She's a Witch

A Story by Sarah Kay Hair

Short Story

She’s a Witch

Down in the dark dingy basement flat the youngsters were listening to Garage Nation doing the usual teenage things, putting any mind altering thing in their mouths.

Sasha new of Colin but she didn’t know him personally. Everyone knows everyone else’s business in this town. He’s acting all cockey pretending to be some big shot. She felt all confident spaced out on a concoction of diazepam and tenants super, so thought it funny to pretend she could fortune tell.

To her surprise ‘Mr Big Shot’ was well up for her to read his cards. ‘’Okay, I need to focus on these cards,’’ shuffling the cards she closed her eyes. ‘’Everyone be quiet!’’ No one listened until ‘Mr Big Shot’’ piped up.

‘’Shut up, I’m having my future read man!’’ And everyone shuts up of course, because he is the man!

‘’Colin, you need to shuffle these now, but put all your energy into them. In your head, tell the cards what’s on your mind. Ask the cards a question.’’ Colin took the cards and seemed to take it deadly serious. So Sasha just kept going with it, even convincing herself. ‘’When you feel that it is enough, hand me the cards.’’

She lay in front of him 3 cards face down. ‘’Colin, this is your past, present, and future.’’ He watched intently as she overturned the first card. ‘’This card tells me you’ve not had it easy. You’ve had a rough upbringing. Dragged from pillar to post.’’ Colin raised his eyebrows as he eagerly watched her turn the second card. ‘’You are trying to make something of yourself, but it’s not an easy ride. This card suggests you need to take a different route, or you will end up in big trouble.’’

‘’Yeah whatever, I get it though but I know what I’m doing!’’

Sasha turns over the last card. She’s silent. She’s trying to create tension, and trying to think what she could say. ‘’Colin, you think these people are your friends?’’ She looks around at the others in the room, whom are paying no attention whatsoever, too busy in their own little drugged up worlds. ‘’These are not your friends Colin, one day they will stab you in the back.’’

Three years later, Sasha bumps into Colin in the street.

‘’Ah there she is, she’s bloody freaky man!’’ Colin introduces his girlfriend to Sasha. Sasha’s thinking what the hell is he on about!

‘’She’s the one who told me I’ll be stabbed in the back, and I actually was! I got stabbed in the back of the neck by my best mate!’’