The Woman Who Knew Her Name

The next morning, Evelyn woke up feeling like she'd been hit by a truck.

She stared at the ceiling.

For a few seconds, she couldn't remember why.

Then everything came rushing back.

The job rejection.

The money.

Samantha.

She groaned and pulled the blanket over her face.

"Five more minutes."

Five minutes became twenty.

By the time Evelyn finally dragged herself out of bed, she was already late.

Again.

The day at work wasn't particularly terrible.

Which, for Evelyn, was almost suspicious.

Nobody yelled at her. She didn't spill anything. She didn't accidentally fell asleep in staff room. And, miraculously, her manager didn't ask her to stay late.

She should have felt lucky.

Instead, she felt numb.

On her way home, she stopped at a small grocery store.

She stood in front of the snack aisle for nearly five minutes, holding a packet of wafers.

She looked at the packet.

Then at her phone.

Then back at the packet.

"Do I need you?"

The packet remained silent, of course. But in Evelyn's mind, she thought the packet might starts speaking and convince her to buy it.

"Probably not."

She put it back.

As she walked toward the exit, she caught sight of herself in the glass doors.

Messy hair and tired eyes. Oversized shirt that hugs her too thin body. She looked exhausted. She quickly looked away.

Outside, the sky had turned grey. It had been threatening to rain all day.

Evelyn pulled her bag closer to herself and started walking.

She decided to take a different route home.

Not because she had a reason.

She simply didn't want to go straight home yet. Sometimes home was too quiet. And quiet gave her too much time to think.

She wandered through a street she'd only been down a handful of times.

There were small shops on either side.

A bakery.

A pharmacy.

A tiny café she'd never noticed before.

Then she saw it. A narrow black door.

Evelyn slowed.

There was a sign hanging above it. Not a name. Just a symbol. A golden eye surrounded by a circle of tiny stars.

She frowned.

She'd walked this road before. Hadn't she?

She couldn't remember seeing this place.

Evelyn stopped walking. Something about the symbol made the skin along her arms prickle.

She stared at it. She knew that eye symbol.

Or at least...She felt like she did.

Her fingers instinctively moved toward her wrist.

She pulled her sleeve back.

Nothing.

Just ordinary skin.

Evelyn frowned.

"Where have I seen that before?"

She couldn't remember.

Maybe it was something she'd seen online. Maybe she'd passed this shop before.

She shook her head.

"Whatever."

She turned toward the door.

A tiny bell chimed as she stepped inside.

The window beside the door was filled with strange things.

Candles, Crystal balls, Old books. Bundles of dried herbs. Tarot cards. A small silver mirror. And several objects Evelyn couldn't identify.

It looked like the sort of shop that would sell things people bought before making terrible decisions.

This was ridiculous. Evelyn didn't believe in tarot Or astrology. She belives them to be fraud.

Instead, she believed in rent, rejection emails and terrible luck.

Those were things she had evidence for.

The smell of incense immediately surrounded her.

The shop was warmer than the street and quiet.

Very quiet.

"Hello?"

No answer.

Evelyn stepped farther inside.

"Is anyone here?"

A voice came from somewhere behind her.

"You took your time."

Evelyn spun around.

An old woman sat behind a small wooden table. Evelyn hadn't seen her enter.

She was dressed completely in black, with silver rings covering almost every finger.

Her hair was long and white. But it was her eyes that made Evelyn uncomfortable.

They were dark. Not simply brown. Almost black. And they seemed far too observant.

"Sorry?"

The woman smiled.

"I said you took your time."

"Have we met?"

"No."

The answer was immediate. Evelyn relaxed slightly.

"Okay."

The woman gestured toward the chair opposite her.

"Sit."

Evelyn hesitated.

"Do I need an appointment?"

"No."

"How much is a reading?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On what you want to know."

Evelyn almost laughed.

"Isn't that how scams work?"

The woman smiled.

"You're welcome to leave."

Evelyn looked toward the door.

She should.

Instead, she sat.

The woman studied her. Not her clothes. Not her face.

Her eyes.

It made Evelyn shift uncomfortably.

"What?"

"You're tired."

"That's obvious."

"You're disappointed."

Evelyn shrugged.

"That's also obvious."

"You've been rejected recently."

Evelyn's expression changed.

"Okay."

The woman smiled faintly.

"Now you're interested."

"I applied for a lot of jobs. It's not exactly supernatural."

"No."

She reached for a deck of tarot cards.

"But your problem isn't your job."

Evelyn frowned.

"What is it?"

"You."

Evelyn stared at her.

The woman began shuffling.

"You don't think you're enough."

Evelyn's throat tightened. She hated how quickly the words landed.

"That's a little dramatic."

"You don't believe people choose you."

Evelyn looked away. The woman continued.

"You think you're too awkward. Too ordinary. Too unattractive. Too far behind everyone else."

Evelyn's fingers curled around the edge of the chair.

"Do you do this with everyone?"

"Do what?"

"Say vague things until they start believing you know them. I think I'm just depressed."

The woman smiled.

"Perhaps."

Evelyn stood.

"I think I'll go."

The woman didn't stop her. She simply turned over the first card.

The Tower.

Evelyn glanced at it. Then at the woman.

