A Gypsy Spins a Tale

A Gypsy Spins a Tale

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"Why are they all standing outside around the fires, mama?" Emily asked as they walked by the many campfires. She peered behind her mother's long skirts as she tried to get a better look. Tents were scattered all around, settled in a neighborhood of long-abandoned buildings. Washed laundry fluttered outside each tent as it was hung to dry.

A violin could be heard somewhere in the distance, the joyous sound drifting lazily toward them. A silhouette of a woman could be seen as she danced around the fire, men cheering around her. The smell of burnt wood filled their nostrils and the chilly night air held a hint of staleness in spite of the cool breeze.

"Because they're cold, hon." Her mother answered, jerking slightly on Emily's arm to distract her. "Don't stare! Just keep walking."

"Are they bad people?" It was the first time Emily saw Gypsies and even though the darkness created only shadows of them, she knew they were dark-skinned and mostly dirty from living on the road. These, however, have settled down. She looked up at her father expectantly.

"Not all of them, Em. Some of them tend to take kids on occasion. If you're ever alone and see them, walk in the other direction or cross the street, you hear?" They walked briskly past the campsite and Emily breathed a sigh of relief as the shadows disappeared into the night.


Weeks passed and Emily never gave those Gypsies a second thought.


Spring arrived early that year. The afternoon sun shone brightly as Emily and her mother decided to visit the town's market. There were more people present than usual, pushing and shoving, but Em didn't mind being squeezed and stepped on in the crowds. Holding tightly to her mother's hand, she stood on tiptoe as she glanced at the various goods being sold.

The noise was horrendous as people kept shouting out prices and names of things they sold. Merchandise was being waved in the air as they tried to attract attention to themselves. As they neared the building with frozen goods, the smell of cheese and fish was overpowering and Emily covered her nose and mouth with the long sleeve of her pink shirt she was wearing. The slight breeze picked up its pace and as she tried to throw her golden blond hair to the side, something caught her eye.

Pulling on her mother's arm to get her attention she forgot about the stifling smell and whispered loudly, "Look, mama!! There's a Gypsy!"

Her mother's eyes widened in shock as she whirled on her daughter and hissed "Hush, dove! You can't say something like that in public!" Emily quickly clamped her mouth shut, as her cheeks turned rosy in shame. Her words didn't go unnoticed as the old lady looked at her. She smiled at Emily, which created even more wrinkles around the corners of her eyes in her withered face. The midnight black hair fluttered around her head as the wind blew yet her gaze never wavered. It sent chills down Emily's back and finally being able to move, she turned quickly and followed her mother into the icy building.


"Do you know what your daughter did today?" Sarah asked her husband as they walked into the house, arms loaded with groceries.

"No, what?" Matt asked as he lifted his daughter up into his arms and twirled her around.

"We saw a Gypsy today, dad! A real Gypsy!" Emily proclaimed while giggling.

"Doesn't sound too exciting." Hugging his daughter close to him, he kissed Sarah affectionately on her lips before she started unpacking the bags she brought with her.

"Eww, daddy, that's gross! Put me down." She wiggled her skinny little body out of Matt's hands and headed for the bags on the table. The kitchen was small, barely fitting the necessary things a kitchen needs and the round wooden table filling one corner of the room was covered with various items. Emily was searching relentlessly for something, distracted for the time being.

"So, what did she do?" Matt asked his wife as he hugged her close to him. She smelled of roses and sunshine and he leaned his head into her neck to inhale deeply of her.

Sarah laughed quietly. "She yelled at the top of her lungs as she saw the lady and of course attracted unwanted attention, is what she did."

"That's not too bad. You were surrounded by crowds. Nothing would have come of it, either way." He said to her neck as he pushed her blond hair out of the way for better access.

"Perhaps. You're right, but still. You know there's more to them than just being Gypsies," Sarah finished. Turning her head she looked at their daughter intent on her task.

"What are you looking for?" She inquired of Emily as she noticed all produce scattered on the table.

"I'm looking for.. Is this yours, mama?" She held up a red scarf and wrinkled her nose in disgust as she smelled it. "No, it smells weird." Stretching her hand out and holding the item at bay she continued looking at it warily.

"No, it isn't mine! Ugh!" Grabbing an empty bag, Sarah let Emily drop the item in the bag, all the while looking at Matt with concerned eyes, saying silently 'see?!'

Matt just shrugged and started putting the groceries away.

~ * ~

"Why are they all running inside?" Seth asked Emily as they watched the little ants gather bits and pieces of food and carry it inside their well built home. They were both kneeling down, trying to help the little creatures out.

"That's too much, Seth!" Emily said sternly as she smacked his hand away, making him drop the crumbs he was trying to place near an ant. He smiled at her mischievously, his blue eyes sparkling, and before she could do anything he pushed his foot forward and destroyed the ants' home.

Emily stood up abruptly, filled her lungs with air and yelled, "MOOOOOOM!!! Seth is being mean again!"

As Seth turned to run, both Sarah and his own mom ran out of their houses to check on the kids. Sarah was just about to ask what was going on when she noticed the Gypsy and two kids standing outside the yard. Linda, Seth's mom, walked over and looked at the newcomers.

"Hello. Can we help you somehow?" Linda asked as she looked at the Gypsies. Their clothes were clean yet worn out and torn in places. Sarah just stood there, mouth wide open. She recognized the lady from the market and hurried toward Emily as if to protect her.

"Could you give an old lady some change for food, miss?" She directed her palm toward Linda but her eyes held Sarah's gaze. "I'll read your fortune in return," she continued.

