It's In The Cards

Introduction: The Cards

Monday
June 1st, 2026
Melbourne, Australia

"Chaeng! Come on, there is a fortune teller! I want to see what she says about me!"

My little sister's hands grab my arm and yank me towards the blue and gold stand set up next to the park gazebo, almost giving me whiplash. I'll never understand how a ten-year-old child can be so strong, but here I was, being dragged along at a pace I couldn't keep up with by a girl nearly half my age.

"Ow! Grace hang on a second!" As she let go of my hand and ran into the stall, I shouted out to her back. So I wouldn't lose her, I made sure to keep my eyes glued to her small red jacket and mop of dark hair.

I could hear Jennie giggling behind us, no doubt at the way my sister's violent tactics of getting me to move had just snapped my back in half. My best friend's face only broke out into a larger grin as I swiftly turned and stuck my middle finger up at her. She elegantly brushed a lock of brunette hair away from her face as her shoulders shook with laughter.

With each step, my shoes sunk into the soft grass, and the music and voices of young children having the time of their lives at the winter carnival drowned out my best friend's laughter.

"Rosie! Hurry up!"

Looking up, I can see Grace hopping up and down from one foot to another in excitement, a smile plastered on her little face. Jennie's fingers were cold on my forearm when she touched my skin, and pulled me along gently.

Flyers for this year's winter carnival had been plastered all over town for the previous four weeks or so, so the turnout did not disappoint. The carnival was spectacular, brimming with life, light, and colour, as it always is year after year. Every year, Jennie and I went, and in recent years, as Grace has gotten older, she has joined us. The events were the same every year, but they never became monotonous. After 19 years in the same place, I strangely relied on the fact that nothing changed; I found comfort in it. The routine, knowing what was going to happen when it happened was the life I prefered.

The people here are fabulous though, and despite my shy demeanour, I had grown to know and love them. Declan, Aviary, and Laura were siblings who played the keyboard, drums, and guitar, and they performed live music in the carnival's corner. There was Auntie Sue, who everyone called Auntie even though no one was related to her, and she used her artistic abilities to provide face painting to the children. There was Ben, the 60-year-old local baker for whom Jennie and I baked cinnamon buns every year so he could sell them at his stall. His booth was always a hit, with fresh goods that sold out within the first two hours of the carnival. Countless figures lived in this friendly little Melbourne suburb that I had come to know and love.

"Do you have four dollars?" Grace's voice echoed in my ear as Jennie and I approached the stall. Behind the spectacle of blue and gold draped that coated the outside, sat a woman, unlike any that I had ever seen before in my life.

She looked to have naturally powder-white hair but seemed to have made a very unsuccessful attempt at dip-dying the ends red. Jennie and I eyeballed her curiously, her doing the same to us. Her timeworn skin struck a striking resemblance to the faded clothes loosely draped over her fragile form.

Her hands were the only thing that resembled the stereotypical 'fortune teller' appearance. Each ring was the size of my entire fist and she had somehow managed to fit at least two onto each finger, a Phoebe Buffay wannabe kind of look.

I offered her a smile upon arrival, and I wasn't sure if she didn't notice it or she was just rude, but it was one that she did not return.

"Maybe, let me check". I reached into my pockets, searching through them all before pulling out two gold coins and placing them on the table. The woman's eyes flickered and she finally returned my earlier smile as my little sister hummed with delight, both of their eyes locked on the money.