The Mother’s Blessing

Jade – Ashley McAnelly
Sam – Nichole Goodnight
Brendan – Athan
Dylan – James Solis
Roz – Jessica McEvoy

The cold concrete of my basement floor against my bare skin jolts my senses as I sit down in the middle of the room. I stare up at Sam, who is amusingly stressed. She’s shaking her arms as if to loosen up for a fight, though she knows better than to think what we are doing can be helped with swinging fists. She’s not entirely wrong in her thinking though. It takes a combination of mind, spirit, and body to make this work. After months of watching her learn and practice, I don’t have the energy to be proud of her.

“Anytime now, Sam. We’ve got to open the store soon.”

Sam: “Okay, okay let’s do this.”

She widens her stance as she lifts her arms. As she reaches up she takes a deep breath in and focuses her energy into her hands.

[SFX: soft thrum of magic]

She slowly windmills her arms down to her sides, drawing her shield of protection around her like a bubble. Her shields have gotten stronger over the last few weeks, as they should. If she wasn’t making any progress, then I wouldn’t even try this exercise with her.

“Alright, hit me.”

Sam strikes fast. She must think she’ll catch me off guard, but my shields have been in place, just waiting for her to lash out. This particular exercise is beyond simple protection, and I need to show her that today.

[SFX: Sam’s magic striking Jade’s shields, Jade’s magic counter attacking at the same time]

Sam manages to maintain her shield as she pulls her power back from my counter. I’m a little impressed she didn’t lose concentration.

“Ouch, what the hell Jade? How did you do that?”

“That’s what I’m going to show you. Reach for me again but don’t actually touch me.”

Sam does as I ask, her green hue of power stretching from her shield, a needle point drawn toward me. I stand and point to her outstretched energy.

“There. Your mistake here is not accounting for your reach. You created your shield with a specific amount of energy, but you are drawing on the power of your shield for your attack as well. When you do that you’re thinning your shield until it is pliable enough for me to poke a hole, or if you stretch too far it creates a hole I can just plow right through.”

Sam draws her energy back.

“So it’s not enough to concentrate and hold the shield. If I want to keep the shield strong when I attack, I have to throw energy out?”

“Correct.”

“Is that as hard as it sounds?”

“Afraid so, but thankfully you don’t really have much of a call to hone that skill. No one is attacking you on the daily.”

(sarcastically) “Just once every few months, right?”

She jokes, but I know being kidnapped traumatized her more than she lets on. It doesn’t help that the store cats she came to love and I came to tolerate turned out to be hellcats, one sent by the Devil himself and the other a minion of a demon looking to usurp Hell’s throne. Watching them morph into those demonic creatures and fight in the streets helped her psyche none. I can’t undo the trauma, but I’m hoping to help her channel it into something good, and not send her spiraling.

Gotta keep myself from spiraling as well. She’s not the only one messed up after that ordeal.

[SFX: reminder alarm on phone going off]

“Ah, time for me to open the store and you to head back for school. Let’s go face the day, however bleak it may be.”

[Intro Roll In]

After my morning rush, the store goes back to its typical quietness. Now that I’m regularly attending coven meetings I’m wondering if I should reschedule my delivery day. Stocking all day and then making the hour round-trip to Mountainburg for the meeting is wearing me out.

The stillness sets in, the music I have playing for ambience turns to nothing in my brain. If it wasn’t for my morning regulars coming for coffee and quick breakfast snacks, would my store even make it? I guess as long as I have enough to pay the bills and eat it doesn’t matter. I wonder what Mom would think if she saw the store now.

The ringing in my ears doesn’t help me forget. If anything it makes it much easier to replay every bad moment in my head. The night I lost Mom, the people I’ve killed, Sam being kidnapped and me breaking my seal to invoke the demonic powers given to me, adding to the already long list of people I condemned to hell via a terrible death. At least when I killed saving Sam, they were quick deaths. Messy, but quick.

I could have used all the magical objects I brought with me, I could have paralyzed the room by drinking them all down at the same time, enough to make them collapse. I could have been more stealthy once I left the room and made my trek down to Sam. I could have down so many other things than what I did. Instead I let that damn demon talk me into doing the one thing I swore I’d never do again.

