The Other Half || Jerrie

It was mid-January and the wind is whipped in the biting cold New York storm. A young girl braved the storm, sixteen, both brave and scared. Besides the sound of the storm, the city was unusually quiet and the young girl barely passed a single soul as she wandered off the subway, making her way through Chinatown. She walked past the store front twice before noticing it. She double checked the address written on a scrap piece of paper before letting herself in. A bell chimed as she opened the door, the wind from outside causing the door to slam shut behind her. The young girl loosened her hand-knit scarf and took in her surroundings. The small shop was full of odds and ends. Everything from figurines to crystal balls to tarot cards and dream catchers. “Can I help you?” an older woman asked, causing the girl to jump slightly in surprise. The girl looked around until she finally caught sight of the eccentric looking woman standing behind the counter. “Uhm, yeah,” she muttered. “I have an appointment?” “Of course!” the woman nodded. She lifted up her arms and gestured for the younger girl to follow her into the back room. The girl hesitantly followed, her ‘stranger danger’ instincts begging for her to turn around and leave, but the flutter in her stomach begged her to stay. So she listened to the growing form and followed the woman to the back of the store, where she found herself in a warmly lit room. She took a seat opposite the older woman, and after only a brief moment of silence, the older woman spoke. “You aren’t here for yourself, are you?” The girl didn’t respond, instead she folded her hands over the slight bulge of her stomach. “She’s going to be great,” the eccentric woman offered the younger girl a reassuring smile. At the sound of the pronoun used, the pregnant girl’s face lit up. “It’s a girl?” she asked hopefully. The woman nodded. “I’m not sure what to do. I can’t keep her. I’m only sixteen.” “You’ll make the right decision.” “How do you know?” “Do you mind?” the woman asked as she stood up and knelt beside the girl, gesturing to her stomach. The girl shrugged out of her heavy winter coat, showing off the slight bump. She gestured to it and allowed the other woman to place her warm hands over her thin sweater on the bump. “Your girl will know great loss,” the woman spoke, causing the girl to intake slightly. Not deterred, the woman continued with her prophesying. “She is strong though. Strong of will and soul. She is a fighter.” The girl shifted her gaze from the woman to her stomach. “Will she be happy?” “There will be both times of hardship and times of happiness. There is one thing though, that will bring your daughter nothing but happiness. Not a thing though, no. A girl. A girl whose soul is entangled with hers. Their paths will cross countless times. They will know each other their entire lives, but not meet until the time is right. A soulmate can be either a curse or a blessing. For both your daughter and her soulmate, they will be each other’s blessings.” “I don’t understand, she’ll know her soulmate her entire life, but not meet her?” “Sometimes prophecies aren’t always clear.” “I understand,” the girl nodded. “Would you like to hear anything about yourself?” the woman asked. “I see some things of great important in your future.” “No!” the girl interrupted vehemently. “I don’t want to know what my future entails. I don’t want that burden.” “But knowing your daughter’s fortune is different?” “Yes,” she nodded assuredly. “I won’t be able to see her grow up, so I want something to hold on to.” The woman’s look softened and she prepared to offer the girl one last ounce of knowledge. “Her parents will name her Amelia. She will be called Jade. But her soulmate? The girl whose life path she is so entangled with? She will call her something that no one else ever will.” “And what’s that?” the girl asked, her eyes alight in anticipation. “I’m not sure,” the woman answered honestly with a shake of her head. “I can’t see that. Whatever it is though, it’ll change everything for your girl.”