The Gypsy's Prediction

The Gypsy’s Prediction

         The two couples stood around the old gypsy woman’s table as she gazed intently into her crystal ball, her eyes moving slowly, staring into its depths. Seeming to come to a conclusion, she looked at the four people gathered around her and exclaimed, “You’re all going to die!”

         Three of them laughed it off, but Beth was shocked. Her husband Kevin could see the anger building in her face, and decided to soothe things over by playing along with the gypsy. After all, they were on board the SS Norwalk for a Halloween cruise. He figured the gypsy woman was here to entertain guests with her dire predictions. “So gypsy woman, just how will we all die?”

         “Yes old lady, how will each of us die?” It was Mark’s turn to chip in. Ever the antagonist, he would not lead, but loved to keep an argument going once one started.

         “You will drown Kevin, your friends Mark and Sharon will die in an explosion, and you Beth...."

         At this point the woman stopped speaking, once again gazing into her crystal ball.

         “Yes Miss Luminitsa, tell us about Beth and how she dies.” For the first time, Sharon spoke up. All the while, Beth hung back from the exchange. She couldn’t understand why her husband and friends weren’t upset with these predictions. To her, this was all too real, all too serious. Her grandmother had been part gypsy and had ‘the gift’ as she called it. She could see events that would occur in the future, often warning family members of perils. Unfortunately she was never listened to by them, even though she was correct 80% of the time.

         “I wouldn't be so quick to judge a Gypsy woman Kevin, especially one who can see the things I see." The woman's voice dropped to a raspy whisper as she spoke. "Beth, it is unclear how you will die. I see a couple of possible ways in my ball here, but right now it's not showing me the events clearly."

         "Kevin, can we move on? There are plenty of other things to see on board here, and she gives me the creeps." Beth really wanted to get out of the woman’s tent. A sense of foreboding filled her, making her very uncomfortable.

         Beth, her husband Kevin, and their best friends Mark and Sharon were on a Halloween midnight dinner cruise, celebrating their first anniversary. Mark and Sharon had just celebrated their fifth the week before. When Kevin had mentioned this cruise, it seemed only natural that the two couples celebrate together. They had been touring the ship and the exotic Halloween venues and parties when they discovered the gypsy woman and her tent. It had been Mark's idea to have their fortunes told, but no one thought they would hear something like this.

         As they walked away, Beth looked at Sharon and said, "She should be forced to close up shop, she shouldn't be allowed to scare people with tales of doom!"

         “Oh Beth come on, she’s only here as part of the Halloween celebration and cruise, it’s all in fun!” Sharon was doing her best to reassure her best friend.

         “Sharon, how much do you know about Halloween?” This time Beth looked quizzically at Sharon, her eyes narrowed to thin slits.

         “Well, Halloween is a semi-holiday, mainly for children celebrated every year at the end of October.”

         “It’s much more than that Sharon. Its history extends all the way to the ancient Celts, and their holiday of Samhain. It was originally meant to mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. But it was also believed that this transition between the seasons was a bridge to the world of the dead. Its original name was All Hallows Evening, or All Hallows Eve, and of course was eventually shortened to Hallowe’en, or Halloween as we know it.”

         “Well, I sort of knew that, I think.”

         “There’s a whole lot more really. When the Pagans held their ritual, they wore masks to either mimic evil spirits, or appease the dead. Bon fires were built which attracted insects, which in turn attracted bats. You can see where things went from there. But the major thing my grandmother warned me, was to not think of Halloween as a party. I think I’ll talk to the Captain of the ship and lodge a complaint.”

         “A complaint? C’mon Beth! You know it’s all meant in jest and fun. She may have been off the mark with some of her predictions, but still, it’s all in fun!”

         “No, this wasn’t meant to be fun, you’ve never seen someone use a crystal ball to predict things have you?”

         “No, I’ve never known anyone who had one for that matter either. Have you?”

