crystal ball

my heart felt heavy as I leaned in and gazed at her crystal ball.

her hands moved slowly around it and she chanted.

the noises of the carnival and all the people in it surrounded the tent like a blanket.

I was afraid of what I would see in it, what she would see.

the torch light highlighted her moving hands strangely, and the rings on her fingers each took different rhythms in catching the light and sparkling.

she had her eyes closed now and I looked at her face and saw the way that the experiences of her life had painted upon it. I felt sadness for all the pain she had surely been through. her face looked so tired. but it was also beautiful. she must have been in her 50s.

her eyes opened, and the sharp contrast of her whites against her irises pierced the space between us.

she looked straight at me without looking back at the crystal ball. goosebumps ran down me. her eyes broke first, but then her lips into a smile, and she laughed. and I laughed too. and deep within the crystal ball, a man was also laughing.