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28 years ago.
Jessica Harper fidgeted with the results of the pregnancy results she had gotten from her doctor. It was as she had feared. She was definitely carrying a child. Todd Sweeny's child. While she loved him and a huge part of her was happy to have his child, she was also worried, stressed out, and confused. She did not know how Todd would react to the news. He was becoming a cop and she did not want to distract him from what looked like it would be a bright future. In addition to this, she did not yet feel like she was ready yet for the commitment it would take to raise a child with somebody. That would mean letting herself be vulnerable in a way that she did not think she could handle.
As far as Jessica was concerned, people were fallible and they let other people down. If she never allowed herself to be vulnerable, nobody could really hurt her. This was a philosophy that had protected her up to this point, and she did not see any reason to abandon it now. Still she could not help but wonder what kind of a father Todd would be. He certainly seemed to like kids and he was a very nice man in general. Maybe it would not be such a bad thing to have him help her to raise a kid. The battle raging in her mind over whether to be strong or vulnerable was nearly unbearable.
If she chose not to let Todd be a part of this, there was still another question that she couldn't bring herself to analyze too closely yet. But it was there, eating away at her. Testing her conscience with subtle pokes and prods. Could she abort the baby? Could she write this off as a mistake and move on with her life? Todd wouldn't even have to know. She could just complain of being sick or something until she recovered and then she could continue to see him. As far as he would be concerned it would be no harm no foul. He would never know that she had murdered his child.
Oops. There was the word that gave her pause and forced her to shy away from the subject again. Murder. That is what it would be wouldn't it? She and Todd had created a life and it had already begun to grow. Could she really bring herself to kill it off without giving it the chance to show what kind of a life it could have had? This was such a hard thing to think about. She wished that she could just go back in time and prevent herself from making this mistake. Jessica was not very good at worrying about anything other than herself.
She put the results back in her pocket and fished out the coupon that she had found under windshield wipers after she came out of the doctor's office. It had seemed almost eerie when she had found it, but at the same time it couldn't have found its way onto her car at a better time. She had always wondered about fortune tellers and if there was anything to them or if they were just a bunch of bull. Jessica shrugged slightly. Now was as good a time to try and find out as any. She really had no idea what to do and maybe she would get some helpful insight on that subject. Or maybe she would get nothing, but could at least say that she had checked it out.
With this in mind she approached the small shop on Main Street that declared itself to be the purveyor of all things mystical and mysterious. Amongst all the goods the emporium had to offer, it also supplied fortunes to be told in the back of the store. This was all Jessica was interested in as she entered the dark and slightly creepy store. Only a few other customers were in the place and they all looked like they belonged to some sort of cult or other. Their eyes fixed on her as she moved through the place. She did not know if this was because she looked so out of place or if they were sizing her up for some sort of sacrifice.
At the counter, an overweight woman sat reading a tabloid magazine that declared to have pictures of some interbreeding between aliens and cattle. She looked like a cross between Japanese and some sort of Native American, but Jessica could not be sure. The woman, who appeared to be in her early forties, looked up as Jessica approached the counter and smiled revealing broken, uneven teeth. In spite of her homely appearance, she had a pleasant disposition that made Jessica feel much more at ease than the patrons eyes had.
"You are here to get your fortune told?" The plump woman asked. Although the sentence came with the standard slight raise in voice that indicates a question, it sounded much more like a statement.
"Yes. How did you know?" Jessica asked, slightly taken aback at the way the woman had read her. Or maybe it was because she had been expected. Like you see sometimes in movies.
"Because you are holding one of our coupons and you don't look like our typical clientele." The woman laughed. "Come to the back with me. My name is Madame Ruisha. I will tell you your fortune."
Without another word, the woman stood up and walked further into the store. Jessica followed with some hesitation. She still was not sure that this was going to be helpful and the store really did give her the creeps. She felt as if any number of the things she saw on the shelves might come alive and attack her. Or perhaps the real danger was in the people roaming the aisles. Either way, she really wanted to turn around and flee the place and never return. But in spite of her misgivings, she still felt herself following behind the fat woman with a need to know about the future of her child.
"Sit down here, my dear." Madame Ruisha said and pointed to a small chair across a round table with a gaudy looking purple chair on the other side. This is the one that the fat fortune teller settled herself into. Jessica obediently sat down at the indicated seat and looked meekly at Madame Ruisha.
"I came here to ask about…" Jessica began, but Madame Ruisha raised a hand and cut Jessica off.
"I am the fortune teller, remember? Let me tell you why you are here."