         “Not exactly, but my grandmother could see things from time to time without using a crystal ball. She would gaze into a fire and go into a bit of a trance before saying anything. Didn’t any of you notice how she gazed at that ball? She was alone in a different world, wasn’t aware we’d spoken with her until she’d completed her trance. Once she saw what the ball foretold, she came back to Earth so to speak, and gave us her prediction.”

         Sharon tried to dissuade Beth, but she would not change her stance. She had been close to her grandmother, who had secretly taught her a little of the gypsy customs and history. All the others could do was follow along, each feeling Beth would make a fool of herself over this. They found the captain presiding over one of the balls, dressed as the Devil himself. Beth explained what had happened and asked that he step in and do something. The captain looked at her and said, "There's no gypsy woman on board, nor is that a part of this celebration. I personally approved each event surrounding this Halloween cruise, and a gypsy woman is not one of them."

         "Then you have a stowaway on board masquerading as a gypsy. Come with us, I'll show you exactly what we saw, you can hear it from her yourself."

         “I can’t just leave this ball. Everyone’s enjoying themselves, you should too. I’ll send someone else to go with you.”

         “No, you can have them replace you here, you need to see this woman and her tent.”

         Beth would not waver in her insistence that the captain accompany them to find the gypsy woman. Afraid that others would notice, or that undue attention would be drawn to their discussion he finally relented.

         As they all followed Beth back through the ship, Kevin looked at the captain and raised his hands as if to say, "Don't count me in on this."

         When they arrived back at the gypsy woman's tent location, there was no sign of her, nor her tent. "See? I told you that no gypsy woman is on board. Now let me get back to my duties as Satan." With that said, the captain turned and walked down the passageway and was quickly lost from sight.

         Kevin looked at Beth, confusion in his eyes. “Beth, I think…” Before he could proceed, Beth shushed him with a small wave of her hand.

         “We should leave this area, it gives me the creeps. I’m beginning to have an ominous feeling about this cruise. I wish we were back in port already!” Stomping her foot like a spoiled child, Beth walked off down the passageway. Sharon hurried to catch up with her, wanting to soothe her and get her mind off the gypsy woman.

         Attempting to change the subject, Sharon said, “Did you hear there’s a celebrity on board?”

         Beth was a big fan of anything to do with celebrities, and eagerly turned towards Sharon. “Who would be on this cruise? This is a small time operation, can’t you tell?”

         “You’ve heard of the self-proclaimed ‘Blogging King’ haven’t you?”

         “You mean the one who thinks everything he writes is the gospel truth? He’s not a celebrity!”

         “Well, he’s become one because of his recent comments. He posted a long dissertation about ISIS, and the lies they perpetuate about the Caliphate they’re trying to create.”

         “Well, a lot of people write about them.”

         “This must have gotten their attention though. His life has been threatened by ISIS. They swore he would die like the Pagan he is.”

         Turning down a side passage, they exited into a large open space that looked as if it was once a holding area for goods before being placed in a cargo hold. Looking around they spied a fake graveyard with headstones scattered about. The whole area looked deserted, not as if it would be used for this celebratory cruise. Walking to an area near a large grave, Kevin spied a white rectangular object attached to a beam of the hull.

         “Hey guys, this doesn’t look very real. This whole area is old, the decorations do not look very authentic. Even this fake plastic explosive looks like it was made long ago.”

         Mark walked over to examine it as Kevin ambled around the graveyard. He met Beth near a small mausoleum as Mark replied excitedly, “This isn’t fake Kevin! See this cord? It leads over to that open grave over there! There’s a lot of cord here too!”

         Sharon approached Mark and tugged on his arm. “C’mon honey, let’s get out of here.”

         Mark was not to be moved so easily, and gently pulled from Sharon’s grasp. “Just a minute honey, where does all this go?”

         As Mark looked around, he noticed the cords strewn about, some leading into the overhead, lost in the maze of pipes, while other led further aft. His eyes widened as he noticed more ‘fake’ plastic explosives attached to other hull beams.

