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Tim relaxed, drank his coffee, and read tarot cards. It was rare that he actually had time to sit down in his favorite coffee shop and not just get an order to go.
Most people felt the same way, because he and one other guy were the only ones sitting at the tables. Everyone else came and went at a hurried everyday pace.
Since it was Gotham, Tim got fewer strange looks from the other customers than the guy reading a book. Magic was part of Gotham, while doing something normal was almost suspicious. Like reading a book in a café, for example. Tim readily admitted that he had also given the guy a strange look.
To be fair, though, the guy was now staring at him as if he couldn't believe what Tim was doing.
Tim turned over a card from the freshly shuffled deck for the third time in ten minutes and cursed.
The Lovers again.
Tim was a spirit witch, and as such, the dead, souls, and his gaze through the veil of time were part of his responsibilities. Most days, he was proud of that.
But on days like today, he would have liked to give fate the middle finger. Did the cards have to mock him because he was still single?
It wasn't his fault that most men were jerks. Just look at his brothers. And since the women in Gotham had already figured that out, they quickly realized that Tim wasn't exactly Mr. Perfect either.
He sighed.
“Sorry.”
Tim startled and stared at the guy who was now standing in front of him, holding his book loosely in his hand.
“What?” Tim asked, annoyed, and put the card back in the deck.
“Do you really believe in this stuff?”
Tim stared at him in disbelief at first, and then a grin spread across his face.
“Would you like me to read your cards?” he asked. “Then you can decide for yourself whether you believe in it.”
The man suddenly seemed completely unsettled and looked around for help.
“It's free,” Tim assured him, “and it won't take long.”
The man bit his lip and then nodded decisively.
“By the way, I'm Conner,” he introduced himself.
Tim grinned. “Tim.”
He held out the deck to Conner.
“You have to shuffle.”
Conner frowned: “Isn't that your job?”
“The one who wants to know his future has to shuffle too,” Tim rolled his eyes, “That's common knowledge.”
It wasn't, and many spirit witches argued about what was really better. Tim didn't care. He just wanted to annoy Conner.
“While shuffling, you have to think about your day today. What lies ahead of you. What you're worried about. The cards will give you answers to questions you haven't even asked yet.”
Conner took the cards and shuffled them with such care, it was as if he were defusing a bomb.
Finally, he handed them back to Tim.
Tim fanned them out and held them back up to Conner.
“Choose.”
Conner frowned: “If I do everything, what's your job?”
Tim looked at him, unimpressed: “Do you even know what the cards mean?”
Conner blushed and pointed to a card.
Tim pulled it out and turned it over.
Someone had to be messing with him!
For the fourth time that day, the Lovers smiled at him.
Conner laughed: “That's easy. I'm going to fall in love?”
Tim rolled his eyes: “If it were that easy, there would be no need for witches like me.”
Conner frowned: “You're a witch?”
“Is that a problem?”
Conner raised his hands defensively: “No, not at all. I just thought you were called warlocks.”
“That's something different, and warlocks are assholes,” Tim couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.
Conner seemed visibly embarrassed. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you.”
Tim felt a little guilty for glaring at the poor guy the whole time. But his remorse was really only slight, because the guy seemed to be constantly insulting him.
“So I won't fall in love?” Conner asked, confused.
With tarot, it always came down to intuition. It was easier if you knew something about the person, but Tim was a gifted witch. The threads of fate were only a blink away.
“It can mean that in some cases,” Tim admitted, “but in your case, it stands for harmony. Something is tearing you apart inside, and today you will find peace with it.”
Conner flinched and spilled Tim's coffee.
“Shit,” he cursed and wiped it up hastily, “I'll buy you a new one, of course.”
While Conner stood at the cash register, Tim shuffled the cards again.
Nothing had changed in his future. Still the Lovers.
Conner came back with two coffee cups.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
Conner laughed, but it sounded fake.
It hadn't been a good joke.
Tim took a sip of his coffee and then nodded encouragingly to Conner.
“Does this deck have other cards, because you keep turning over the same one.”
Tim laughed and showed him the cards. It was a normal tarot deck.
“Are they marked?” Conner asked.
Tim sighed: “You don't have to believe me, but it's magic, Conner. And I really am a witch. A spirit witch, to be precise. Souls and futures. That's my everyday business. So if I promise you harmony, it will come true.”
Conner didn't say anything for a long time. Only when Tim's coffee cup was empty did he seem to realize that he was running out of time.
“Do I have a soul?” he asked. His voice sounded soft and vulnerable.
Tim looked at him. For the first time that day, he looked not only at the surface, but also inside.
Tim smiled: “Yes, Conner. You have a soul too.”
Conner grimaced. “How do you know that?”
Tim leaned forward and whispered, “I can see that you are a golem, Conner. But you still have a soul. It is very small, but it shines so brightly that it would burn my third eye if I looked directly into it.”
Conner's eyes grew wide. And moist.
Tim felt slightly uncomfortable, but he couldn't help feeling proud. It must be a heavy burden to believe you are soulless. Tim was glad he had been able to lift that burden.
They ordered another coffee and this time they put the cards aside and talked about each other.
It was the most pleasant morning Tim had had in a long time.
And the most pleasant afternoon, because time flew by faster than either of them realized.
“Can I confess something to you?” Conner asked at the end, as they stood in front of the café after being kicked out.
“Yes,” Tim allowed.
“When I approached you, I didn't want a card reading. I just wanted your number.”
Tim couldn't help but grin.
He pulled out a card behind Conners ear.
His cell phone number was written on the back, and on the front, lovers were embracing each other.