It started out as a normal Saturday for Hyeri, she was walking down the streets of Seoul with her eyes to the ground, avoiding to step on cracks because as they say, “step on a crack, break your mother’s back” and as far as Hyeri was concerned, the last thing she needed was her mother to have a broken back. She would never hear the end of it! As she was cautiously crossing into the city streets, a sign caught her eye.

“Madame Fonsi’s Tarot readings.” Hyeri read aloud as she stared at the intriguing sign of tarot cards with a pair of eyes on top of them.

She didn’t know what came over her, but it felt as though the store had a gravitational pull on her. Her feet began to move towards the place with slow and steady strides filled with caution as she crossed adjacent to the hypnotic enterprise. The door was made of glass, with intricate swirl details made of metal. The sign that was eye level read, “Learn of all your lives, loves, and losses. The key to the future lies within your past.”

Hyeri stared at the sign in amazement; the words truly had an impact on her. Ever since she was a child, she grew up around a mother who was very interested in the supernatural and paranormal. Do you know what a spiritual cleansing is? Do you know about all the saints and their tales of serving those in need, and know how to summon them? Well, thanks to her mother, Hyeri knew just how to do all of that with little or no difficulty recalling the rituals and reciting the saints. When she was younger, her mother would always go to get her palms read and of course as the youngster she would tag along. She would always find these trips with her mother astonishing in every aspect, she loved the heavy, suspenseful atmosphere that she felt as soon as she walked into those consulting places and she always admired the way the psychics would kneel down and tell her that her future was brighter than sunshine.

Hyeri took a deep breath as she opened the door and the scent of lit incense filled her lungs.

“Ahh nothing beats the smell of vanilla bean.” Hyeri said as she made her way to the front counter where a lady was wearing a long mumu dress that was filled with tropical shades of red, gold, and green. She also had a head piece on which her hair was tucked into, only leaving a single silver strand revealed. The woman also had a piercing gaze, the same as the one on the advertisement sign.

“Come in, come in sweet child. There is nothing to be afraid of, I know that you are used to these kinds of places.” The woman said in her raspy voice. “I am Madam Fonsi, clairvoyant extraordinaire. Please come back to the consulting room, the spirits have things they want to say.”

Hyeri hesitantly followed the woman towards the back room which was decorated with sheer fabrics of different shades of purple, pink, and orange. In the center of the room, there was a small, oval table with pillows surrounding it. Madame Fonsi sat down on one of the pillows facing the entry door and motioned for Hyeri to sit before her on the opposite side. She took out a large deck of cards with different pictures on each, shuffling them as if they were a deck of playing cards and laying them flat on the table before Hyeri.

“Divide that deck into three.” Madame Fonsi ordered

Hyeri did as she was told and divided the large deck into three smaller ones; once she was done she looked back at Madame Fonsi for guidance on what she must do next.

“Good, now take three cards from each deck. You pick one from the top, the center and then from the bottom and you must not look at them.” Madame Fonsi instructed.

Hyeri picked up the decks careful not to accidentally peak at the cards and began taking them from the different sections. As she did so, Madame Fonsi took the extracted cards and placed each in a certain position that formed a “t” containing two cards each, leaving only one card in the center. Once Madame Fonsi finished, she began to turn over the first card.