Periscope

Chapter 1: Italian Summer

The heat was overwhelming; her cotton sundress stuck to her sweat-stained skin, each drip drop crawling over like insects. She had one lone fan in the corner of the dark shop, facing her. When Vivian rented the place, she assumed a dark interior would help with the California heat - it only proved to be worse. It consumed her like a gaping black hole, the sweltering heat, and it held her angrily as she drummed her fingers anxiously on the wooden table. The door chimed; she daintily dabbed the slick perspiration around the baby fringe sticking to her forehead, then folded her hands in front of her and straightened up, feigning happiness with an award-winning smile.

An older lady was curiously glancing around the shop, items of the cult and items of mysticism lying haplessly around. Vivian observed her features: a shocking red bob, round face, with an amused smile quirking at the corners of her mouth as she picked up a pack of Tarot cards. The woman reminded Vivian of her lanky, goofy father.

"May I help you, ma'am?" Vivian called to the woman at the front of the shop. The woman looked up with a smile, and set the Tarot pack down gently.

"Are you the fortune teller?" the woman questioned, turning the greeting on her with ease and taking a seat across from Vivian.

Vivian nodded. "Yes, amongst other things."

The lady laughed. "You don't look a day over twenty-one!"

"That would be because I'm not."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "So what do you specialize in?"

"I'm a medium." Vivian explained. "I can communicate with the other side." She picked up the Tarot cards at her side and laid them out. "I can read your future, tell you about your past life. I read palms. I'm sensitive to the essence of the world."

The woman suddenly laughed loudly. "Oh, honey, this is the best load of crap I've ever heard. You should consider being an actress - you would make a helluva lot of money."

Vivian shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back in her chair. "I suppose I could, Joanna. I always have loved the films." She looked off in the distance dreamily.

Joanna was stunned, blue eyes wide. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm supposed to know these things as a psychic." She glanced slyly at Joanna. "But I would be better as an actress, right?"

"Okay, I'm convinced." Joanna finally said after studying Vivian for a moment, then leaned forward and folded her hands on the table. "Tell me about myself, chica."

"With ample pleasure." Vivian smiled, then took Joanna's hands in hers. "Your full name is Joanna Noelle Cabot. You were born in Dallas, but grew up in Europe - in Amsterdam, right? As a child, you broke your leg climbing a tree - the irony is you broke it climbing up the tree rather than falling from it, as most children do. Since the tender age of 10, you wanted to be a comedic actress after seeing a Charlie Chaplin film. Your family found you amusing and indulged in your dream, watching play after play that you would put on with your neighbors and trusty dog Hamlet. You've played the clarinet for eleven years and still have yet to master it. You've also been playing historical bit parts on Broadway and developed an allergy to the stage make-up they use - you're quite knowledgeable, so you made your own recipe and have been selling it. This morning, you had bacon and eggs with ketchup for breakfast."

Joanna smirked. "Well, well - you got all that from my hand? It's almost hard to believe."

"Almost." Vivian echoed with a grin. "I could read your future if you like... or get in contact with a dead relative."

"I'm too superstitious for such things, honey." Joanna answered, paused to reconsider, then shrugged. "I'd rather buy my own deck of Tarot cards to control my own future."

"But you'll be biased, and shape your future into something you want." Vivian reasoned. "Lemme read you something."

Joanna raised her eyebrows at the young girl's persistence, but waved her hand to go ahead anyway. Vivian smiled in satisfaction and shuffled her Tarot cards. "You have to think happy thoughts when you hold these." she explained with a sly smile. "Otherwise, their power doesn't work. The energy is too negative to be accurate and there will be consequences."

"So what do you think of when you hold them?" Joanna wondered, leaning forward, intrigued.

"My father." Vivian said absentmindedly. "He's the funniest person I know."

"He sounds lovely."

"Oh, he is." Vivian looked up suddenly, eyes sparkling. "You'll meet him one day, when you least expect it." Joanna looked surprised, and Vivian put her Tarot deck down lightly. "I'm going to do a simple read - your past, present, and future. Is that alright?"

Joanna nodded. "How much?"

"Free of charge, ma'am." she replied, then took the first three cards and laid down gently. "Your past is Six of Cups - this represents happiness, naivety, and childhood. You were a happy child, weren't you? Your present is Three of Swords - you're grieving, your heart is broken, you feel alone. Your niece died, didn't she? Your future is The Lovers - you'll find love and happiness in the near future."

Joanna had tears in her eyes, and she was visibly shaking in front of this young girl who knew too much for her own good. Her niece had died; she had raised her niece as her own since her niece was twelve-years-old. Twenty was too young to die. Come to think of it, this medium looked a little like her niece. "What's going to happen next?" she choked out, bringing a hand kerchief to her nose, blowing loudly.

"You'll leave my shop and buy a powdered cinnamon doughnut down the street at my friend's bakery." Vivian smiled softly. "And I have a feeling you'll come back. Have a wonderful day, Joanna. I wish you all the happiness in the world."

When Joanna left, Vivian sat in front of the fan, hoping to drink up the cold air, but it only seemed to stir the air hotter and hotter until it felt unbearable. She went into the bathroom and ran a rag under the faucet, then ran it gently along her neck and chest. She sighed sadly, her heart heavy from her encounter with Joanna. She checked the thermostat at the front of the store: a staggering 108 degrees Fahrenheit. With that in mind, she decided to close the shop for the day.

**Hello! I'm excited to show that I've started another story. For those who have read my other stories, Blow My House Down is still very much on my mind, but I don't know how to write the chapter, so I don't know when it will be updated. This new story is for Davy - I have another for Mike on the way, and I'm editing my old Peter one. Davy will be in the next chapter of this. Thank you for reading!**