Chapter 3 - Sex on fire on the road

Inside the tent, the noise of the fair seemed to disappear; instead, a relaxing and tranquil Tibetan bowl music enveloped us.

• "What if she tells me something bad?" I asked with a tender and innocent voice.

• "Then whatever she tells you will become a good omen. Everything will happen contrary to what she says," Ludy replied with a hint of pride. I looked at her in silence; my sister has always possessed a sharp and concrete intelligence.

• "But if she says something bad, I would live in fear that she might be wrong and something bad could happen."

• "You should never live in fear; remember that fear doesn't exist; it's a construct of the mind," my sister said, her almond-colored eyes widening like an owl's as she looked deeply at me. "We must always live with courage and love."

• "Okay," I murmured.

• "That's why it's better not to know the future and not to know what we can't change. We must always trust ourselves," she told me.

Suddenly, the Tibetan bowl music stopped, and the lights inside went out. My sister Ludy took my hand as a gesture of protection.

• "I want to know my future; I want to know if I'll have a man who loves me like in the movie Titanic," I murmured.

Ludy let out a laugh, staying alert and attentive because, although in theory, we were safe inside the tent, the darkness made her cautious.

At that moment, the lights of a crystal ball turned back on, illuminating the table with a green light. I felt a sense of calm and joy as Ludy and I approached the crystal ball.

• "You should be careful; in the movie Titanic, their love lasted less than a week," Ludy said.

• "She had a beautiful face and such a beautiful body that he always wanted to kiss and touch her," I explained. "Besides, she danced with her feet in relevé and wore black stockings."

• "How many times have you seen the Titanic movie?" Ludy asked with a smile on her lips.

• "That doesn't matter; I want to be like her and have a man as handsome as Jack by my side."

• "You don't know what you're saying; Jack was poor."

• "Poor?"

• "Yes, he had no money. Mom always tells us that we will never be happy with a poor man," Ludy said with deep respect for what their mother had said.

• "But if Mom says that revealing the future means that our future will change, and we will be happy with a poor man," I told my sister. Ludy looked at me, confused for a moment, trying to understand what I had said.

The witch entered the tent surrounded by sky-blue lights, gazing intently at us and observing our intertwined hands for a second longer than usual.

• "I've given you enough time to ask yourselves your questions, girls," she said seriously. "The heart of a child is pure and clear like the ocean's sea, without doubts that cloud the questions of your heart," she said firmly.

The witch looked around, as if recognizing that she was indeed inside a tent in the fair of a carousel. For a moment, I could believe she felt confused, as if her witch's mind were caught between the past and the future at the same time. She opened a box of candles, and to my amazement, she lit a pink candle with a white and yellow spark. A vanilla-like aroma filled the place, and the candle now burned in front of the green crystal sphere on the table.

I leaned in and looked into it, seeing the reflection of my big blue eyes. I glanced at the witch, and when I looked back at the sphere, it had disappeared.

Ludy began to glide softly into the stand, half walking, half floating; she walked toward the table inside the tent where the sun lay. Now a bright yellow light was emitted from within, simulating the sun. She sat in front of the table. I followed her without letting go of her hand and sat beside her.

Both sisters surrounded a silver neon light lamp. The witch whispered to us that she would tell us all the doubts we had about our future. Ludy looked at the sun beside her; as she placed her palms on the table, the sun illuminated her hands.

• "I must tell you that I am not a witch, girls; I am an astrologer. I have the gift of reading the stars," she explained.

• "Astrologer?" my sister asked.

The astrologer nodded, took my sister's hand, and pulled out a deck of cards.

• "You were born under the constellation of Gemini. Your mind is alive with vitality and remains wise just like your steps."

• "Yes, I was born in June, starting on the night of San Juan."

• And she was born under the constellation of Taurus. That face, and those striking eyes with such dense eyelashes.

• You are destined to shine and grow like the purest of springs that flows and overflows, shining under the moon and the sun with the same intensity until it reaches the sea – said the astrologer, looking intently at my sister – Everything will be fine, you have a strong desire to care for and protect, and sometimes you will question whether you can do it; the answer is yes. Everything you wish to achieve will be accomplished with the flow of rivers to the sea; it is a promise of life. Your beauty will flow and expand always, in every heart that is touched by your beauty and your love. Your beauty will always expand, from your lovely face to your beautiful heart – she said, observing my sister’s big almond-shaped eyes.

I shrugged, not understanding what the woman was saying. I hid under the light of the last avalanche and watched the place, silent. The astrologer was reading Ludy’s astrological chart.

Suddenly, the light inside the tent went out like a candle that had just burned down. In the darkness, I saw a light that remained on; it was the green light of the crystal ball, a shining sphere that quickly approached me from afar, leaving behind a halo of white light.

• Your destiny, beautiful Ludwika, is to shine, to shine like the constellation of Taurus; the brightest stars in your astrological chart come from your Venus.

The astrologer approached me, and I looked at her like a hypnotized child. As she passed by my side, she grabbed me with both hands, and I let myself be carried away by her words, into her voice.

• Only through inspiration will you achieve all your dreams, fortune, wealth, and love. I see a great love; I see the world applauding at your feet. Your destiny is to find that muse, your source of artistic inspiration. You will be a great artist, and through art, you will fulfill your greatest dreams, to love and be loved. And you will also make your family shine and expand in love from that powerful light.

I look fascinated at the woman’s face, my small hands resting on both her arms. The astrologer unfolds the star map, a navy blue cloth embroidered with the constellations of the universe, spread out on the wooden table, while my sister Ludy smiles and looks with curious, bright eyes at what the astrologer is saying.

When we leave the tent, we look for our mother. At that moment, my sister Ludy pulls my arm, and we both stand admiring the light and delicate feet of a ballet dancer performing on the stage of the carousel, located behind the astrologer’s stand. One of the curtains, opened by the night breeze, reveals the backdrop of the stage. The dancer moves in small, light steps as if moved by the wind, resembling a feather or a flower detached from the treetops. I approach, immersed in deep concentration toward the back of the stand; I stop at the edge of the curtain and gaze intently at the dancer.

“Ludwika, let’s go Ludwika! We have to leave,” my sister Ludy calls to me, handing 2 dollars to the astrologer, and we both walk away from the tent.

Mom and Dad are waiting for us next to a group of people who are lining up to enter the small theater located behind the astrologer’s stand.

• “Mom, I want to go in there! I want to see the dancer in the pink slippers dance!”

I point to the theater with a finger and look with bright eyes in that direction.

• “Soon, my heart, soon you will be there,” my mother tells me with a smile that fills me with confidence.

Everth drives the car into the theater's parking lot; the song “Sex on Fire” plays in the vehicle.