"Ok." Jessica said, still slightly suspicious yet intrigued.
"Now, let me see your palm, my dear." The older woman said. Jessica held it out to her and Madame Ruisha studied it very closely for a long time. Finally, she looked up and gazed into Jessica's eyes. "You are very concerned about what you should do about something troubling. You have come here for answers to questions you are afraid to ask. You think that if you know the future, you won't have to make a decision."
All of this was true, but then it could be said of anybody that came to see a fortune teller. So none of it really impressed Jessica and she was starting to think she had wasted her time. The woman continued to ramble on without giving any actual details for a while and Jessica found herself rapidly losing interest. Suddenly, though, all of that changed. And it changed so fast that Jessica almost screamed out in fright. The fortune teller's eyes went milky white and she jolted in her chair as if she had been struck with electricity. Her voice lost all signs of femininity and took on a growling deep voice like something out of a nightmare.
"Beware the wraith that stalks the gates and the quiet voice inside him." The voice boomed.
"What?" Jessica managed to stammer.
"The evil twin that lies within, a killer is what you'll find him." This time,Jessica,asked nothing, but listened out of fear and a sense of wonder. "The gentler son, the softer one, a source of comfort find. It's up to him, his life to mend before the wraith does bind. Take this and keep it, hidden, secret from the father who must end him. And do not stop the itchy cop for a father's duty compels him."
The seizure Madame Ruisha was under came to a sudden end and her eyes and voice returned to normal. The plump woman looked rather shaken by the ordeal and made a number of small gasping sounds. Her shock was nothing compared to that of Jessica Harper. She could not believe what she had just heard and seen. None of it made very much sense, but it had definitely rocked her to her core. What could those words have meant?
"I...I have never had that happen before." Madame Ruisha said haltingly.
"What does it mean?" Jessica asked, barely able to find her own voice.
"You are pregnant?" The older woman asked.
"Yes."
"And have you been questioning whether or not to tell the father?" Madame Ruisha inquired. She was still shaken, but it seemed that she knew the direction to take this.
"Yes, that is why I am here." Jessica said. "I don't know what to do about this anyway. I don't even know if I should keep the baby or not. Let alone what I should tell the father."
"You must tell him nothing." Madame Ruisha said. "Did you not hear? If you tell the father of the child that you are pregnant, you will be in violation of the words that were spoken. Do not anger the spirits. Variation from what they have spoken can only bring about terrible things."
"What if I abort the baby?" Jessica inquired. "Then there would be nothing to tell. And besides, the voice said something about an evil twin being a killer. I think it sounds best to make sure this child is never born."
"Bad idea." The fortune teller said. "Once again, you must heed what they say. Who knows what sort of evil might befall us all if you do not carry this child to term? And if this child is to be born, do you really think that you would be able to stop it? Do you think the abortion would even be successful? You would be wrong to think so. Neither you nor I have a stronger will than the spirits."
"So I need to have this child all alone and watch it grow into a killer?" Jessica asked. The whole thing was entirely too bizarre to her.
"Focus on the part about the gentler son. It said that you would find him to be a source of comfort. It also said that it was up to this son to mend his life. Just find enough strength to go through with this knowing that you will have a nice source of comfort as you raise a child on your own." Madame Ruisha responded.
"Children." Jessica corrected her.
"Excuse me?"
"Children." She repeated. "You said child, but the voice that came out of you said there are twins. How am I supposed to know which one is the killer?"
"I am sure you will be able to tell from either part of the prophecy. Maybe one will be a rotten person, and the other one will seem to be a lot gentler. Either way they will be born and it sounds as if they will have a manner of contention between them. Just remember to keep what you have heard and seen, and even the fact that you are pregnant from the father. It sounds as if he is in law enforcement." Ruisha said.
"Yes, he is going to make detective someday. At least that is his plan."
"Well then heed what the voice said." Madame Ruisha said. "If all else fails and you have your killer son on the loose, it certainly seems like he is going to be the one that needs to bring the evil twin down. He might have issues with that otherwise."
Jessica thanked the plump woman and hurried out of the store. Her mid-section was still reeling from what she had experienced. The woman had told her not to anger the spirits and to have this child without Todd knowing, but she could not help but wonder exactly what kind of spirits she was dealing with. If they had evil intent then of course, they wanted the children to be born. They would want a killer out and about in the world. Still, she could not bring herself to kill off the one that was said to be a source of comfort. The only thing she knew for certain was that she could not tell Todd Sweeny about any of this.