58 - Twist of Fate

Mr. Goodman was late.

Maia had arrived at Lucky Fortunes a little early, but her potential boss still hadn’t arrived. It was now two hours past their scheduled appointment and Maia began to wonder if he was going to show at all.  Perhaps, being a psychic himself, he had read her mind over the phone and knew of her plan to seduce him? Even if he was one of the men on the list Isak had made for her, it might be possible he had misgivings about being her boss as well as fathering a child for her. Maybe she was going to have to choose between the two.

Since it appeared Mr. Goodman might not even hire her now, Maia decided she should probably find another man to help her along in her task. The baby challenge was really the more important of her goals, even if she did feel driven to learn about the meaning of her recurring dreams. And there was someone else at the fortunetellers’ campgrounds now...

Maia introduced herself to the man who had been throwing vials into the campfire. His name was Annur El-Amin and he said he was a biochemistry undergraduate doing an internship at the science center. He didn’t seem very happy about it though, so Maia didn’t inquire any further about his profession.

Instead, Maia flirted with Annur, stirring up some chemistry of her own.

And when he responded with the reaction she’d hypothesized, Maia invited him into one of the nearby tents.

Shortly afterwards, Annur left, and Maia hoped she’d soon confirm she was pregnant again. That way, at least this night wouldn’t have been a complete waste of her time. She was going to leave as well, but just then another man arrived at Lucky Fortunes.

“You must be Maia Lee,” the man said. “We spoke on the phone about the job interview.  I’m Shravan Goodman.”

“I didn’t think you were going to show up; you’re hours late and I was just going to leave. What happened?”

“Actually, even if I was technically late for our appointment, given what I just witnessed, I’m pretty sure I’m right on time.” He glanced at the tent Maia had recently emerged from and grinned at her.

“But I never would’ve done that if you’d been here like you'd said...” Maia protested, feeling more than a little embarrassed at what she imagined he must think.

“Exactly so!” Shravan said. “And that’s precisely why I arrived when I did!”

Maia was bewildered. “Um, you do know that makes no sense at all, right?” 

Shravan laughed.  “I believe that your encounter with that man was meant to be, but had I arrived earlier it wouldn’t have happened. I didn’t want to interrupt the rhythm of fate, so I chose to arrive later. I know it may seem confusing, but you’ll understand more about the woven threads of destiny once you've been in this line of work for awhile.”

“You mean I’m hired?  But what about the interview?”

“There was no actual interview.  I had already decided to hire you the minute you called.”

“But then why did you want me to even come here? Wait, you mean... just so I could meet Annur and fulfill an outcome you foresaw between us?!”

“I knew you’d figure it out! These sorts of things will get easier to figure out with time, I promise.  And congratulations!”

“Congratulations for what? Getting myself into a job that entails hidden meanings I can barely comprehend?” Maia joked.

Shravan chuckled. “You can start comprehending tomorrow. But I meant congratulations on your pregnancy! I won’t tell you the gender, though, since I know you like it to be a surprise.”

Maia was startled. “Whoa!  That’s amazing! Well, goodnight Mr. Goodman.  See you tomorrow!”

“Goodnight Ms. Lee.” Shravan watched Maia leave. Never in all his years as a fortuneteller had he seen someone with so many threads of destiny tied around them.  While he could foresee some parts of it, the many strands were twisted so tightly around her they resembled nothing so much as a great Gordian Knot; a fate that defied untangling. But he knew he had to try to help her in any way he could, for the threads of his own future, and many others, were tied to her as well.

The next day, Maia went to work for the first time in years. 

She thought it would be difficult to read horoscopes, but deciphering astrology charts wasn’t that complicated.  A computer program calculated the angles of the planetary positions and the houses they were in for her, so all Maia had to do was read the chart symbols and interpret their meanings based off texts written by expert astrologers. She did well and was promoted immediately.  Soon she’d be doing palm readings and scrying fortunes for clients with a crystal ball.

