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“This space is safe… This space is clear… Only love and light may enter here…”
This was a mantra that was always repeated before a proper tarot reading was done by Uki Violeta.
A barista by day and a witch by night. They’d done readings before for friends in the past, and recently, they thought they would try doing readings for strangers, completely free of bias with no ties whatsoever. As far as Uki was aware, there’d been no complaints so far. They started getting a couple regulars every now and then. With Halloween nearing, and by massive persuasion from their friends, Uki decided to put a price to their craft.
There was going to be a Renaissance Festival coming up, the best place to display their readings according to their friends. One of said friends had a vacant booth and offered Uki a position to put their skills to the test. The friend would cover the ride since they have yet to receive a driver’s license, nor do they bother to drive places. Since this event was a month long, and with the generous vacation their manager gave them, they might as well take up the friend’s offer.
Of course, this phenomenon sounded strange from the outside looking in. But with how the manager saw how continuously Uki worked with little to no breaks (an accident, they swore), she figured to let them go off and pursue their hobby. She may have been influenced by a reading Uki did for her a while back that brought them to tears with how accurate it was for her.
Now at the Renaissance Festival, their neighboring workers at their station helped them set up with curtains, a table, a proper backdrop, and even where to go to dress the part if they so chose.
And best believe Uki did.
They have a black witch’s hat with a purple ribbon wrapped around the middle, tied in a bow in the back. It was a little big for their head, but it was all the store had. There was minimal styling to their muted lavender to pink ombre hair, just a simple lazy low ponytail and allowed let the length of their hair drape over their shoulder. Tied around their neck is a black silk cape adorned with the night sky underneath, underneath the tie was a simple diamond shape necklace. To save money, Uki just opted for their black mock turtleneck shirt with black bell pants to match, a couple of gems along the front of their waist on the drawstring.
The psychic’s almond shaped nails were painted an onyx ombre into a white along the top. There were some rings on every other finger, nothing too fancy. Along the cuff of their ears were earrings, one in the shape of the moon dangling on their left earlobe. To top off the look, Uki covered their eyelids with eyeshadow, a mix of purples and pinks, going from dark to light, out to in. Some natural lashes on top of their eyeliner, nothing over the top since their amethyst eyes usually stole the show. Normally, they would wear their circle glasses, but because dirt can come from anywhere and disrupt their vision, they thought it would be bet to sport some contacts for the day and see how that goes. Add a light amount of blush, contour, brow shape, and a dash of gloss, Uki was ready.
To bring some light into the small space, Uki brought some electronic tealight candles. They placed a couple on their desk, some shelves behind them, and some along the corners of the room on its respective shelving, right next to the entrance covered with violet curtains. They took out their crystals from their pouch and laid them out in front of them, right next to the crystal ball on a small stand, on standby for whenever they’re needed. Last, but certainly not least, they brought out their Fountain Tarot Deck with a little booklet on standby just in case if there’s anything they need clarification on.
“Alright… I guess I’m ready,” Uki said with a deep breath.
And so, the Renaissance Festival was open to the public. The walls weren’t necessarily thick, but they weren’t thin either, so some light chatter is heard through the walls. If needed be, Uki has noise cancelling headphones on standby to help them concentrate.
The smell of food wafted inside, such as chicken, fries, funnel cakes, a variety of toasted nuts; and it made Uki take note of what to grab whenever they have lunch break.
After roughly twenty minutes of waiting, one person comes in, being careful not to bump anything as they look around. Even though the lighting isn’t great, Uki was able to make out that this person has short silver hair with a fringe on the right, with possibly the eyes to match. The person has on a black bomber jacket with a wolf embroidery, a red shirt, black pants with a simple belt, and black combat boots.
Long story short, this person appeared attractive to Uki.
“Hello…?” they greeted warily. They had a gentle deep voice with an accent. Uki would’ve guessed somewhere in Europe, but it could be Australian for all he knew. Either way, they sounded lovely to Uki’s ears.
“Hello! Come on in, have a seat,” Uki offered while extending their hand to the chair in front of them. “I’m Uki, and I’ll be doing your reading today.”
The person took their seat in the chair. “My name’s Fulgur, nice to meet you!”
“Likewise~” Uki began shuffling his deck just to warm up. “If it’s alright with you, may I know your pronouns just to clarify?”
“Ah, yes, he/him.”
“Thank you, Fulgur.” Uki put their cards down on the table.
“How about yourself?”
Uki stilled, not expecting him to want to know as well. “I…go by he/they. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“Got it!” Fulgur gave a thumbs up with a smile.
He’s so cute-- “Now then, what would you like to know about? It can be generalized, it can be about your love life, career, health. Whatever comes to mind.”