"What does that mean?"

"Change."

"Good change?"

The woman looked at her.

"Not always."

She turned another card.

The Five of Pentacles.

Evelyn's stomach sank. The woman placed her finger over the card.

"Loss. Isolation. Hardship."

"Wow."

Evelyn laughed awkwardly.

"Can we get something less depressing?"

The woman didn't respond. She turned over the third card.

The Devil.

The room seemed to grow quieter.

Evelyn stared at the card.

"Well."

She gave a nervous laugh.

"That's... subtle."

The woman's expression didn't change.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"You've drawn him."

"Who?"

The woman looked at the card.

"The one who waits."

Evelyn's smile faded.

"That's supposed to mean something?"

"Yes."

"What?"

The woman gathered the cards.

"Not today."

Evelyn frowned.

"Then why tell me?"

"Because you came here looking for an answer."

"I don't even know what I'm asking."

The woman leaned closer.

"Yes, you do."

Evelyn looked down.

She did.

She just didn't want to say it aloud. She wanted to know why her life felt like this. Why she couldn't seem to catch a break. Why everyone else seemed to have something she didn't.

Why she couldn't stop feeling like she'd been left behind.

Why she couldn't just...be happy.

The woman seemed to read the thought from her face.

"You want your life to change."

Evelyn swallowed.

"Yes."

"How badly?"

Evelyn gave a small, bitter laugh.

"Very."

"Enough to make a sacrifice?"

She looked up.

"What kind?"

The woman reached beneath the table.

She brought out a small wooden box. It looked old. Older than anything else in the shop.

She placed it between them.

Evelyn didn't touch it.

"What is that?"

"A ritual."

"For?"

"A summoning."

Evelyn blinked.

"Like... an guardian angel?"

The woman smiled.

"If that's what you want."

"That's not a very convincing answer."

"It is the answer."

Evelyn stared at the box.

"You actually believe in this?"

"I don't need to believe."

That answer unsettled her. The woman opened the box. Inside were several things.

A black candle.

A small silver pin.

A length of red thread.

And a folded piece of paper.

The woman unfolded it.

There was a strange symbol drawn across the page. Once again, that same symbol of an eye surrounded by intricate markings.

Evelyn recognized it immediately. It was the symbol from the shop.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Light the candle at midnight."

The woman pointed to the silver pin.

"Use this."

Evelyn looked at it.

"That's a needle."

"A pin."

"It's still pointy."

The woman almost smiled.

"One drop of blood."

Evelyn stared at her.

"And then?"

"Place it on the symbol."

"Then?"

"Say what you want."

Evelyn waited.

"And then?"

The woman leaned back.

"Wait."

"For what?"

"For your guardian."

Evelyn let out a small laugh.

"This is insane."

"Yes."

Again, the answer came without hesitation.

The woman pushed the box toward her.

"You don't have to do it."

Evelyn looked at the box.

"Then why give it to me?"

"Because you asked for a way out."

Evelyn's heart skipped.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

Silence filled the room. Evelyn looked at the ritual again. It was ridiculous. She knew it was.

She was twenty two years old. She wasn't a child. She didn't believe some magical ritual could suddenly fix her life.

But...What if?

She hated herself for even thinking it.

What if something actually happened?

What if she could ask for anything?

Money, confidence. Maybe a better life or love.

Anything.

"What does it cost?"

The woman looked at her.

"Nothing."

Evelyn frowned.

"Nothing?"

"Not everything has a price."

That sounded wrong. Somewhere deep inside her, something told her that was wrong. But she couldn't explain why.

The woman closed the box.

"Take it."

Evelyn reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the wood, a strange chill ran up her arm.

She pulled back.

"Did you feel that?"

The woman watched her carefully.

"Feel what?"

"Nothing."

Evelyn picked up the box. It was heavier than it looked. She stood.

"Thank you."

The woman said nothing.

Evelyn walked toward the door. Just before she reached it, the woman's voice stopped her.

"Evelyn."

She froze.

Slowly, she turned. The woman was staring at her.

"How do you know my name?"

A pause.

Then the woman smiled.

"You told me."

Evelyn frowned.

"No, I didn't."

The woman's smile widened.

"You did."

Evelyn tried to remember. Had she?

Maybe she had. She couldn't be sure. She opened the door. The bell chimed.

Before stepping outside, she looked back one last time. The woman was still sitting at the table. But the tarot cards were gone. Every single one.

Except one.

The Devil.

It lay face.up in the centre of the table. Evelyn stared at it. The woman covered the card with her hand.

"Midnight," she said.

Then the door closed.

Evelyn walked home carrying the box against her chest.

She told herself she wouldn't do it.

Obviously.

She'd throw the thing away. Or return it tomorrow. Or forget about it entirely.

She reached the corner of her street. A black crow flew overhead. Evelyn looked up. The bird circled once. Then disappeared into the night.

She continued walking. She didn't notice the faint red thread inside the box begin to move. She didn't hear the tiny sound beneath the wooden lid. A sound almost like fingernails dragging slowly across the inside.

And she certainly didn't see the tarot shop behind her.

Because when Evelyn turned around one final time...

there was no shop.

Only an empty brick wall.