Was it worth it to save Sam? My answer in the moment was yes, but the more time I have to think about it, the more I convince myself I didn’t need to to save her. But there’s still doubt, still that small thought in the back of my head that I wouldn’t have gotten to her in time or made us as safe by sending that terrible message to the rest of the mob powers that be to leave me the hell alone. The prices we pay.

[SFX: Text message tone]

Oh, goody, a message in the coven group chat. For a while I had it muted because there are way too many people chatting in that thing at all hours of the day and night. But Maureen finally asked the group to keep this chat mostly clear for updates and announcements, which means the coven splintered off into small group chats. Thankfully I only got pulled into the main one. Well, and one with the neophytes that were initiated with me.

“Voting has ended. The next High Priestess will be decided by the Mother’s Blessing.”

That doesn’t sound like it’s going to bode well for me. I wonder how this is gonna work.

[SFX: bells jingle as front door opens]

Sam walks briskly in and flings her backpack on the floor behind the front counter. Damn, is it already time for school to be out?

She leans over the counter propped on her elbows.

“Have you seen the message yet?”

“I did. Guess we will see exactly what that means tonight.”

“Wait until tonight? Don’t you think you should ask my grandma or Aunt Roz what this will entail so you can prepare?”

I continue to stock my shelves behind the counter as we talk.

“What’s to prepare? The Mother will give one of us her blessing, no matter what we do. That’s how the blessing works.”

“If that’s the truth then the only one who has a chance is Ruth Ann. You are not devout to Hecate (heck-uh-tee), and Laura twists the Mother’s teachings into her own doctrine worse than any megachurch preacher.”

“That’s why I have been telling people who refuse to vote for me to at least vote for Ruth Ann. Either way, the best choice will win.”

“And it doesn’t bug you at all to lose?”

I meet her eyes then.

“I just joined the coven officially. It was going to be a long shot for most of them to accept me that quickly. It wasn’t a bad plan, Sam, though I’m still not clear on your intentions why you nominated me in the first place. It seems like you have your own scheming going on.”

“Don’t turn this around on me. This is about you now and your chance to make this coven better, more powerful, more united. Under Grandma there was peace but she didn’t have her heart in it. Under Aunt Roz there was structure and devotion, but her devotion pushed the coven into factions.”

I lift a box of books onto the counter and push them her way to stock.

“Her devotion clearly brought to light those who did not believe. If that battle would have gone further the road to peace would have been to split, but instead she tried to placate everyone. Look where that got her.”

She grabs the box and rummages through what’s in it.

“You think the coven should have split?”

“Better than what’s happened, don’t you think? Hell it might have prevented the killings.”

“Or it could have just created a bigger Satanic cult.”

[SFX: bells jingle as front door opens]

The jingling of the bells over the door interrupts us, and I give Sam a look. She turns on one foot and disappears behind a bookshelf, clearly leaving me to the customer.

I paste on a smile and greet the young man in the doorway. No reason for him to know we’ve been arguing.

“Welcome to Which Way Between the Lines. How can I help you?”

His hair is long and wavy, loose around his shoulders. His button-down shirt and slacks fit him nicely, though, giving him a purposeful, put together look.

“Hi, I’m Brendan. I heard you guys do tarot readings here?”

I nod. Before I can respond, Sam comes running around the corner, smile bright.

“We do. I have an opening right now, if you’re interested.”

“No, you don’t, you have to go organize the new inventory.”

“Already done. I can take this one.”

“No, you have other work to do. In the back. Alone.”

“Um, I can come back if now isn’t a good time?”

I turn back to Brendan and smile.

“Nope, now is perfect. I’m Jade, the owner of this store, and I have years of experience with tarot cards. I will do your reading.”

Sam rolls her eyes, muttering something about fairness and punishing the messenger, but I ignore her as I lead Brendan back to the reading room. The vervain drifts over his shoulders as he follows me, falling back in place unchanged.

I gesture for him to take the seat across from me and pull down my deck.

“What brings you in today?”

[SFX: shuffling]

“I think I have a ghost.”

I look up at him, startled. Most people don’t immediately jump to the supernatural, but this man seems completely comfortable with the idea of a ghost.

“Really? What makes you say that?”

“Well, see, I just graduated from college, and I was really lucky to get a job in my field. Engineering. Except the job is here, and I’m from Covington, Louisiana. I couldn’t live at home, and I’m not exactly flush with cash right now. I thought I was going to have to live in a sketchy part of town for a while, at least until I built up some savings, but my dad has a buddy, Ed, who lives here and rents out houses as a side hustle.”

