2. Calli

2

CALLI

T he next morning, Calli woke to the sun on her face. It was going to be a good day, she told herself. Yes, the band she had spent the last four years with was breaking up, but she had never feared a new adventure. That was what this was. That was what she told herself, anyway. She opened the door and stepped down, only to feel something unfamiliar under her feet.

She stooped to examine what appeared to be a bundle of weeds tied together by a red string. She picked it up and examined it. That was exactly what it was. It was a big bundle of weeds. Weird. She didn't think too much of it as she just tossed on the counter of her little kitchen and headed to the stage.

She had hoped to get to Bridget, but one of the pub wenches was home with a sick kid, so Callie helped out there when she wasn't singing. It helped with tips, and if the band was breaking up, she needed all the money she could get right now. Tomorrow, she would find Bridget.

She made it back to the campsite and showered, but when she came back from the shower, there was another bundle of weeds on her front step again.

What the hell?

She looked around and didn't see anyone close by, save for Mason over by the big camper.

"Hey Mason," she called out.

"What's up, Calli?" he asked, walking over to her.

"Did you see anyone around while I was at the shower house?"

"No, but I just got back. I drove into town to get some beer. The cooler’s packed if you want one."

"Maybe. I'll be over in a bit," she said as she carried the bundle into her camper and set it on the counter next to the one she got this morning. The two neatly tied bundles baffled her. Where on earth had these come from?

That night, she called her sister and turned in early. She was tired from singing and waiting tables all day. She counted her tips and fell asleep, feeling a bit more like her band breaking up wasn’t the end of the world.

She woke the next morning, cinched herself into her corset, and set out for another day of singing. Once again, as she stepped out of her campervan, she felt something foreign underneath her feet, only this time, it was squishy and furry. What the hell? Under her foot squished a dead squirrel. She screamed and picked the thing up by the tail and threw it into the bush beside the camp.

Michael scrambled out of the camper next to her, still fastening his kilt, his hair a mess with sleep.

"Calli? What's the matter?" he asked, jogging over to her.

"Nothing..." she said, shaking her head. "There was a dead squirrel on my step, and I stepped on it."

"On your step?” he asked with a baffled expression, crinkling his brow.

"Yeah," she said, still trying to wrap her head around it. Her body shuddered at the thought of the dead squirrel squishing under her feet. "Gross. I'm wearing shoes from here on out."

"I'm going to finish getting ready, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said as he turned to head back tohis camper.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'll be ready to head into the fair when you are."

The bar wench was back today, so Calli decided to clear her head with a stroll through the fair.

She made her way down the main strip, taking in the familiar sights and sounds she had come to know the past couple of years. These fairs had served as a home as much as anything else in her life had. From the familiar faces selling fairy wings and dragon necklaces to the new booths that popped up every season selling quills or extravagant face painting, this had been her home, but it felt like even this was coming to an end.

Before she knew it, she found herself in front of the familiar purple tent. As she walked in, Bridget was already seated at the little table in the middle.

“I was wonderin’ when ye might be by,” she said with a cocked eyebrow. Then, she shuffled the cards and let them dance from hand to hand. “Have a seat, lass. Let’s see what the cards have to say.”

Calli sat at the table across from Bridget. Having her tarot cards read was not new, but something about this reading felt different. Maybe it was the uncertainty of the band breaking up, but something electric was in the air of this small tent.

“Cut the deck,” Bridget said as she set them on the table in front of her.

Calli picked up half the card, cutting the deck. She needed to get herself under control; she could have sworn she felt an electrical current coming off those cards, but then again, it was Bridget. Something about her did seem purely magical.

“Should we begin?” Bridget asked.

Calli just nodded, her nerves starting to get the better of her.

Bridget flipped over the first card. “The Star,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

The card showed a woman with two pitchers of water. She was pouring one into the stream and one into the green grass next to her. Above shone eight stars.

“Well, this is fitting. It looks like ye have made life yer own. Ye didn’t like where it was going, so ye changed it. Ye’ve created yer own path, and ye shine brightly for it, my dear.”

Calli gave a small nod, waiting for the next card.

“Now, let’s gain some insight into yer present predicament.”

Bridget flipped over the next card: Death.