“Hmm… Eh, I’ll take a stab at love life, why not.”
Uki nodded and began shuffling once more. “Have you ever had a reading done before?”
“Once, yeah. It was a generalized reading some time ago.”
“That sounds nice!”
“Yeah. Now, my friends are tired of me being single and happy, so they pushed me to get a love reading this time ‘round.”
Uki laughed and shook their head. “How dare they. You can thrive just fine being single, the fuck?”
“Exactly what I said!” Fulgur laughed, sending a sense of comfort through Uki. He pauses, trying to think of what to say next. “So, uh, do I pay you before or…?”
“You can pay after, it’s fine. If you’re not satisfied with the reading, then don’t worry about it.”
This took Fulgur aback. “Huh?”
“Like, if you feel like the idea didn’t come across whatsoever, aka I did a bad job, then you don’t have to pay me.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem fair.”
Uki looked up and saw Fulgur frown. The psychic offered a half smile. “I’ve been doing this for a while, but I haven’t turned it to profit at all until now, so…it’s honestly up to you.”
Fulgur nodded, possibly understanding what Uki meant and went silent.
The only noise between the two was the crowd from outside. Although it might not sound like much to Fulgur, Uki was starting to get a little overwhelmed. From both the subtle yet loud noise from beyond the curtains and personal pressure for wanting to do well for Fulgur’s reading. Soft idle chatter would’ve been fine, but combine that with the occasional screaming baby, some performers going all out, and unique laughter, it equaled a fog surrounding Uki’s brain.
After taking a breath, they took their hat off and grabbed their headphones to place over their ears, silencing the world around them. They gave an apologetic smile to Fulgur while pointing at their headphones, but the latter shook his head with a soft smile. Uki took an internal sigh of relief, happy that Fulgur wasn’t offended by the sudden gesture.
The psychic shuffled for a few minutes before closing their eyes to shuffle the deck one last time. One after another, three cards are pulled and displayed from left to right. They set the rest of the deck to their right and glanced at the result. From left to right on display, there was the Six of Cups, Three of Cups, and King of Swords.
“Okay… We have two cup cards,” Uki started while removing his headphones.
“Not a flower card?” Fulgur questioned at the Six of Cups card.
“Hm? No—” Uki laughed. “You know what, yeah, it’s the six of flowers~” The both laughed at that remark. “It’s just flowers in the cup. But no, having cups cards in general is, I think, a good sign because it represents feelings, emotions, stuff like that.”
“I do have a lot of feelings.”
“Well, I would hope so!”
A soft chuckle escaped Fulgur’s lips, then went silent.
And so, Uki began to explain in their words what each card meant and represented for Fulgur:
“The Six of Cups definitely has to do with love because it’s like…feeling a connection with a person who revives your…happy feelings. If you’ve ever felt dulled out, the person who’s meant for you will instill those feelings of joy, feelings of familiarity. On the card, it shows them sharing an intimate space, giving a cup to someone and the other one receiving. Your person is someone who still has some sort of…innocence to them, and you both make each other feel safe.”
Uki paused, silently giving Fulgur a chance to speak. But he remained quiet. Uki looked over the man and noticed his body was tense. Had he expected something simpler? Something nonchalant? It made Uki wonder what kind of reading he had prior, if it were one of those two things with the general reading he had. The psychic continued:
“The Two of Cups shows people who shared an experience. They’ve done things together that only they can remember. Having a bond that’s already strong. This person is part of a community that you’re a part of, that shares the same experiences that you have, the same achievements, celebrated together, or will. There’s a…culmination of spending countless moments together that eventually lead up to having that fulfilling love.”
Again, no words from the latter. Still just as tense. Uki proceeded to the final card:
“The King of Swords is somebody who’s pretty intelligent. Sometimes you can be viewed as cold, but those who are close to you know what’s really on the inside. So, I feel like those who are around you, or your person will be someone who already sees past the demeanor that you’re putting out and see how you really are on the inside. Someone intelligent who works really hard and has a lot to give…a lot of empathy even though there might be a logical side of you.”
There was a brief pause between the two. The moment they locked eyes, Fulgur stared through Uki’s eyes to pinpoint if everything they’ve said was genuine or a façade. The deeper he looked, the more his eyes welled up with tears. And the moment they saw Fulgur’s reaction, Uki started to tear up as well.
“Whoever this person is will be very lucky,” Uki concluded, getting choked up.
They remained silent for a moment more. They allowed Fulgur to process everything he’s been told, and if there was anything he would want to say, he would feel free. Uki could see the gears turning in the man’s brain, him opening his mouth from time to time. He shook his head once and locked back into Uki’s gaze.
