Three Different Ways:
Dreams, Madness, and Myths

As two hours of study came to an end, Lisa knew enough to say with certainty that it was going to take a lot more than two hours just to get the basics. Now that she wasn’t afraid of the cards and had some experience with them, it took her only ten minutes to recite…

Lisa’s cellphone began to ring just as she got comfortable under the covers. She was upset at herself and the Fortune card for not making sure it was on silent before her executive decision to take a nap. By the time the ringing sequence had ended, Lisa was wide awake but too spiteful to get…

The semi rural landscape was partitioned into tracts of vineyards with the occasional manufactured rustic manor accompanied by the occasional winery serving as a monument to the family proudly displaying how they accomplish tax evasion. Though both women were hungry, it would be a while before they found an eatery that was open to the…

Lisa woke shortly after dawn. To her surprise, she was completely refreshed and absent of any nightmares, dream visitations, and visions. She lazed in bed a while, laughing at herself for how deeply and diligently she studied the night before. She hadn’t looked that hard for scraps of information since the time she was given…

Lisa immediately recapped the spoiled creamer and placed the container in the kitchen trash can. She stood with the initial resolve to take the trash out in the morning, but recalled what the judge had just said about preparation and lack of preparation. It was rotten luck that the creamer had gone off, but it…

Lisa caught up on her different social media accounts as she walked home. It was almost one week to the hour since she had demanded that Rebecca teach her tarot, and the intervening week felt more like years than days. She scrolled past posts celebrating drunken actions that landed the actor in the hospital, jail,…

Lisa had walked no further than the first crosswalk from her apartment building when she thought of Ricardo’s bullshit. Did he really think she was stupid and naive enough to fall for it? The more she thought about what he tried to do, the more furious she became. That Ricardo threatened to tattle to Aunt…

Lisa had no idea when she went to bed. She knew what time she woke up. Though the rising sun does not shine into her window, the tennis match of light rays between her building and the building across the street illuminated her room enough to convince her body that it was time to get…

Lisa took the next top card and carried it with her as she silenced the alarm on her phone. She turned back to face the table but remained in place. The lighting was just right to better appreciate the card in her hand. “XIV” “TEMPERANCE” A pool partially hidden behind green… something… was fed from…