"Come on! You'll love it, I promise!" Katy said, reaching out to draw the heavy red curtain aside. "She's really good!"

I rolled my eyes. "Doubtful," I mumbled, wiping the sweat off my brow.

I was assaulted with an overpowering small of incense and the light tinkling of bells as we both stepped inside the cloying, smoky tent. And there she was, in all her predictable glory - the great Madam Kostana.

Madam Kostana had long, bushy black hair that she had tied back with a long red silk scarf. Her skin was leathery, her teeth, cracked, and her claw-like nails were painted black.

Oh please.

"Sit, my darlings, sit!", she said as she waved her hand towards the two dark wooden chairs across the small table she sat at.

With a sigh, I sat down on the chair closest to the entrance and folded my arms.

"I brought him!" Katy said gleefully to the old Fortune Teller, as she sat down on the other chair.

"It was a struggle, but ... this is Milton," Katy said, gesturing towards me.

"Mill," I said abruptly, "just Mill." I shot Katy a look - she knew I hated it when people called me by my full first name.

"Well, Mill, it is a pleasure to meet you," said the fortune-teller, her voice laced with an accent that I couldn’t place.

I tried not to pull away as she grabbed my hand unexpectedly.

"Come, come, Mr Mill. Do not be shy, eh? Madam Kostana read your fortune..." she said as she peered at the palm of my hand.

I really tried *not* to roll my eyes again.

Completely oblivious to my nonchalance, Madam Kostana frowned as she stared at my palm. After a few moments, she let go of my wrist and cleared her throat uneasily as her eyes flitted momentarily to meet my stare. Anyone would think she was feeling uneasy. A great little actress we have here, I thought.

"What?" Katy said, sitting forward in her seat, "What did you see?"

Madam Kotsana held up a hand and slid over a heavy crystal ball that had been perching precariously on the far edge of the table. We watched in silence as she hovered her hands either side of the crystal ball, and closed her eyes.

I was fighting to not roll my eyes again when she started humming. But all skepticism flew out the window when she suddenly jerked backwards and her eyes flew open to reveal nothing but the whites of her eyeballs.

"Ohhhhh, Mill-Mill-Milly. My, my, what 'ave we got 'ere?" she hissed in a raspy, callous voice, face pointing upwards to the low ceiling of the tent.

I jolted back, knocking the chair over. I knew that voice.

"Dead but not forgotten, Mills. D' you think I'd forget you? My darling, precious, little toad?", Madam Kotsana said, lowering her head, the whites of her eyes pointing straight towards me.

Only one thing had ever called me that awful Mill-Mill-Milly nickname... and they were dead.

I looked at Katy and then back at the fortune teller. "Stop this. Stop..."

By this point, Katy had gotten up too and was frowning at me, not sure what was going on.

"But why would I stop, Milly? I might not get this chance again. And I must tell your darling friend here what a very naughty boy you've been."

Madam Kotsana smirked and waggled a gnarly finger, still in some sort of trance.

"Tut, tut, Milly-boy. You won't go far with that attitude," she said,

That was it. I bounded out of the tent and ran as far and as fast as my feet could carry me. I heard Katy's voice trailing behind me for a few seconds, but I kept on going.

Never again will I be in the presence of that... that...

I came to a stop and leaned against the old church I'd reached, gasping for breath. I knew I could run, but I couldn't hide. Nowhere was safe.

And as I looked in horror at the ground before me, I saw the dirt being parted by something invisible to the naked eye.

"Mill-Mill-Milly" etched itself out before me in large letters.

I stared at it, my heart in my throat. And sure enough, the words disappeared as though they were swept away by a breeze. This, on a still, hot, sunny day.