The Death and the Hanged Man (Part 1)

Kasian was sitting in the armchair, his leg under the table, jumping around. Across from him, on the opposite side of the table, lined with black cloth, Mira was looking at him, his gaze sharp. Around them, a myriad of candles was burning, filling the room with warmth and light.

“Are you nervous?” Mira asked him. “Are you scared I will be able to read you like a book?

He forced his leg to stop moving. “Why should I? They are just some stupid picture cards.”

She smiled at his pretense.

“Okay then, let's start. Here, pick a card and I will tell you.”

She turned a deck of tarot cards to him, waiting.

He did not care about this shit. He just complied because of a lost bet. He was never interested in horoscopes or any fortune-telling.

He just took one card out of the deck and threw it onto the tablecloth. His eyes quickly swept through the picture on the card.

The Hanged Man.

“Am I going to die?” he asked. “Or is someone going to execute me by hanging?”

“I swear, Kasian, the more nervous you are, the more you are blabbering.”

“Okay, Miss Witch, I will shut up, so you can tell me my future.”

“Dear God, I told you my card reading is not about telling you about your future,” she rolled her eyes. “It is symbolic, and it usually talks about your growth as a person. I won't be able to say what numbers will win the next jackpot or that you will be hit by a car next week.”

Seeing Kasian finally fall silent, Mira took a good look at the card he had chosen and pondered for a moment.

“I mean, people usually see this card like a punishment, but that is not right. If you look closely at the card, you can see that the man in the picture is calm. Because he is the one who chose this. This card is about letting go and seeing things from a new perspective. But in your case, the card is reversed. This means that you are refusing to change your way, unwilling to see things from the other point of view. You need to realize that sometimes you need to let go.”

Kasian shook his head. “This is bullshit. How is it possible that people are paying you for this? Why can't you work in the same company as me and Leo?”

“Wow, this outburst sure just confirmed what I said. That you are unable to look at the things from the other side.”

Mira got up from her seat, turning to the candles. She blew out a few of them, the warm light disappearing.

“Me? You are the stubborn one, Mira. I gave you an opportunity to have a decent job.”

“So you can be my savior, too? No, thank you, I don’t need any babysitting. I can take care of myself. I am refusing to be your secretary.”

“What was that?”

“Leo is constantly doing your job.”

“That’s not true! I asked him for help. He is an adult, so he should know how to say no.”

“You are an adult, too, so you should know how to be responsible for your own tasks.”

Kasian got up from the armchair, glaring at Mina. This woman was full of poison, and he was fed up with that.

“Fuck it, I am leaving.”

“Sure, go ahead. And don’t you dare write to me and invite me for a beer the next day. I don’t want to see you or hear you or even read a text from you for at least a week!”

He left, making sure to slam the door. Such an adult he was.

Mira sat down, looking at the card he pulled out. Why is she even caring about him? She is the one who should surrender and just let go of those feelings of hers.

A door on the barn opened, its hinges creaking. Mira woke up immediately and sat up. Turning her head, she saw Peter entering the barn. A young man of tall and slender figure, with long black hair and purple eyes. He smiled at her once his gaze found her.

“I hope you were able to sleep well,” he said.

“Yeah,” she lied.

“I have some bread for you. For breakfast.”

He threw some bread at her, and she caught it. It was not fresh, but there were no grocery stores here with frozen pastries, which could be baked within a few minutes.

“Thanks,” she said, lowering her head.

Nibbling on the bread, she was looking as Peter sat down under the cow to milk it. Out of nowhere, a black cat appeared in the barn, ready for fresh milk. Mira reached her hand to it, and the cat rubbed its face on her knuckles.

“He likes you? That is a first,” Peter said.

“Is it a tomcat?”

“Yes.”

“What is his name?”

“Muro.”

Turning with a bucket full of milk, Peter poured some of it into the small tin cup and gave it to her. Then he poured some into a small bowl on the side, where the tomcat was eagerly waiting for his breakfast.

Mira opened her mouth. Cats shouldn’t be fed cow milk. But then, she realized where she is now. In this world, there were no tuna cans or cat kibbles. So she just shut her own mouth, looking at the warm milk in her cup. Never in her life did she drink fresh milk. No pasteurization? Should she risk it?

“I… can I ask you for something?”

He turned to her.

“C-can you boil this milk?”

“Oh, I can. But we did not start the fire in the stove yet. The days and nights are warm now, so we are letting the fire go out if we are not cooking anything.”

“Then forget it. I will drink it as it is. I have to keep going.”

“Where are you planning to go?”

Mira went silent.

She had no idea where to go. If magic were banned in this whole kingdom, there was no place for her here. Even if she wouldn’t use her magic at all and tried to live like a normal village girl, there would surely come a day when someone would snitch on her again. She did not want the tragedy to repeat.

“Where am I again?” she asked.

“Riverod Town,” he replied to her. “I think you should stay here for a while. It is easier to hide in town than in the small village where people know each other.”

“Maybe you are right,” she said after a while.

“But still, now you need to hide somewhere else, my siblings are playing around when they are not working.”

He did not even have time to finish this sentence, and the barn door opened. He turned over, seeing one of his siblings, the second one, arriving. The young boy, seeing an unknown lady in the barn, stopped in his tracks.

“Don’t mind her, Tomas,” he said. “What is it?”

“I think something is wrong with mum.”