         Kevin and Beth had walked to the open grave and looked down. It wasn’t as deep as a real grave, more of a small cut in the decking of the area. Kevin couldn’t suppress a gasp as he noticed an old analog type clock, its hands slowly ticking down. His eyes took in the details quickly, his mind assessing the scene. He had spent four years in the Army working with explosives, and immediately knew what he was looking at.

         “What’s wrong Kevin?” Mark was still standing by the fake plastic explosive, a piece of cord in one hand as he looked toward Beth and Kevin.

         “Mark, I’m not so sure this is fake, drop that cord before you accidentally pull it out.” Kevin’s voice was calm, yet delivered in a strict tone as if giving directions to a subordinate. Sharon grabbed Mark’s arm and pulled quickly. Kevin tried to yell “No!”, but she moved so fast his words came out too late.

         As Sharon pulled on Mark’s arm, the cord was pulled from the plastic explosive. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kevin for the next few seconds. He saw Mark pull from Sharon’s grasp and push the cord back into the pack. Sharon once again grabbed Mark, and they turned to leave the area.

         At the same time, Kevin heard the analog clock whir as its arms moved quickly. When he had looked at it, the timer had 10 minutes and fifteen seconds on it. As he looked back down at it, the hands moved swiftly around the dial until it read zero. At that moment, a huge explosion ripped through the ship. Time still seemed to move in slow motion for Kevin. He saw his best friend and his wife thrown through the air by the force of the explosion. Being closest to the explosive, Mark was thrown upward, his body spiraling out of control as it hit the overhead pipes. Looking a little like a ping-pong ball, Mark bounced around some before landing on the deck with a sickening thud. Sharon was thrown across the area and landed with a dull crunch, her back bent backwards at an impossible angle over one of the tombstones.

         Time finally came back to normal speed for Kevin. He grabbed Beth’s hand as they turned and ran down the passageway. Behind them they could hear the rush of water as it poured in through the hole in the hull. The ship’s horn blared like an animal in distress, the hull shuddered as beams slowly gave under the force of the explosion and inrush of water. Rounding a corner, they found a mass of panic stricken people. Everyone was rushing up the only ladder nearby. Kevin pushed Beth in front of him as they both began climbing the ladder.

         Things were orderly briefly, then everyone rushed, trying to escape the in-rushing water. Kevin felt someone grip his shoulders, pulling backwards. The sounds of people screaming and crying pounded in his ears. He struggled to climb the ladder, but the grip on his shoulders was relentless, he could not break free of the person’s grasp. In taking another step, he reached to grab the rail of the ladder. His hand slipped and he started to fall backwards. He cried out involuntarily as he fell over the side of the ladder. He landed on his side painfully, the wind momentarily knocked out of him. Unable to breathe for the moment, he lay there gasping. Suddenly, another person landed on top of Kevin as they too were dislodged from the ladder. This slammed Kevin’s head to the deck and he passed out, the water from the rupture now pooling around his motionless body.

         Beth had been lucky, and easily climbed the stairs, thinking Kevin was behind her all the way. Realizing he was not with her, she screamed, "Kevin!"

         Now in a full blown panic, she searched the crowd coming from the ladder, but saw no sign of Kevin. The ship shook and started to list to starboard badly. It wouldn’t be long before it slipped beneath the waves. She screamed his name again, crying now as the full impact of what had occurred hit her. Before she could search further for Kevin, another explosion ripped through the ship, and Beth was thrown through the air. Feeling like a child’s plaything, she felt her arms and legs thrashing in mid-air. She had a brief moment to wonder if she was going to die like Mark and Sharon before she splashed into the water.

