Sebastian's Readings: Fear

Sebastian turned his cards over and placed them slowly. He heard Vinco shuffling around in his kitchen, getting some water, behind him. The first time his older friend had caught him with his cards, given to him by his sister one Christmas, he'd tried in vain to hide them. For the rest of the night Vinco had demanded his divining whilst making fun of him. To this day the man continued to call him a gypsy and if it had come from anyone else Sebastian would have been truly hurt, enraged even. He stiffened as he heard his friend approach and sit beside him on the couch.

"What'ya got, chubs?" The man asked, sipping his water. Sebastian stared at him for a good moment.

"…Chubs?" He said. Vincent looked back.

"Well you got upset when I called you "my little Gypsy, Tarot cards is magic" what do you want me to call you?" Vincent said, throwing a hand up in the air. Sebastian bowed his head.

"I wasn't upset about the gypsy thing, you're my friend Vinco. I was very insulted by the "my little pony"…insinuation." Vinco leaned over and pecked his friend on the temple.

"What do your cards show you, hon?" He asked. Sebastian frowned and gave his friend a weak look.

To many it may have simply been superstition, and at the end of the day it really was no more reliable than crystals or the Bible, but Sebastian enjoyed tarot reading, even if it was just a stereotype of his roots, he liked it, it was interesting enough, and his sister had given him this beautiful deck. He flipped through them every now and then, often in place of prayer. He meditated with his cards, sometimes trying to make decisions with them. Now, you can say a lot about the man who leaves his fate to chance, but you will always call him a fool. Despite this foolishness, Sebastian was still fond of his cards and what he believed they told him, each little drawing offering him some new insight or some little comfort and he was grateful for it, he liked the idea that he could attribute this connection to his ancestry.

But tonight they offered him no solace but great fear. There was no advice as to what direction he should take or what friends he should pay more attention to but instead a foreshadowing of death, of tragedy to befall his own friends…as if not enough had weighted them all this year…

"I drew three cards." Sebastian finally said, sighing heavily.

"Yeah? Were they really that terrible?" Vinco asked, putting an arm around his friend, seeing how badly he needed what comfort he could offer. Sebastian reached down to the table and showed Vinco the offending cards one at a time.

"This." The first card's meaning, the card being Justice, was obvious.

"Uh huh."

"Then this…" The six of cups. Vinco wasn't as familiar with it as Seb was but he saw children and flowers; perhaps it meant the lovely baby girl Xavier had recently been blessed with? The family he was beginning?

"Yeah…?" Sebastian looked about, sucked on his lower lip and blinked, his nerves radiating off of him, threatening to infect Vinco. He touched the last card with his ringed finer tips before turning it over.

"And this…thing." Death. The third card was Death. A fragile, very pale woman lied prone on the gilded card's face. Her eyes were closed and five little angels dressed in greyish blues touched her face, perhaps mourning or perhaps preparing her for heaven. Though her hands were bony and limp, a fresh white flower stood delicately between her fingers. A winged skeletal form loomed over her, arms outstretched, looking out of the face to the diviner.

"…That's bad." Vinco could only say dumbly. His head snapped as though someone had slapped his face at the weak sound of Sebastian's sobbing.

"Pray." His voice was betraying him but he continued. "Pray for them, all of them, Xavier, his wife to be, Gaspard…" His voice strained, not daring to say the last name for fear of cursing her.

"And Philippa." Vinco said for him, running a hand through his hair. Sebastian turned the Death card over away from them, back onto its face and leaned against his friend's chest.

"Yes, and Philippa." So many had already been taken from them that year, would God really be so cruel and take Xavier's first child too? The friends prayed not.