There before her lay a card of a skeleton knight in black armor on a white horse. Her eyes flew to Bridget’s. Panicking at a tarot card was silly…right?

“Never fear, my dear. The death card is the most misunderstood card in the deck,” she said as she reached across the table to squeeze Calli’s hand. “It is a card of transformation, a card of letting go of the past and embracing the new adventure that lies before ye. It can be scary sometimes, but I’ve learned that the fates usually know what they’re doing.”

Calli nodded. Some of the panic subsided, but they still had given her many answers.

“Now for the future, my dear. Are ye ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Calli answered.

Bridget flipped over the last card, the World. On the card, a beautiful woman danced in the sky, surrounded by a flower wreath and clouds. Something about this card settled the panic. She took a deep breath. Glancing back to Bridget, Calli found a contented smile stretched across her face.

“It is as I thought, lass. The world is yers. While ye do have some big changes coming your way, trust yerself, and I have no doubt the world is yers to claim.”

“You think?” Calli asked, still unsure.

“I am certain,” Bridget said, reaching across the table, taking her hand. “Trust yer intuition, and ye will have all yer dreams come true.”

“There you are. We’re on in five.”

Calli turned to see Mason at the opening of the tent.

“I’ll be right there,” she answered as he turned and left.

“I have to go,” she said.

“Aye, but if ye have any questions, don’t be a stranger,” Bridget said before squeezing her hand and letting it go.

Calli stood to leave as confused as she had been, but she was feeling a bit more hopeful.

"Is there something else?" Bridget asked as her eyes seemed to be carefully taking in Calli.

"No, sorry. I've just had a weird couple of mornings."

"Why is that, my dear?" Bridget asked.

"So yesterday, there was this weird bundle of weeds on my step, and another bundle later in the evening, but this morning when I woke up, there was a dead squirrel on my step. That's weird, right?"

"Aye... I would say that's peculiar," Bridget said with a puzzled expression.

"At first, I thought maybe the squirrel just died there, but with the weeds... I don't know... It's weird, right?" She had been trying to keep these thoughts at bay most of the day, but saying it out loud did make her realize this was actually pretty creepy.

"Do ye still have the herbs?"

"You think they're herbs?"

"I can't say, but I can stop by tonight and take a look if ye want."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Bridget."

Later that night, she was back at her site, waiting for Bridget. When she came home, she was half expecting to find something else on her doorstep, but to her relief, it was empty.

She was settled by the fire with a book when a familiar red head of hair made its way over.

"Bridget, thank you for coming. I'm making some grilled cheese on the fire if you want one."

"Now, how could I say no to that?"

Once the sandwiches were off the fire and they had eaten, Bridget asked about the herbs. Calli went and got them.

"Hmmm. It looks like we have some St. John’s Wart, some Mayapple, and it even looks like we have some Blue Cohosh and a wee bit of peppermint."

"What does that mean?"

"These are powerful herbs. They have healing properties, and I often use them in my teas," Bridget said, still examining the bundles.

"Do you think someone is leaving them for me?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Lass, I think ye may have an admirer."

A gentle breeze blew through the campsite, and Bridget turned her head, as if she was listening to the wind.

"An admirer? Why can't I have an admirer who leaves me jewelry and not herbs and dead animals?"

"That is a good question," Bridget answered distractedly.

"I mean that's weird, right? Who leaves dead animals on people's doorsteps?"

"I don't know, lass," she answered, her eyes still taking in the woods next to the campsite. "But I don't get the sense it is anything to worry about."

"Seriously?" Calli asked with wide eyes. She was definitely more than a little worried about it. This was one step away from a boiled bunny, right?

"Do ye trust me?" Bridget asked her with a serious tone. This was the first time she had seen Bridget without that playful glint in her eyes.

"Of course, I trust you," she said with absolute certainty. She didn't know why, but she did.

"Come see me tomorrow. I may have some answers for ye, but please don't be frightened by this. I am certain there is nothing to be scared of."

She nodded, "Okay, I’ll stop by tomorrow."

Bridget squeezed her hand, and it felt like a warm blanket had been thrown over her. "I think I'm actually going to go to bed early," said Calli. “I’ll stop by tomorrow and see you.”

"I look forward to it, lass."

And with that, Calli got up and went into her camper.