Chapter 66: The Festive Atmosphere
On Christmas night, Francis paid a visit to his parents, and Scarlett invited Skyler to have dinner with her. They had not made a reservation in advance, so it was really hard to find a good restaurant that was not yet fully reserved. They wandered in the streets for a long time, and they finally walked into a small and poorly furnished Brazilian restaurant. It wasn’t a fancy restaurant or anything, but the food tasted surprisingly good. They were already happy and satisfied, for they didn’t expect much of Christmas. After their mom had passed away, Christmas did not have any real meaning to them.
There were very few people on the street since everyone was at home. Everybody was with their families sharing food, unwrapping gifts, and enjoying the warmth of their homes. Scarlett and Skyler were simply poor exceptions, walking around in the blustery, cold weather. They walked and talked about what had happened to them recently. Suddenly, they came across a girl selling flowers by the subway entrance. Her face had turned red because of the freezing wind.
Skyler walked up to her and said he would like to buy all the roses. The girl nodded gratefully and then carefully wrapped up the flowers into a beautiful bunch.
“Merry Christmas!” Skyler said to the girl before she left. Even though he didn’t know why the girl had to sell flowers even on Christmas, he tried to give her back a night that is supposed to be a happy and warm family reunion.
Skyler handed the bunch of roses to Scarlett and said, “I know you don’t like red roses, and it’s kinda weird for a brother to give them to his sister, but this was all she had. Here, take them. Merry Christmas.”
Scarlett looked up into Skyler’s eyes. She felt really, really happy. She was happy because she found that after so many years and everything he had been through, Skyler was still that pure, warm, and kind-hearted little boy who would reach out to his opponent who was injured in a football game and who would send greetings to every neighbor on festivals. The misfortune happened, people changed, but Skyler had remained the same.
She took the roses and thanked him. She gave him a big embrace and said, “Merry Christmas, Skyler. I love you, and I always will.”
The two had no specific destination but just walked along Connell Avenue and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.
Scarlett suggested, “Hey, I think that famous Fairy Street is just around the corner. How about we go and have a look? I heard that there are a lot of cool and interesting boutiques with mysterious stuff from all over the world.”
“Cool!” Skyler was not interested, but he was willing to accompany Scarlett.
But suddenly, his cellphone vibrated. It’s a call from one of his labmates.
“Hey, Jeff? Merry Christmas…”
When he hung up the phone, Scarlett noticed that Skyler looked worried.
“Jeff said that there’d been an emergency in the lab, so I have to go back to school.”
“Go, you’d better be quick. They need you.”
“I’m sorry, Scarlett. I mean… it’s Christmas, and I have to leave you alone. I’m so sorry!”
“I’ve got friends, stupid. Don’t be silly. Niki invited me to her Christmas party. So hurry up! Just go!”
“Okay, that’s good. I’ll call you when I finish. Bye!”
Skyler waved goodbye to Scarlett and jumped into a cab.
Scarlett tightened the scarf around her neck. Actually, there was no such party. But she was totally fine by herself.
Only a few boutiques were still open in Fairy Street. Scarlett was attracted to a small red-and-green shop with a large embroidered blanket hanging outside. She couldn’t see the signboard too clearly, but she found the front attractive and walked inside. Right after she stepped into the shop, she sneezed a few times. There was a strange scent floating around in the store.
The walkway was long and deep, with strange symbols on the walls on both sides. Scarlett put her hands into her coat pockets and walked deeper inside.
At the end of the walkway, there was a corner. She turned to the other side of the corner and found a small hall. There was a round table placed in the center and a large woman sitting behind it. The woman was shrouded in darkness, and she wore a long black gown and a colorful cloak on top, complete with a knitted shawl that had sequins and shiny beads.
“What brings you here is what leads you there. What do you want to know, little girl?” Her voice was deep and coarse. Scarlett noticed the Tarot cards on the table and realized that the woman was probably a fortune-teller of some kind. She dragged the chair and sat casually opposite her.
She looked up and found the price list behind the woman. She took out a fifty-dollar bill, put it on the table, and said, “I think I have had misfortunes since I was little. And I’ve gotten into even more trouble recently. Am I cursed or something?
The woman raised her eyebrows and put the money into her box. “Oh? I’m sensing your energies… you’re not cursed, my child. You’re blessed.”
“Oh, is that true? Are you already using your power or magic or anything to see through me? But let me tell you, my dad and mom died when I was little. And you tell me I’m blessed?!” Scarlett said to the woman with scorn and felt that she had wasted a small chunk of change.
“Listen, I’m sorry you lost your mother. But you have not lost your father, little girl. Your father is still alive.” The woman said gently.
Scarlett was stunned, but she tried to stay calm, “He’s dead to me.”
“You are blessed.” The woman just repeated this word and kept looking at her with her deep, dark eyes. Scarlett was scared by the woman and wanted to leave as soon as possible. But she needed to ask one last question before she got out of there.
“Will I get rich someday?”
“You’re a future billionaire. Oh, not far in the future. Before you’re 25.”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
“Bullshit!” Scarlett cursed in her mind.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you for all this nonsense! Take back your stories, and thanks for your time!”