born." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "Because people flock to you, you tend to amass many friends and even a few boyfriends, but none have made you feel the same toward them. You crave a deeper connection and yearn for not only love, but a fire and passion that you want to believe exists." She pauses once again, glancing around the small shop. "Don't worry. You will find it." Her eyes meet Sera's again, her smile returning before her eyes glaze over and she resumes. "What I really want you to be aware of is the black cloud encasing your aura, hindering your beautiful energy with thoughts of doubt and depression you're experiencing. However, you must be careful. Your energy is attracting both good and bad attention. Like most heroes with great destiny, there also requires great sacrifice. You will be no different. There will be times you must choose between your past life and your destiny." 

Sera is trying her best to remember everything Anna says, although, she can't figure out why she should. This stuff is baloney, right?

Immediately, she disappears through the beaded doorway. Sera hesitates and glances around the shop one last time. Eventually, she gives in to curiosity and follows Amazing Anna through the draping beads. They rattle together behind her and she finds herself in a windowless space with three alcoves. Hushed murmurs come from the alcove on the left, but it's enclosed with a sheer navy curtain. The light is dim inside, probably candlelit, and Sera can just vaguely make out Amanda's silhouette.

"In here," Anna calls from the alcove to the right. She lights a few candles on the candelabra on the wall, shedding dim light in the space. Sera pulls back the sheer curtain and slides into the booth, placing her hands on the round table. 

Anna reaches for the cards on the center of the table. They are a vibrant royal purple with yellow stars on the back in a diamond-shaped pattern. Her dark, all knowing eyes take Sera in before sliding the cards toward her. "I want you to shuffle the cards. As you shuffle, have a question in mind. The more specific the question, the more specific your reading will be." 

Sera takes the purple cards between her hands. They feel almost heavy against her palms. The cards make her fingertips tingle slightly. Anna notices her reaction, eyeing her carefully. To shake her from thinking about Anna's stare, Sera cuts the deck in half. She has to come up with a question: Will she ever find true love? That question has plagued her since she was first introduced to Disney movies. Although, it's something deeper than that. When she really reflects deeper into the innermost desires of her heart, she wants to know that her life will have purpose. Will she ever truly feel... whole? Shuffling a few more times and placing this question on the forefront of her mind, Sera opens her eyes and hands the cards back to Anna.

Anna's face remains amused, her head c*****g to the side slightly. If Sera didn't know any better, it appears as though someone is speaking in her ear. Anna's thin fingers flip over the first card of the deck, sliding it to the center. The image is of a cherub holding a large sun, only it's facing Anna—not her.

"The Sun. Presently, you feel lost and in a state of depression." The psychic's words cut through Sera to her very core, and she has to hide her shaking hands under the table. "You're letting your thoughts and worries thwart you and it's holding you back."

"Temperance." The card depicts an Angel, wings outspread holding two cups. "Your biggest challenge is patience. You must relax, everything will unfold in due time. Worrying is not going to make your destiny happen any faster." 

“The Hermit. You are looking for answers, making you somewhat of an introvert. You've been shying away from people and even friends. Originally, it was an attempt to discover yourself, but it hasn't helped has it?" The analysis causes Sera to swallow hard before shaking her head. "That's because self-discovery happens through experiences, not introspection."

Anna flips the next card and places it below the first two facing Sera. It's a moon with several wolves howling up at it. "The Moon. Oh, you are having visions!" She leans closer, suddenly intrigued. "Have you been developing weird dreams?" 

This is hitting a little too close to home. "I mean, sometimes; doesn't everyone?" Sera attempts to turn the questions around; putting on her best poker face. Her facial expressions have to be giving her away.

"You, my dear, are not everyone." She breathes as a shadow crosses over the table. Sera blinks and the lighting returns to normal. Candles are flickering slightly. That had to be a trick of the light. Sera gets that sensation she has sometimes; the feeling as though someone is watching her. The impression her life is a secret television show and people are always observing. It makes her adjust herself in her seat, pulling her blazer closer. 

"Well, Seraphina, trust your instincts. Those dreams may be more than they appear." Sera opens her mouth to ask Anna to expand, but she's already flipping over the next card above the cross of the first two cards.

"The Hanged Man." 

"This indicates the best case scenario, and indicates you will be victorious in your search but not without letting something go. Like I said before, some sacrifices must happen." Without further thought, she flips over the next card placing it on the left this time, creating a cross pattern of cards in front of her. "Judgment," Anna reads, "I see a rebirth in your near future. This indicates the beginning of a new chapter in your life. There will be several new changes and adaptations to endure, but they will help in the quest for your inner calling." 

Her words slice through Sera. Did she tell Anna the question? The tears build behind her eyes and Sera takes a deep breath to prevent them from falling. Poker face, remember. Anna pretends not to notice and continues to flip over another card, sliding it all the way to Sera's right. It sits millimeters from Sera's shaking hand. She reads it aloud as Sera reads it internally.