After work, it was time to celebrate the twins’ teen birthdays.

Happy birthday Shane!

Happy birthday Lucian!

Afterwards, Shane brought Jiggles to life.

Lucian made Squiggles real too.

And it appeared Shravan was correct in his prediction, as Maia got confirmation of her pregnancy from her evening spent with Annur.

During her maternity leave, Maia spent her time teaching the teens to drive.

She also went to the local alchemy consignment shop to look for books on the mystic arts.

The shopkeeper at Lucky Charms Pawn & Elixirs assisted her in finding several old books and scrolls about astrology, numerology, scrying, palm reading and tarot cards, as well as some on dream interpretation. Maia figured they’d not only be useful for advancing in her fortune-telling career, but also might help her learn more about her own destiny.

Maia spent a great deal of time during the remainder of her pregnancy reading about different types of divination and how to predict future events.

And one night while she was quietly studying, she went into labor.

Maia gave birth to a little girl. Welcome Destiny!

She invited Annur over to meet his daughter.

After Annur spent some time with Destiny, he asked if he could talk to Maia. She could tell something was definitely bothering him, so they went into the living room to talk.

“Remember the night we met and I was tossing vials into the campfire?” At Maia’s nod, Annur continued.  “Those were some experimental potions I’d created as part of my internship, but I wasn’t told what they were for. The lab I worked for wanted to use them—on fish they said—but I later found out they weren’t telling the full truth. The chemicals were meant to be used on a fish—who is also a man!”

“They want to perform experiments on a merman?” Maia asked in shock.

“Yes! They have one in a tank somewhere in the facility. The scientists originally discovered him while taking samples from the salt lake that had started to dry up.  They captured him easily and drained most of the lake in order to find more merfolk, but it seems this merman was the last one living there. The head scientists eventually abandoned their research on aliens at the old Area-51 base and had a new lab built, the Area-52 Test Labs facility, where they began running tests on the merman instead. I had no idea about any of this when I’d begun working there since all this information is classified, but once I discovered their plans I destroyed the vials of elixirs I’d made. But my work computer was hacked, so I’m certain they have already found my research notes and duplicated the potions.”

“What are these potions you created meant to do?”

“Based on the equations I was originally given, I theorized they were intended to heighten ichthyoidal pheromone production in order to boost spawning frequency—basically, to stimulate fish to breed more often. I’d assumed their objective was to increase the quantity of fish in the local hatcheries for human consumption, but I didn’t know about the existence of the merman then. Once I found out about him I did some digging to find out their true purpose. From what I’ve pieced together, it seems they’re trying to cross-breed merfolk with humans in such a way that not only guarantees a pregnancy, but also ensures that any babies born would also be merfolk since they have been unsuccessful locating a female of the species. And on the night I destroyed the vials, I’d overheard that the scientists want to study any mer-children that are born, and possibly use them for some... unpleasant-sounding experiments.  I can’t let them do this!”

Maia agreed; being a laboratory’s living experiment was no kind of life for any intelligent creature.  “Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“Well, I’m planning to break the merman out of the lab and escape somewhere with him since they’ll be after me as well.  But even if I can successfully free him from the lab, I don’t have enough money to get very far or to get us the new identities we’ll need...” Annur trailed off, leaving his question unasked, but Maia could see it in his eyes.

It seemed obvious now that there would be more than one “Destiny” that was to come from her association with Annur. And although Maia wasn’t happy with the idea of raising their new daughter without her father around, it wasn’t like she hadn’t been in that situation before. Besides, knowing what she did now about the scientists’ plans, there was no way Maia could allow them to continue their experiments, or let Annur suffer the consequences of the merman’s disappearance. She also had more than enough money to ensure Annur and the merman made it safely to an uninhabited island somewhere, so she agreed to fund the escape for them both. 

But Maia couldn’t help but wonder if this was part of the future Shravan had foreseen concerning her encounter with Annur that was also meant to be, and exactly what that future might hold for her...