I raise my eyebrows at the idea of being a landlord as a side hustle, but let it slide as he continues.

“Ed’s a really nice guy, and he’s giving me a good deal on rent for a property he just bought. It’s like, half what he would normally charge for rent in a place like this. I don’t think he knew it was haunted, otherwise he wouldn’t have even bought it, but I wanted to get some kind of proof before I told him. I don’t want him to be blindsided by someone else later on.”

“And you think going to a tarot reader would give you proof?”

He blushes, and I can see the young boy he so recently was.

“I tried cameras and audio recordings set up in the living room, but they always seem to turn off while I’m out. One of them even fell off the tripod and broke so badly I couldn’t fix it. I was kind of hoping you could guide me a little bit, maybe tell me what the ghost wants so we can get rid of them?”

“What have you seen?”

He waves at me with one hand as he leans back in the chair, getting comfortable.

“It’s all your typical haunting stuff, honestly. Weird moaning sounds at night, lights turning on and off, stuff like that. My TV, especially, loves to turn on in the middle of the day and start blaring. I’ll come home to it being on, knowing I wouldn’t have left it that way in the morning. I’ve even noticed some things going missing or moving, like my remote or my clothes. Nothing goes missing for long; it feels more like whoever this ghost is just wants to mess with me, if that makes sense?”

“So are you looking to get rid of the ghost, or just understand them? It doesn’t sound like they’re hurting anything.”

“Not hurting, no, but the neighbors have gotten annoyed at the noise, especially when I’m at work all day. The landlord said that he’s had complaints, so I’m a little worried I’m going to lose this sweet deal because of a ghost. Can you imagine? So I guess I first want to understand them, maybe see if we can come to an understanding? If not, then yeah, I would like to get rid of them.”

I bob my head as I pick up the cards.

“Okay. I’m going to do a three card layout for you. This should tell us what’s going on, what’s causing it, and what we can do to help.”

“Great.”

I give the cards one last shuffle, and then lay down the top one. A shimmering moon over a body of water reveals itself.

“The Moon.”

“Is that good?”

I glare at him before answering. Oh yay, he’s an interrupter. His reading price is going up if I have to deal with that the whole time.

“The cards aren’t good or bad, they just are. It’s up to us to understand them. The Moon means illusions, fears being magnified, and the duality of intuition vs your fears and anxieties. The Moon has two faces, dark and light, and this card showing up could mean your thinking it is a ghost is right on the money, or you are letting your fears get the better of you.”

(confused) “Wait, so it’s not a ghost?”

“We don’t know yet. There are still two more cards. We really need to see all of them to get the whole picture.”

I turn over the second card, revealing a man beneath an infinity symbol, the suits of the cards on a table in front of him. Interesting.

“The Magician, but he’s reversed. That really points towards illusions, trickery, and deception.”

(becoming more sure) “So it’s not a ghost.”

“It’s very likely not a ghost. The cards are saying that this is the work of a real person who is trying to deceive you for their own gain. Can you think of someone who would want you to move out?”

He shakes his head, baffled.

“Literally, no. I’ve only lived there a month, I barely know anyone here, let alone the neighbors. They didn’t even talk to me about the TV being loud – they went straight to Ed.”

I smile, watching the realization hit him.

“Bingo.”

“You think Ed’s trying to get me out of the house?”

He shakes his head again in disbelief.

“Nah, he wouldn’t do that. He’s been friends with my dad for twenty years. I’m practically family to him. There’s no way he would try to get me out, not like this.”

“Let me ask you this – did Ed owe your dad a favor? He could have felt like he couldn’t say no, even though he didn’t want to give up his side hustle income.”

“But all of the stuff that’s happened – the TV, the lights, the sounds. How would he even do that?”

“He’s your landlord. Wouldn’t he have a key? Maybe know where the breaker switches are? Be able to connect your TV to his phone so he could turn it on and off himself?”

That stops him, and he sits in the silence for a moment.

“Let’s see what the last card has to tell us. There may be a nice solution for you.”

I flip over the last card.

“Six of Swords.”

I glance up at him, and even before I have a chance to speak, he reads the meaning on my face.

“I have to move, don’t I?”