“That’s…very sweet of you to say…” Fulgur said gently. “Right in the feels!”
Uki had a feeling he said that so he could try and laugh it off. However, the more they thought about the potential the man in front of him has, and how close knit his company most likely was, Uki can’t help but feel the tears in his ducts overflow to their cheeks. Even though the two have never met before, Uki felt a moment of connection with him. It filled them up with a sense of pride, admiration, and dare they say love.
“…sorry, I’m getting emotional…” Uki said while sniffling.
“No, don’t apologize…” Fulgur insisted. He reached into his backpack and grabbed a travel pack of tissues. He took a couple out, one for Uki and possibly one for himself.
“Thank you…” They dabbed their eyes, then blew their nose. “Sorry…” They tossed their tissue to the trash and moved the trashcan to Fulgur’s side. They takes one proper look at the emotional man and a smile was etched into Uki’s face. “You… You are very loved.”
Fulgur went quiet, but one look at his expression told Uki he was trying to suppress his emotions. Normally, Uki would’ve encouraged people that this was a safe space, that it was okay to cry here, say whatever they wanted, that there was no judgement involved. However, something told Uki to refrain and allow Fulgur to process this however he felt like.
But upon another glance, Uki could conclude that Fulgur’s life was flashing through his eyes. Or perhaps he was reminiscing all the memories shared with his loved ones. Subconsciously, Fulgur’s head droops down to look at the table, appearing in a daze. With caution, Uki stood from their chair and brought their hand in front of Fulgur on the table, palm facing outward.
“May I borrow your hand, Fulgur?” Uki asked calmly.
Fulgur nodded, bringing his hand from underneath the table into Uki’s. Not another word was spoken. Just only giving reassuring squeezes to the gentleman as tears finally dropped down into his lap. Uki brought their other hand on top of Fulgur’s, causing him to look up at the psychic. Met with a beautiful smile, Fulgur came back to his senses.
“S-Sorry…” Fulgur said. He sniffled and cleared his throat.
“Don’t apologize,” Uki reassured. “It’s a lot to process. You’re completely valid.”
“Thank you…truly.” Fulgur squeezed Uki’s hand in return, giving the psychic the sign to let go of his hand.
Uki took a deep breath, in and out. There was no tenseness in the air as they sat back down. Just a comfortable feeling of calm, almost as if catching up with an old friend. They hadn’t felt like this in a while.
“So, is this your first time at the Renaissance Festival?”
“Hm? Yeah, it is.”
“Do you…happen to know when your lunch break is?”
Uki looked at Fulgur carefully, then quirked their eyebrow. Where is he going with this…? “Should be in a few hours. Why…?”
“Well… Would you like me to show you around with food in hand?”
Uki’s heart skipped a beat. “I… I would love that. Wait, you have nowhere else to be?”
“Not until much later, so I have time to kill. My friends, on the other hand, will have to deal with me.” Fulgur’s mouth eased into a smug grin.
Uki chuckled. “Well~” They pulled out a business card from their bag next to them along with a pen. They wrote down their phone number along with a little note at the bottom of what they can’t have to eat. “Give me a call? Lemme know when you’re nearby and we’ll explore?”
“Sounds fantastic.”
Fulgur gave Uki a warm smile while taking the business card. He bowed in respect as Uki waved goodbye. Immediately after Fulgur left, Uki heard a feminine sounding voice shriek, along with some ooo’s from others nearby. They didn’t sound like they were in danger, but more rather excited. He heard Fulgur’s voice telling the other person to be quiet, making the psychic laugh.
They sound like good people.
Uki smiled fondly, then stretched out any tenseness within them. Even though it wasn’t a typical five card reading, just having a reading as powerful as what Fulgur had can take a lot out on a person. Uki grabbed their water from under the table and was about to take a drink but noticed the money left behind.
Huh? When did he—?
Wide-eyed, Uki double checked their sign next to the entrance to make sure they put the correct price on a simple reading. They counted the money again and Fulgur definitely gave them too much. Within the bills, a small note falls out. Uki picked up the note and read:
“This is all yours to keep. No, I don’t want it back. And no, don’t try to sneak it back. Thank you for today. – F”
This man…
And from that moment on, Uki had done a few more readings until their lunch break. As promised, Fulgur waited outside with food in hand. Uki’s heart swelled as they left their booth to walk alongside the man who took their heart away upon first glance.
Maybe they’ll end up being friends, or maybe they’ll end up as something more. But one thing’s for sure: from that moment, a bond formed. It was something that couldn’t be explained by Uki, the cards, or even the universe. It was as if their lives were meant to cross. Sooner or later, it didn’t matter.
They’re here for each other now, and that’s all that mattered.