(This one's for you, Bri)
One day, Emma, a plump fair-skinned young woman, with long light golden brown hair shining in the sun, was out in the field over the hill from her cabin, bent over, picking daisies. She heard a low rumbling of wheels in the distance and as she looked toward the hill, a gypsy caravan rounded the bend on the dusty road and approached. Emma stood and put her hand up to shield her eyes both from the dust these carts were kicking up and the sun that had temporarily blinded her. The first wagon in the caravan pulled to a stop near her.
A tall, sturdy man, with a full brown beard and intense, yet kind eyes looked down at her and asked, "Would you like your fortune told, in exchange for some of your lovely flowers?"
"Umβ¦okay," she said, hesitantly, unsure of gypsies, but ultimately deciding in the spilt-second debate in her mind to go for it, because she loved the idea of tarot cards and crystal balls. (Not that she truly believed, but she had read about them in books, and had to find out for herself what it was like.) She gathered a nosegay of flowers and reached out as he extended his hand to her and pulled her up into his traveling fortuneteller's quarters, as the rest of the caravan moved ahead and pulled their carts into a circle in the field, making themselves right at home on Emma's property.
As she entered the door to his carriage, Emma looked around in awe, as she beheld the beautiful, deep colors of the satin cushions and the velvet curtains. Many ornate posters and statues surrounded the room, giving it an air of mystery. In the center of the room, in the middle of all the floor cushions, sat a low table with a shiny brocade table cloth and a gleaming crystal ball.
"Wow," she thought to herself, "one could really be convinced by all this detail and gaudiness." The gypsy led her to the cushion nearest the table, and sat down beside her, rather than across from her, which she found odd, "But a nice personal touch, I guess," she thought. "He's just being friendly." All this time, he was still holding her hand, which had begun to get a little damp. "Hmm," she thought, "just like other parts of me," as she noticed how attractive the bearded gypsy was, after getting a better look at him, protected now from the glare of the sun. He looked into her eyes as if he could see her soul, and she squirmed a bit on her cushion, embarrassed. "Maybe he can see the future. Or just read my mind. Oh, I sure hope not, this could be embarrassing," she thought.
He looked at her, and said, "Folks all over the countryside call me the Magnificent Whit. But you can just call me Whit. What's your name?"
"Emma," she stammered...lowering her eyelashes shyly, barely able to look away from him, but she didn't want to be rude and stare.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Emma," Whit said. "I will first read your palm, then we will look into the crystal ball." He turned her hand over, cradling hers in his larger, strong palm, and slowly, lightly, traced a finger diagonally across her palm, and said "This is your love line...see this break in the line here? How old are you, Emma?"
"Twenty four," she replied.
"It looks as if about 3 years ago, you had your heart broken. Is this true?"
"Yes...I did," she admitted. "Is he for real? This is scary," she thought to herself.
"Right here, however, your love line is strong, and thick, almost as if a smaller second line has joined it," he said, while still tracing the lines of her palm gently with his fingertip. "That means that you will find love very, very soon." Emma looked up at him, noticing his lips and how much she wished to be kissed by them.
"Can we look at the crystal ball now?" she said quickly, losing all concentration when talking to him and completely forgetting to ask about her lifeline.
"Crystal ball? Yes, we can look at the crystal ball," Whit stammered. It may have been her imagination, but it seemed to Emma that Whit had also lost a bit of concentration as she caught him peering into the lacing of the bodice on her simple peasant dress.
"This old dress is getting too small," she thought, "my breasts are nearly falling out of it. Hopefully, in the crystal ball, I'll see myself in some new clothes." Whit reached forward to get the crystal ball, at the exact moment when Emma reached up to adjust her dress, and turning to look, he accidentally knocked the ball off the stand and it went rolling right into Emma's lap.