“Six of Swords is all about retreat, moving on, leaving things behind. The cards are telling you that your best bet is to find a new place to live as soon as you can, and don’t confront Ed about the stuff he’s been doing. He very likely is in a pinch himself, and is doing this because he feels he has no other choice. It will become an even bigger problem if you tell him you know what he’s doing, or if you talk to your dad about it.”

(quietly, realizing) “That would destroy their friendship.”

“Unfortunately.”

I sweep up the cards and stack them nicely before standing and leading him out of the room.

“Of course, you can always ignore the cards. If it’s that important to you, you can sweep the house for whatever speakers he’s using to make those strange sounds, get new locks, reset your TV. Make the message clear you know what he’s been doing without a confrontation. You just have to ask yourself if the cost is worth the outcome.”

I slide behind the counter and smile at him.

“Speaking of cost…”

I check him out for his reading and notice Sam coming out of the stacks. She keeps her distance until he leaves, waiting for the jingling of the bells over the door to quiet before speaking.

“Man, that sucks.”

“The reading, or the outcome?”

She rolls her eyes at me.

“The outcome. You’re really going to tell that guy to say nothing? He knows he’s being manipulated by someone he trusts, and you tell him he can’t even do anything about it without blowing up his life and everyone else’s.”

“Would you have told him different?”

“Yes! If I had been the one to do the reading, I would have told him that he should confront his landlord. If anything he can tell him he knows what he’s been doing, tell him that as long as he stops now he won’t go tell his Dad. There was a middle ground there.”

(Tone tensing as she speaks) “Well, you don’t get to ignore the customers who want books and come running for the ones who want readings. It’s a job, not a buffet. You don’t get to pick and choose. You have to learn that some people can’t handle middle grounds. As soon as I saw him I knew that kid is not the type to stand up for himself or he would have come to that conclusion as well. Or maybe he’ll figure that out later without me. If I gave him advice like that and it blew up in his face, do you really think he wouldn’t try to blame it all on me? Sue me over frivolous shit? Do you really think I should put my livelihood on the line to give this guy more than what the cards interpret?”

Some of Sam’s fiery spark dies down.

“I didn’t think about it like that.”

“You’re still a kid, kids don’t think, no matter how mature you get.”

She glares at me as my venom sinks in. Shit, did I push too far? I think I did, but I don’t apologize for the truth.

[SFX: bells jingle as front door opens]

Dylan, one of my former delivery people walks in with a big box, small holes perforated along the top. It has been a hot minute since I’ve actually seen him. I assumed he took a different route for a while, but he finally reached out to me a few weeks ago to let me know he isn’t with that company anymore, but was still happy to do the extra running for me that he used to do. My need for those types of services has died down a little, but I throw a guy a bone when I can.

“Hello, Dylan.”

“Hey, Jade. Long time no see. (pause noticing Sam behind the counter) You finally take on an employee or are you being held up?”

“Finally accepted an extra set of hands. Pliable, malleable hands.”

(feigning insult by being talked about) “I’m standing right here.”

Dylan gently puts the box on the counter.

“I’ve got your live delivery, fresh from the church.”

Sam pushes away from the counter and eyes the box.

“Live delivery from the church?”

“It didn’t come from the church, but made a pit stop there for a blessing. To which I am forever thankful, Dylan.”

I get my cash and pay him for his services. I slide the money across the counter to him. Before I can pull my hand back he grabs it, ever so slowly, but once he’s got me, his grip is firm.

“You left quite a mess at the Arlington, Jade. Whatever chance you had at flying under the radar, it’s gone now.”

Sam goes still beside me, no longer curious about the box. I swallow my surprise and instead put on my blank stare. I knew Dylan had his hands in just about everything, but I didn’t know his ties ran that deep to the mob.

“I hope my message was clear. They leave us alone, I’ll leave them alone.”

“I figured as much, and I can reaffirm that to the new…man in charge.”

“The mess I left at the Arlington wasn’t enough of a deterrent?”

Dylan lets me go and pockets the cash. I lean closer to Sam and pat her hand, trying to signal everything is okay. Dylan won’t try to hurt us. He knows better than to try with me. But that knowing glint in his eye makes me second guess his intention.

“Some in Hot Springs, and closer to home, are not convinced you want to be left alone. They are afraid more is coming.”

“I’ve been here for 16 years living my best life. Why would I want to go play in their backyard?”

“They think you want to run it, now that you’re aware it’s there.”