Linda seemed confused but cheered up at the mention of fortune. "Sure! What do you say?" She directed the question at Sarah, but not calling her by name. Even she knew better.

"I don't know. Maybe some other time?" She clung to Emily and she did the same as she recognized the old lady.

"You have something of mine." The old woman told Sarah. "I'd like it back if it's not too much trouble." She grinned, revealing a missing front tooth and many others, stained from lack of brushing.

"Uhh, yes. Yes, of course!" Sarah remembered the dirty scarf and moved to go into the house but stopped suddenly.

"Tell you what. We'll go to my house and I'll make us some coffee while she gets your scarf. How's that sound?" Linda noticed something was off but didn't want to ask. "Maybe some chocolate for the kids?"

As Linda and the old woman walked away, Sarah released her death grip on her daughter. "I'm sorry, hon. Did I hurt you?"

"No. Are we really letting her read our fortune?" Emily inquired. She looked up at Sarah for answers.

"I think we have no choice. There's a reason why she put her scarf in our bags. Stay here, I'll be right back!" She went back into the house, grabbed the bag containing the scarf and headed for the door. On her way out she grabbed a few coins out of her purse and with Emily in tow headed for Linda's house.

Seth and Emily were left to play outside with the Gypsy kids since neither one of the women saw any harm in that. The three of them disappeared inside the house and didn't come out for quite some time. When the door finally opened, Emily dropped the stones she was playing with and waited expectantly. The old lady came out first. She gathered the kids she brought with her and passing by Emily, she patted her on the head.

"All will be good, my dear." She told her and gave her one last smile before leaving.

Linda waived them goodbye and looked at Sarah, smiling. "Always nice to hear one's fortune." She said before ushering Seth inside the house for lunch.

"How did her scarf end up in your shopping bags??" She asked Sarah.

"I don't know. She must have put it in when I wasn't looking."

"Well, she sure had a lot to say about your fortune. Don't take it too serious. It's all for the money anyway." Linda said before turning to walk back inside the house.

"Did she read your fortune, mama? What did she say?? Tell me. Did she have to read your fortune?" Sarah was lost in thought after she said goodbye to Linda and finally looked at her daughter.

"Yes and yes, hon. You do not turn a Gypsy away when they come to the door begging for money." She wondered if she should tell her daughter what the old hag said. Linda found it all funny and interesting, but you don't mess with Gypsy magic. Everyone knew that! Nor do you provoke them. They tend to leave charkas for bad luck.

"Mom? What's the fortune?" Emily insisted.

"She said we'll be moving far away." Even as she said it, Sarah doubted the truth of those words.

"She did not! How does she know?? Where to? Should I pack?"

"I don't know how she knows, she just does." They went back to their house, but Sarah never mentioned to Emily what else she's been told. That night, neither one of them spoke a word of the day's events to Matt when he got home. Nor did they ever mention it again.

~ * ~

A strangely silent darkness covered the city when Matt burst through the front door, breaking the peace and quiet with his commotion. Emily raised her eyebrows as she looked at her mother curiously, yet somewhat startled. Her homework lay open in front of her and she dropped her pencil as she stared at Sarah. The sound of cabinets being carelessly opened and closed reached her small ears but she didn't dare move.

Careful not to ruin her stitching, Sarah put it on the table and walked out of the kitchen to check on things. The noise wasn't Matt's usual behavior. Emily couldn't help herself and ran to the door, yet still out of sight to hear what's going on.

"What are you doing?" Clothes were scattered all over the room as Matt threw things carelessly into the old, worn suitcases.

"Packing! You should help me!" He commanded, never looking at his wife. "We need to go!"

"Hon.. Stop! You're scaring Emily. You're scaring me! What's going on?!" Putting her hand on his arm, Sarah finally distracted him from the ludicrous attempt to pack.

"War! That's what," he said, breathless. "There are riots and people are getting shot! We need to go!" Putting his hands on his hips, Matt looked around for more things he could shove inside the suitcase.

Sarah's eyes widened at his words, incapable to say a word. Hugging herself as if in protection, she finally mumbled, "The.. red.. The red scarf. The Gypsy, Matt. She was right." Her mind was reeling as she remembered what the old hag had said that day.

"Who? What? Now you're not making any sense." He shook his head and headed for Emily's room to see if there was anything else they might need. As his shadow passed the kitchen door, Emily retreated quickly and sat down on a chair, yet still close enough to eavesdrop. She never heard what was said that day nor did she dare ask about it. This was her only chance!

"Remember that Gypsy we saw at the market some time ago?" Sarah shuddered involuntarily, then took a deep breath and continued. "She was here. She found us. Scared me out of my wits, but when she asked for her dreadful scarf, I had no choice. Linda and I let her read our fortune."

Never attempting to stop her husband in his bizarre packing endeavor, she walked behind him and told him what happened that day.

"So what did the old hag say?"

The whole scene in front of her seemed unreal as she looked around at the open dressers, but her eyes focused on the past and the words she wasn't capable of erasing no matter how hard she tried.

"She told me 'You need to go before the red rivers flow. The snow will melt, make people's hearts cold. Leave, leave just before or you won't exist anymore'. Our future isn't safe here and we should go as soon as possible."

Coming back out of her trance, she blinked a few times to clear her vision, then said, "I didn't believe her! I was scared, but she said not to worry. As long as we leave before the last snow melts we should be alright." Her voice sounded shrill to her own ears and she cleared her throat. She slammed the top of the suitcase on Matt's hands, then looked directly into his eyes. "Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow."

In the next room, Emily sat rooted in the chair as she crossed her fingers on the kitchen table, her heart hammering away, partly with fear, yet more so from excitement.



Word count: 2359