The village woman who seemed to be in charge rapped lightly on the front door. When nothing happened, she knocked a little louder and this time someone opened the door. An older African woman held the door open and peeked out to see who it was. Zoe and Levi's "guide" said something to her briefly that Zoe didn't understand and the Clairvoyant opened the door wider so the four of them could see into the dark interior. The Clairvoyant smiled at them and invited them inside. She motioned for the four of them to be seated around a wooden, circular table in the middle of the room. The table was made of a dark wood and was low enough to the floor that they didn't need chairs. Levi, Zoe, Hazel and Ruby sat cross-legged next to each other in a semi-circle around the table, while the two villagers sat across from them on the other side. A small centerpiece made up of candles, incense, sage and a purple Crystal Ball made of amethyst sat in the middle of the table. The Clairvoyant lit the candelabras and incense with a piece of kindling from her fire and then sat back to study her guests.
"From whence do you come?" The old, wrinkle-faced woman peered at them from across her table. "We get many visitors here, but they are often from another time. What do you seek?" The Clairvoyant stared at Zoe expectantly.
"Um." Zoe was caught off guard. "Hold on a second." Zoe started fumbling around for her cave painting pictures in her Travel Pack.
"Here, Ruby. Hold this." Ruby sat next to Zoe and held the Travel Pack open while Zoe rummaged around in it until she pulled out a creased, dusty copy of their cave pictogram.
"Here Ruby, give this to Hazel and Levi to see if they can explain our cave drawing to this fortune-teller." Ruby handed the picture over to Hazel, and Hazel handed the photo over to the Clairvoyant. The toothless old woman smiled a knowing smile.
"Yes! I have seen this drawing before. Yes! Yes!" The Clairvoyant exclaimed in happiness. "But where did you get these pictures?"
Zoe started to explain, "We are here to learn the meaning of this cave painting. We discovered this pictogram in the African Rainforest in a different time, and believe the meaning has been lost in translation. We want to understand the painting in order to save the future of the African Continent. Please help us."
The fortune-teller lit a small lamp by her table and peered at the picture more closely. "Ah, what is your name again?" The Clairvoyant was interested and she grabbed Zoe's right hand to look at her palm quickly.
"Zoe." Zoe replied. "And these are my traveling companions, Ruby, Hazel and Levi." Zoe nodded at each one in turn.
"You want me to help you understand this painting you found in a cave near here?" The Clairvoyant seemed a little puzzled.
"Well," Hazel started to explain, "The cave isn't far from here, but we kind of found it at a different time."
The old woman looked even more confused. Zoe wondered if it was their translator device acting up.
"You found the cave at a different time?" What does that mean?" The Clairvoyant threw her hands up in the air in frustration. Maybe she wasn't familiar with time travel. Zoe started banging on her translator device when all of a sudden, the old fortune-teller pulled a wrinkled, small, black card out of nowhere. She placed the card face-up on her table directly in front of Levi and Zoe.
"Maybe it has something to do with this." The Clairvoyant sat back and looked at both of them curiously, as if they might understand more than she did.
"What is this?" Zoe wasn't sure what she was looking at, but Levi picked the card up to study it more closely and then placed it back carefully on the table.
"Tell me about this card." Levi stared directly into the Clairvoyant's eyes and hoped she would understand more than they did. The Clairvoyant put her hands on her hips, threw her head back and laughed a big, belly laugh. She put her left hand on top of Levi's right hand reassuringly.
"Don't worry, young man. We will find the answers you are looking for. Just be patient. A Magician left this card behind quite some time ago, but perhaps it has more relevance now. This is the Death card."
"Death card?" Ruby piped up. "But we're not dead!" The old woman smiled at Ruby from across the table.
"The little girl is smart! She's right! We are not dead are we? No, we are still alive at this time. However, this card symbolizes a different kind of death that may hold the answers to our mysterious cave painting. Here child, let me see your pictures again."
Zoe handed over a few of her cave painting pictures they had taken when they were in the African Rainforest. She wondered if the Clairvoyant knew the meaning of the pictograms.
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