“I have no skin in that game. Again, if they leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone.”

“I’ll pass the confirmation on, but you know they’ll be watching you to make sure.”

“Since when did you become a lackey for the mob?”

Dylan pushes the box closer to me and walks backwards to the door.

(chuckling) “I’m just a messenger and delivery boy, for hire by anyone.”

“You may want to rethink that ‘for hire by anyone’ bit.”

“Take it easy, Jade. I’ll be waiting for the next time you need something.”

“Aren’t you always? You be careful out there, Dylan.”

Dylan smiles and nods.

“Aren’t I always? See ya, Extra Hands.”

As soon as Dylan is out of view I turn to Sam.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just I didn’t think we’d ever have to deal with any of that again.”

“Me either. My message was pretty clear.”

Sam eyes the box now.

“Can you trust the delivery is safe?”

I smile, remembering the box for what it is, washing away the ominous shadow of the conversation.

“Dylan might make bad business decisions, but he doesn’t purposely do anything to mess up an order. What’s in the box is exactly what I asked for.”

I take the lid off the box and step back for Sam to peek in. She raises her eyebrow, clearly surprised I would get her anything.

She looks in the box and I see the mix of emotions dance in her eyes.

“Another store cat?”

“You were right in your initial sentiment bringing Shazam. A store cat adds a bit of flavor to the environment, and had a good effect on you here.”

“You really going to pretend Persephone didn’t affect you?”

“Not pretending, but I wasn’t going to buy another store cat just for me. I grappled with whether it was too soon, or even worth it, but I think it would be good for both of us. You could even take her home if you wanted and bring her when you come to work.”

She picks up the sleeping kitten, who looks like a young Tabby with deep blue eyes. It is quiet and scared, but hopefully in time it comes to like us. It may be a sore reminder of the cats before it that betrayed us, but it will also be a reminder that just because you get burned once doesn’t mean you have to let it ruin all the future joy.

“So what do you want to name her?”

“How about Fern?”

“She looks like a Fern to me.”

Sam pets it and a calm falls over her.

“I’m sorry I gave you crap about your advice to the guy.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you. At least we know we still have plenty to learn from each other.”

Sam perks up at this.

(teasing) “So I AM teaching you things too, and not just you teaching me, huh?”

“Don’t push it. Come on. Let’s finish up and close a little early to get ready for tonight.”

Much to Sam’s chagrin, I do not call Roz or Maureen for more information. Even if I did, I doubt they would give me much more than the vague group message. Sam and I drive separately to Mountainburg. On the way, I mentally steel myself for whichever choice is made. This day has seemed for so long as if it would never come. Now that it’s close at hand, I have no clue how to feel. I think about how I’ll feel if the Goddess chooses me and if she doesn’t. If I become High Priestess, it’s going to complicate my life, but it will also open the door I need to make things right. If I’m not chosen, I could always try again later, when I have more time with the coven. Or maybe I’ll find a way to make things right without being the high priestess. I guess either way, I’m okay.

Sam waits for me outside Maureen’s house in the pink and yellow twilight. It’s been 50/50 lately on if she walks with me to the circle or not. When she doesn’t walk with me, she’s walking with the neophyte sisters her own age.

Looks like Hanna and Justice are with her. They must have just showed up too. Surprised they didn’t walk on before I got here, or maybe they were just about to when I pulled up, but Sam made them wait.

As I get out of my car, though, other doors of cars parked in front of the house also open and close.

[SFX: 4-5 car doors opening and shutting as people get out all at once]

It’s the other neophytes that I’ve been helping teach.

[SFX: Calling from ahead] “About time you showed up. We’ve been waiting for you. How were you that far behind me?”

I make my way toward her.

“Some of us don’t do 90 on 540. (pause) Why have you been waiting? You and your friends could have gone on without me.”

[SFX: closer now] “No way. How are we gonna show up tonight without our nominee?”

I fight hard not to smile.

“I knew I was your nominee. Was not aware this many of the neophytes felt the same.”

Hanna and Justice go on to shit talk Laura Peugh, though they concede how hard it’s gonna be to beat Ruth Ann. I remind them it’s not a competition, merely a choosing.

The rest of the young ladies join us. They all look to me to start our trek through the woods. Sam, Hanna, and Justice walk on either side of me, the rest of the group just a footfall behind them, fanning out in almost a straight line through the trees. My heart warms at this acceptance, but it’s merely a fraction of the battle. Still, it’s nice to know who favors me.

