CHAPTER 36: TAROT READINGS

D-Day-3

There would be no grand wedding. But it was fine with Suzanne and Tom. They had in fact opposed to having one. It did not seem right for them to celebrate when countless lives were lost by the minute.

But the twins and Thomas were adamant about having a celebration.

“Everything’s so bleak now, we can at least look forward to a joyous occasion with your wedding!” Thomas had pleaded, blinking at them like a little doe through his glasses.

So Suzanne and Tom relented. The twins and Thomas spent one whole day yesterday just to create the perfect wedding arch out of dried flowers and twigs. They roped in everyone for a scavenger hunt around Hans’ mansion, looking for everything and anything that could be put to good use and to Suzanne’s delight, they all ended up having a snowball fight like little children.

Thomas was right, the wedding did bring forth smiles on their faces.

The twins fashioned a simple bouquet out of all the flowers they could find and somehow, the bouquet turned out to be very beautiful, with an array of pale pink and yellow flowers as well as a collection of dried leaves and twigs, all tied up snugly with a simple long white string.  

The morning of the wedding finally arrived and they were blessed with clear blue skies for once. It felt to Suzanne that God was giving her his blessing.

*Please stay with us to the very end*, she prayed silently.

Suzanne had never prayed, not once in her life. As a clairvoyant, she knew very clearly that there was a greater being at hand, but had somehow never thought of praying to her maker. But now, here she was, hands clasped tightly with her head bowed, calling out to Him.

“Suzanne?”

She looked up from where she stood.

It was Hans, looking immaculately handsome as always. He walked over to the balcony where Suzanne was standing overlooking the snow-covered garden below. He looked down and saw Thomas and the twins arguing over the positioning of the arch and let out a little chuckle. Puffs of white air came from him as he did.

The air was no longer freezing cold as it had been a few days earlier. This would be a good day for an outdoor winter wedding.

“Nervous?”

“About the wedding or the final fight?”

“Both.”

Suzanne stood silent for a while, rubbing gloved her hands together before answering, "Yes."

 “I see,” he breathed, his voice soft but solemn.

They had spent hours the night before going over Hendricks’ inscription when everyone else had retired to bed. Tom had joined them but had largely remained silent, just listening and observing. But even after all those hours reading and re-reading the inscription, they still had no answer as to how the mist came into the world. Surely there couldn’t be another portal hovering in the air somewhere? The only thing they knew was that the black mark on Suzanne's palm held the key to sealing off the mist once and for all.

Tom had thrown an idea at them, “Perhaps it came from the greed of men.”

His words echoed through Suzanne’s head.

*He could be right, after all, did not the Bible quote,' from within the hearts of men come ev*il'?

Suzanne was annoyed by the sudden clarity of her memory. She had gone to Sunday school as a child just so she could play with the ghostly children there, but in order to do so, she had to memorize hundreds upon hundreds of bible verses and on this particular morning, the bible verse from the book of Mark particularly stood out like a sore thumb.

*Speaking of sore*…..Suzanne massaged her palm. The pain from the black mark was starting again.

*Not now*.

Hans looked at Suzanne from the corner of his slanted eyes before gently taking her hand in his, giving it a little massage. Her hand felt so small in his, “Shall we? The groom awaits.”

***

Out in the garden, Tom stood nervously next to the arch. He could feel a surge of excitement bubbling from within him, it was as if he was a little boy again, waiting for his birthday present to arrive.

And there she was, walking out of the mansion’s backdoor, her hand linked across Hans. He had offered to walk her down the aisle.

Tom smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling with delight. He looked at Suzanne and she met his gaze, returning his smile.

*You’re so beautiful*, he thought. There was a glow on her dewy face and a smile on her tinted red lips as she walked towards him, her boots leaving deep prints in the snow behind her.

They did not have a wedding dress so Suzanne wore a thick white winter jacket over her dark blue skinny jeans and thick brown boots. The twins had tied her hair in a pretty little white bow that trailed all the way to the ground. They had secretly cut out some of Han’s curtains for this.

On the side, the twins cheered as Thomas popped a corked wine bottle. Marcelino stood playing Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosius’ ‘As’ on his cellphone’s speaker.




'As around the sun the earth know she's revolving
And the rose buds know to bloom in early May
Just as hate know love's the cure
You can rest your mind assure
That I'll be loving you always
As now can't reveal the mystery of tomorrow
But in passing we'll grow older everyday
Just as all that's born is new
Do know what I say is true
That I'll be loving you always

Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky (always)
Until the ocean covers every mountain high (always)
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea (always)
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream
Did you know that true love asks for nothing
Her acceptance is the way you pay
Did you know that life is giving love a guarantee
To last through forever, another day

Just as time knew to…'




Suzanne and Hans reached Tom with the former passing Suzanne over to Tom. Tom beamed, holding her gloved hands in his.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself.”

Hans moved over to the front of the arch, and cleared his throat, “Marriage is perhaps one of the greatest and most challenging adventures of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as lifemates and partners.”




Tom gave Suzanne’s hand s squeeze and she did likewise as they stood silently, facing Hans.

A gentle breeze carried across them as Hans continued his speech and Tom could not help but feel a surge of hope rising in him. A tiny but growing seed of hope that somehow, everything would be alright.

Finally, Hans looked at Tom, and asked, “Will you Tom Banks take this woman to be your wedded wife?”

With a goofy smile, Tom shouted at the top of his lungs, “I do!” This elicited a laugh from the twins and Thomas.

Hans had to roll his eyes before turning to face Suzanne, “Will you Suzanne Summers take this man to be your wedded husband?”

Suzanne nodded but before she could open her mouth to speak, a voice, cold and deep called out, “Suzanne….”