         Beth fought her panic and paddled as hard as she could, striving to reach the surface. Her head burst above the water briefly before plunging under again. She swam as hard as she could, fighting to get free of the undertow caused by the sinking ship. Once again Beth broke the surface, and managed to find a piece of floating debris to grab on to. Kicking fiercely she strove to put distance between her and the ship. Around her she heard splashes as other objects landed in the water. She heard the sound of groaning metal and looked back. The Norwalk rolled on its side, the rudder in plain sight, screws still turning slowly. She felt the pull of the ocean as the liner quickly slipped beneath the waves. Holding on to the debris as tight as she could, she screamed again. Finally, the ocean’s pull subsided, and Beth was safe, at least for the moment.

         Around her, the sounds of people moaning in pain and terror could be heard. A woman was floating nearby, and Beth grabbed her so she could hold on to the debris also. She cried out in shock and disgust when she realized that the woman was missing an arm, obviously already dead. In pain and shock, Beth passed out.

         When Beth awoke the sky was starting to lighten with the rising sun. As she lifted her head, she groaned. It seemed like every muscle in her body had been overworked in a recent workout. Only it was about a hundred times worse. She moved her arms and legs gingerly and was relieved to find that no bones seemed broken. As she looked around, only water and an occasional piece of flotsam could be seen. Beth was surprised that no one else was nearby, or that she couldn’t see any land. The cruise had only been scheduled for an all-night party cruise, so it didn’t seem they would have been that far away from port.

         Beth had no idea of how long she lay on that makeshift raft. Each time she thought of it being a raft, a wry smile came to her face. It was far from that. But she knew it was pure luck in finding it, and knew that death by drowning would have been her fate. She woke from one of her fatigued induced naps and heard a familiar sound. Lifting her head, she saw a small island about a half mile away. Crying out in happiness and relief, she kicked her legs in the water trying to reach the land. Slow progress was made, yet the island seemed to recede faster than her progress. Everything was going well, when a sudden wave lifted her on its peak, only to once again toss her down to the water. As she came down, her grip on the debris was lost, and Beth found herself underwater once again. The wave tossed her about like rag doll, and Beth knew that she would soon drown if she couldn’t find the surface. Swimming with all her strength, she finally broke the surface.

         Beth knew the island was getting close, and thought she would see if the water was shallow enough to stand. The first two attempts resulted in her head dipping underwater. On the third attempt her feet found the sea bottom just as her head was about to bob under once again. With the help of a wave, and a strong jump forward, Beth found herself standing in water, with the water level just below her shoulders. Relieved, she stopped a moment to rest. As her feet came in contact with the sea bottom, she felt her left foot hit a rock, then twist a little before sliding down. Her relief at being in shallow water was momentary as she realized her left foot was now jammed between rocks on the ocean floor. Try as she might, she could not free her foot from the crevice it was lodged in.

         ‘At least the water is shallow enough for me to stand here.’ She thought. ‘I can rest a little, then try to work my foot free once the tide goes out some.’

         Beth stood in the water resting, thankful for this respite. Standing there, she tried working her foot free once again. She could feel the rock cutting into her ankle cruelly. For the fourth time since this all began, panic momentarily overcame her as she realized that her foot was jammed between the rocks and could not be worked free. She felt a stabbing pain and realized her ankle had been cut by the sharp edges. About the same time, Beth felt the water now lapping around her neck, and knew the tide was coming in, not going out. She struggled to free her foot, and felt the rock cut into it again, almost as if it was unwilling to let her go. To her horror, she saw a slight discoloration in the water near her. 'I must be cut worse than I thought if I can see blood in the water.' She thought. Try as she might, she could not get her ankle free of the rock's grip.

         With the water now lapping just below her chin, Beth panicked once again. Looking towards the island, she saw the fin of a shark cut through the water not one hundred yards to her left. An involuntary scream escaped her tortured throat. It was then that she remembered the Gypsy woman’s words. "Beth, it is unclear how you will die. I see a couple of possible ways in my ball here, but right now it's not showing me the events clearly."

Jim Dorrell
10/22/15