About a hundred feet from the clearing, I can see through the trees that something is different. The fire in the middle of the circle is always lit before I get there, its glow shining through the forest and visible from yards off. Tonight I see nothing. I hear others ahead, but the absence of the light throws me.

There’s enough light left in the sky for my eyes to adjust and finally see why. The clearing isn’t just dark from no light. The clearing is no longer a clearing. Something else has taken up residence. The girls murmur about what’s ahead. I tell them I’m as clueless as they are, but the closer we get, the more prominent the profile of what we are looking at becomes. A wall of Arborvitae trees creates another barrier in the middle of the woods, but even if you didn’t know there was a clearing here before, you can tell they don’t belong. Something is off about them. They’re grown so close to each other you can’t quite tell where one ends and the other begins.

We finally make it out of the woods to face the encroachers, with about ten feet of walking room between the line of the Ozarks and the start of this wall.

“This way, Sisters.”

Roz calls from further south down the line. She must have found where it finally stops; she looks like she’s peeking around the corner of it. As we make our way to her, other Sisters also emerge from the forest, curious and cautious to the new addition. We make it to Roz and crowd around what looks like an entrance to this fortress of forestry. Maureen sits in a lawn chair near the mouth.

“Welcome, Sisters, old and new. Thank you for joining us as we begin the ritual to decide which of our nominees will be the next High Priestess.”

Those words must taste bitter on her tongue. I know she wishes she was still High Priestess. Some days I wish Sam had never nominated me, but that’s just me thinking about me. Clearly, this coven needed something to change.

“Before the Mother can give her blessing, we must give ours. I will ask the nominees to come to the front. Those who would like to give their blessing, come also, and lay your hands upon your nominee.”

Ah, I see why the neophytes waited for me now. Though I wonder if they’re even allowed to participate in this, being so new. Guess we’re fixing to find out.

Sam nudges me.

“We’re basically casting our vote right?”

“I think there’s more to it, but I’m not sure.”

“A reminder that this is not a requirement, as this is not a vote. Do not feel compelled to join if you do not want to. Jade Albright, Laura Peugh (Pew), and Ruth Ann Mayfield, please step forward.”

I take a deep breath and walk to the front. Laura and Ruth Ann step out of the crowd with me. I nod to Ruth Ann on the far side of Laura. She smiles and nods back. We both ignore Laura and she hmphs. At least we all know where the other stands.

Roz moves to stand directly in front of the entrance, central between the three of us.

“Please remain looking forward, do not look back to those who give their blessings. I’m sure you may be able to hear a few, but the future is ahead, not behind.”

She moves again to my side.

“You may now take a few minutes to give your blessing, if you wish.”

[SFX: footsteps walking through leaves in the forest]

Immediate footsteps from where I was standing. Sam must be coming, because of course she would be first in line. Roz disappears behind me a bit closer to Sam. Is she telling her she cannot participate? That’s going to be a fun conversation. But no, it’s not that. I hear Roz whispering to Sam, and possibly the rest of the neophytes, how to give their blessing. The first set of hands, I assume Sam’s, rests on my shoulder.

“With this blessing, I bid you the wisdom to lead.”

The hand slips away, and more come. Others step forward. From the corner of my eyes I see hands on Laura, but can’t see as far as Ruth Ann, though I’d bet my life Ruth Ann has more hands on her than Laura. It’s just nice to feel more hands than I thought I’d have on my shoulders.

“Thank you for offering your blessings, Sisters. Now, it’s time for the Mother to give hers. Behind me is a maze. Only the Mother can guide you through it. Whoever makes it out of the maze first will be our new High Priestess. We will wait for you at the end.”

Maureen hands Roz a small leather pouch. She opens it and steps closer to us.

“You will draw a token from the bag and it will decide the order in which you start.”

Of course, Laura gets to go first and I draw last. The only bit any of us get to watch is each of the women deciding on their first turn – as soon after you step in you’re met with another wall. Laura goes right. Ruth Ann goes left.

My turn.

The End

This episode of It’s All in the Cards Podcast was written by Ashley McAnelly and Morgan Valko.

Featuring the voice talents of Ashley McAnelly, Nichole Goodnight, Athan, and Jessica McEvoy

Theme music by ThaArsonist

Produced by Scott Thomas