YAY! It's that time of the season again Christmas time. Dawn masses, lanterns, Christmas countdowns, noche buena and Of course PRESENTS! Not that I was getting any. I am spending my Christmas alone...

Any way I know the Halloween Fest story Close Encounters is not finished yet but I am a bit of at a writer' block with that one so I decided instead of moping around and not writing I should release my tales for Christmas. I will finish close encounters later maybe but for now let us feel the yuletide season! I might release two stories under this seasonal theme so I hope you guys enjoy it. Please comment just think of it as your Christmas present to me.
 

"Christmas Tales: The Reader"

Part One

            At a fancy looking café called You Are Here Café two figures a young woman and a young man sat opposite each other by the window side of the European styled café. They were both drinking cups of frothy hot beverage and were munching on French pastries covered in excessive cream and fine shaved chocolate.

            The young woman pulled her pink snowflake decorated knitted scarf higher while the young man had apparently removed his. The woman was merely spinning the spoon of her drink and had not even touched her cake. She was looking anxious and out of place like her mind was somewhere far away.

            The young man on the other hand was about to finish his slice of cake. He looked at the young woman and got agitated as well. She has been distant from him for almost a month now and it was starting to both annoy and worry him. They were just a few weeks away from getting married. It was nearing the month of December and it was really bothering him, that his fiancée seemed to be ignoring and avoiding him purposely.

            “Tiff-baby, are you ok? You haven’t even touched your strawberry cream cake.” He asked her. She was actually startled by his question and abruptly replied.

            “Yeah I’m fine. I ate before I came here.” She answered fidgeting with her mittens.

            He just gave her the weird and worried look. The young woman looked up to the clock near the counter and gasped.

            “I’m sorry Tae-tae let’s meet tomorrow I have an importing meeting I have to go to.” She stood up hurriedly and packed her things never even waiting for him to reply back and left the café. He stared as her figure disappeared through the door and from his sight. There was definitely something terribly wrong with his fiancée Tiffany Hwang. He stood up and grabbed his bags and proceeded to go out of the café while dialing the number of the private investigator he hired.

            “Jiyoung I want you to tell me what you’ve got about Miss Tiffany Hwang.” He said through the receiver as he got into his car.

            “Miss Hwang has been frequenting an establishment known as Madam Lee’s House of Fortune Telling, which is located outside of Seoul Mr. Kim.” The private investigator replied.

            “Alright send me the address.” Mr. Kim, who happened to be Taeyeon Kim the heir of the Kim Group of Companies, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea replied.

            “Miss Hwang you are here again.” Jessica heard her adoptive mother Madam Lee said in greeting as Tiffany Hwang the heir of Hwang Corporation came into their shop. The mall tycoon’s only child came to their shop frequently. It was a surprise actually how the daughter of Hwang Corporation knew of this place not many people really believe in the power of tarot card reading. She knew a lot of people in her school who considered Madam Lee’s job as a joke. Not many in their area actually went to their shop to get their fortunes read. Many people considered Madam Lee a wacko, a crazy person and someone to avoid. She was often bullied in school because of this, many calling her a freak as well because of her guardian’s occupation.

            Shockingly though her adoptive mother’s business brought in lots of money from numerous people mostly rich business men and women who came from the city to get their fortunes read. Madam Lee had the gift of reading the cards very well and her predictions often always came true. This resulted in her having many patrons. Madam Lee always said that the cards spoke to her and that her strong intuition and connection with the Divine was the main reason why she could read the cards so accurately.

            She looked at the young heiress from behind the purple curtains of the shop; Admiring her jet black wavy hair and beautiful skin. She had the most beautiful eye smile that Jessica had ever seen and her clothes were obviously expensive. She wore one of those couture Parisian clothes and even her accessories screamed I’m worth millions. Not that she cared, being raised by a tarot card reader taught her a lot in life.

            Being with Madam Lee for 18 years taught her that material things of this world did not matter. They come and they go as dictated by fate. If things are meant to be they will be but if not it will go as it came. Most of the material and immaterial things are fleeting. Madam Lee always said that nothing in this world was permanent. It was one of the lessons Madam Lee taught her when she cried for her departed mother.

            “She’s in a better place my child. In place where there is no more suffering and pain. You have to let her go.” Madam Lee told her. She was only 6 at that time and it still shocked her to this day how she managed to understand what Madam Lee had told her. Maybe it was because Madam Lee had the most soothing voice you have ever heard. She was a very soft spoken person and was always slow to anger and frustration. And she never yelled.

            She watched as the heiress sat down in front of Madam Lee’s purple velvet covered table. The heiress looked seriously tired; it has been months now since the black haired young woman had been coming here to get her future read. Normally she would be asking about many things like if the party she was hosting was going to be terrific. Or whether there was ever a chance of her parents getting back together? Then later it changed to whether her mother was marrying the Earl from England.

            Everyone knew that Jang Haejin the millionaire fashion designer and company owner, who also happened to be Hwang Chanyoung’s ex-wife, had the body of a woman 30 years younger than her. At the age of 56 the woman looked young enough to be mistaken as her daughter’s older sister. She was now dating the British aristocrat who happened to be an Earl.

            She heard the heiress ask the same question again and she almost let out an annoyed grunt. This woman has been asking the same question for almost a month now. It was really weird and it was starting to irritate her. How many times does she have to ask that question? Their shop helper Sulli who was her bestfriend Sooyoung’s little sister rolled her eyes at the question. Sulli was in charge of handling the customers before they met with Madam Lee. Like her Sulli was also getting annoyed of the question.

            Miss Hwang has been asking Madam Lee for almost a month whether her upcoming wedding with Kim Taeyeon was going to be fruitful. And the answer was yes! Her cards were almost always the same which wasn’t shocking knowing that the cards spoke to Madam Lee. Madam Lee always preferred the Celtic cross style since it was most accurate for situations. Miss Hwang’s cards always had the Ace of Wands, the Empress, the Queen of pentacles, the Ten of Cups, the Lovers and the high priestess mixed in with other reoccurring cards.

            “The answer is still the same Miss Hwang your future with Mr. Kim will be prosperous and full of love but it all depends on your choice as I have said before. Your choices will either bring the relationship into the beautiful future I see here or it will end it and destroy whatever it is you two have.” Madam Lee told her.

            Jessica saw Miss Hwang stiffened and she became more puzzled. She went to the back letting the curtain fall and the light to the spare room at the end of the hallway. It was where a small sitting area and where her very own tarot reading table, was located. She learned the art of reading tarot cards at the tender age of 8 and had fallen in love with it ever since.

            Unlike Madam Lee who only relied on intuition to read cards she could actually see the future in them. She could predict everything with her tarot cards. It was her gift and a very valuable one too. Madam Lee had discovered it while teaching her how to read the tarot cards for fun. Whatever she read in her tarot it would come true. And whatever she asked she would get the perfect answer. It was like how the psychic’s in movies could see th