Chapter Text
She studied herself in the reflection of the glass.
Something was different, but she could not figure out what had changed.
Rolling her tongue around her mouth, she stuck her hand into her pocket. There were a few loose cigarettes. Taking one out, she placed it between her lips. It sated her cravings for a few seconds as she looked back at the store window.
He hadn’t noticed anything either – not that he had been paying attention. They had barely exchanged a few words before he dropped her off in the city. She hadn’t bothered asking him for money. It was clear he was on a hair trigger today.
She made a mental note to find a good time to drop the bombshell on him. Perhaps when they got their massive cut this month.
The rampant clomping of platform shoes drew her attention to the girl running towards her.
“Oh my God, it’s been forever!”
Meiko pulled her into a crushing embrace. Then her eyes locked onto her chest.
“Did you get a boob job?”
Ah. That’s what was different.
“Uh, kinda?”
“No effin’ way! They look so real! Ohmygod, does your mom know?”
She bit down on the filter so hard she could taste the tobacco.
“How the everlovin’ fuck should I know?”
“Sheesh, forget I asked.”
They stood in silence. Meiko, as always, was the one to break it.
“Sooo…you guys are still fighting, or –”
“Been a while since we last saw each other, huh?”
Thankfully, that was enough to get her friend to change the subject.
“Right? It’s been way too long! You never wanna hang out anymore!”
“I’ve been busy.” She replied, pocketing the unlit cigarette.
“Yeah – busy. Kaori saw you outside Frankie last week, y’know. You could’ve invited me!”
The thought of Meiko hanging out with some of her boyfriend’s buddies made her skin crawl. Despite being a freshman, she still acted and dressed like a middle-schooler.
“You would’ve gotten carded.”
“Uh – so? I got a fake ID last week from Yuuta’s big sister.”
She snorted.
“Babe – no bouncer is gonna let you into a bar.”
Meiko pouted and folded her arms. Now she looked like an elementary schooler.
“It’s no fair – you’re doing all this cool stuff and not even inviting your best friend!”
Best friends – at one point they had been best friends. They used to hang out after school and do their nails while gossiping about boys. They would sneak out and go to parties at the edge of their tiny town – then she had met him, and everything changed.
“Hey, are you okay?” Meiko asked, “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine – c’mon, where did you wanna go?”
Meiko took her hand, and they headed down the sidewalk. They had barely gone a few steps when Meiko pointed upward.
“Ooh, should we go in there?”
It was a tiny, hovel of a store. The filthy windows had cobwebs in the corners and the sign’s paint was peeling. Despite this, the cursive font was still legible.
‘Madame Oracle – Fortunes and Prophecies’
“Nah – that stuff is bullshit.”
“C’mon, it’ll be fun!”
“Need money for food this week.”
“My treat today!”
The bell above the door let out a tinkling chime as they entered. It reminded her of a wind-up jewellery box she had owned as a child. She had kept all her most prized objects in it – charm bracelets, lockets and her grandmother’s ring. Did her mom still have it, or had it been stolen from outside her childhood home after being dumped there with all her other possessions?
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as a small lady in a silky blue kimono tottled out from behind a curtain of beads.
“Why, hello girls! How can Madame Oracle be of service to you today?”
“Can we both get our fortunes read?” Meiko asked.
“Of course. Please give me a moment to set up.”
Meiko spent the next several minutes catching her up on small neighbourhood gossip – who was dating who, what’s been happening at school and upcoming parties. She was barely paying attention.
When the fortune teller returned to the foyer, she opted to go first and was led into a tiny room that reeked of smoke and cloves. She sat down on a wooden stool before a circular table cloaked in a black velvet cloth. An aged ledger was pushed across to her.
“Please – write your name here.”
Once she was done, Madame Oracle hummed and placed a wrinkled hand over hers.
“You seem troubled, child. How can I ease your worries?”
The gentle touch and kind words caused the tears to finally flow.
“I dunno what to do.” She whispered, hoping Meiko would not hear. “I don’t know if I wanna keep it or – or…I can’t. I can’t do it and…and how the fuck am I supposed to tell him!?”
Madame Oracle gave her a small nod.
“I understand. Shall we explore your futures?”
“Futures?”
“By consulting the universe, I can get insights into your two prospective futures. We can explore what your life would look like if you kept the baby, and what would happen if you got an abortion.”
The word pierced through her like a piece of jagged glass.
“No!”
Her sudden shout startled them both. Even Meiko yelped in shock from the foyer.
She pulled her hand away and balled it against her chest.
“I don’t wanna…not like that. I just don’t know if I want to keep it or give it away.”
“I see.”
Madame Oracle stood out of her plush chair and shuffled to her side, arm out.
“May I?”
Before getting an answer, the fortune teller touched her stomach. Her fingers had barely grazed her shirt when she let out a rattling gasp.
“Goodness!”
“What?”
She received no response. Looking up, she saw the fortune-teller’s milky eyes had grown wide. It made her heart clench.
“What is it?”
“So much potential.”
Clutching her chest, Madame Oracle took a few shuffling steps back and lowered herself into her armchair.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before. So many…there’s just so many…”
Blood was rushing in her ears.
“What’s wrong? Is there something wrong!?”
The fortune-teller furrowed her brow.
“How many siblings do you have?”
“Huh?”
“How many brothers or sisters do you have?”
She hesitated but still answered.
“One – an older sister.”
“And the father?”
Closing her eyes, she steadied her racing mind and remembered.
“Five – no, six.”
“He is the youngest then – the seventh.”
The back of her neck prickled.
“How do you know?”
A sudden thought struck her. Her mother loved going to fortune tellers. She stood up quickly and backed away.
“Hiroko.”
She froze as Madame Oracle uttered her name.
“Hiroko,” she repeated, a concerned expression etched on her face, “listen to me carefully – you are going to have a boy. He is going to be gifted. He will need guidance. Please – for his own sake, no matter whether you keep him or give him away, you must –”
Her feet carried her to the bead curtain. Swiping it aside, she paced through the lobby and slammed the door open. The bell clanged like an alarm as she exited.
The clattering of platform shoes followed her.
“Hey – hey! What happened?” Meiko asked.
Shoving a cigarette into her mouth, she reached into her other pocket for her lighter. Instead, she found something else.
“Um, you’re scaring me!? What is it?”
Pausing on the path, Hiroko gave the pregnancy test to Meiko. Her friend examined it like an indecipherable rune. Several seconds passed before she let out a scream.
“Oh – oh my God? Oh MY God!? Oh my GOD!?”
Meiko leaned in close and cupped her mouth with a hand.
“Are you keeping it?”
Without thinking, she nodded. Meiko let out another shrill squeal.
“I’m so excited! Does your boyfriend know? Does your mom know!? Ahh babies are so sooo cute! You’re going to have the cutest baby! Oh my God, I’m gonna buy so many adorable outfits for her – oh, or for him? Do you know if it’s a girl or a boy yet?”
Hiroko glanced at herself in the shop window as Madame Oracle’s words circled in her head.
“So much potential.”
She spat out the cigarette and crushed it with the ball of her foot.
“It’s a boy.” She replied.