Lucifer's Daughter. V. J. Banis

coming round,” Elizabeth said.

      “Thank goodness. Julie. Julie,” Allyson said softly. “Are you all right?”

      “What happened?”

      “You fainted.”

      “Oh, yes, I remember,” Julia tried to focus on her surroundings. She saw the dreary interior and the draped table. Her eyes lingered on the shattered pieces of crystal that lay scattered on the cloth. She did not want to stay here; the place represented something bad, something evil. From out of nowhere the words someone had called to her returned: “Evil!” No, she could not stay here. She had to get away.

      She tried to sit up but Elizabeth eased her back. “Rest for a minute. The gypsy woman has gone to get the park’s nurse.”

      “No, please,” Julia protested. “I don’t want a nurse. I’m fine. I just want to get out of here.”

      “You must rest, Julie. You’re obviously not well.”

      “I had a simple dizzy spell. I suppose it was the after-effects of that roller coaster ride.” She knew perfectly well it was not the roller coaster ride that had made her faint. It had been something very different. Precisely what had caused her to pass out she couldn’t be certain. Everything was fuzzy inside her head. She rubbed her temples. She tried to think of what had happened to her, but for a time nothing registered except the word “evil” being repeated over and over inside her brain.

      Who had called her evil? What had happened? She thought back, forcing her mind to retrace as much time as it could. In the distance she heard the music of the carousel and remembered standing watching it spinning and spinning, waiting for the girls to wave to her. She remembered the terror that gripped her as the car of the roller coaster roared and raced up and down and around its tracks, its screeching, clanging wheels propelling them to speeds faster than the wind.

      Cautiously she turned her memory to the old gypsy woman. She began to tremble inside. It had been the old gypsy woman who’d called her evil. She remembered now. She had said Julia Carson was not her real name. Gradually everything started to shift back into perspective.

      “A face,” she said aloud. She sat up, pushing Elizabeth away. “There was a man’s face in the crystal ball...and then it shattered.”

      “You obviously knocked it off its little pedestal,” Allyson said. “It cracked and fell into several pieces.”

      “I’ll bet anything that old gypsy will insist you pay for it,” Margaret said, sounding disgruntled.

      “Oh, Margaret,” Elizabeth admonished. “The gypsy will expect no such thing. Poor thing fainted too,” she added, turning back to Julia. “Do you remember, Julie? She wasn’t passed out very long, however. She stirred almost immediately. Then, when she saw you with your head on the table, she told us to lift you over onto this divan and she rushed out to find the nurse.”

      Allyson dabbed Julia’s forehead. “What do you suppose the gypsy meant when she said your name wasn’t Julia?” she asked.

      Julia frowned. “Yes, I remember her telling me that. I don’t know what she could have meant.” Julia purposely laughed, hoping to make light of the situation. “Of course, you all know I was an orphan, so my real name could have been anything.”

      “How did the old gypsy know you were an orphan?” Margaret asked.

      Julia shrugged and tried to look indifferent. “I think she recognized me when we walked over to her tent. They used to bring entertainers like her up to the orphanage to entertain the children. Maybe she remembered me from there.”

      “But when people adopt, don’t they usually keep the baby’s first name, at least?” Allyson asked.

      “Julia wasn’t adopted,” Margaret said, seeming to remind Julia that no one had wanted her.

      “No, that’s true,” Julia said. “The people at the orphanage don’t usually change a baby’s name if it has one to start with.”

      Elizabeth brightened. “Ah, then that’s probably what the gypsy was referring to. She remembered you from the orphanage and she just presumed that your parents had died or abandoned you and you had a name on a birth certificate somewhere that was different from the name the orphanage gave you. She might have surmised that you were just a foundling.”

      Margaret chuckled. “The old woman just made up the whole thing, if you want my opinion.”

      “I never was told whether Julia Carson was my real name or not,” Julia said. “They never told me how I came to be an orphan. They just kept me until I was eighteen, then kicked me out.” She tried to laugh but the laugh did not come. She didn’t feel much like laughing. “They won’t tell the orphans much about themselves, especially the older ones like myself. They don’t want them to go out scouring the bushes in hopes of finding their parents. We all like to think we were not abandoned, just lost somewhere...that we were never consciously given up by our mothers and fathers. Nobody likes to think of themselves as having been an unwanted child.”

      There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as each of them struggled with their guilt and uneasiness. Even Margaret held her tongue.

      The silence was broken when the gypsy came into the tent followed by a rather large woman dressed in white. Elizabeth had made it seem that the gypsy was worried and concerned about Julia. One look at the old gypsy’s face told Julia that the woman felt neither worry nor concern for her. Her eyes were narrowed in anger and her mouth was drawn tight against her teeth. Her expression could only be defined as one of open hostility.

      “Get her out of here,” the gypsy ordered, pointing a menacing finger at Julia. “You must take her away. Take her out of my sight!”

      “Now, now,” the nurse said. “Let’s not get ourselves all excited.” She ignored the fuming gypsy and came over to Julia. She felt her forehead, brushing back several loose strands of hair that had fallen forward. “I understand you fainted, dear.”

      Julia nodded. “Yes.” She rubbed her temples again. “I don’t know why exactly. I’d been on the roller coaster with Allyson and I suppose the ride made me dizzy.” She glanced at Allyson who smiled at her. “And it was so warm and dark inside this tent.”

      The nurse laid her fingers to Julia’s pulse. “Are you feeling all right now?”

      “Oh, yes. I’m feeling much better.”

      “Get her out of here,” the gypsy demanded.”She is trouble.”

      Julia shot her a frightened look. “Trouble? Why do you say that?”

      “You are trouble. I see terrible things.” The old woman put her hands over her eyes. “I do not want to remember. You are evil. Go away. Take her out of my sight!”

      The nurse glanced from the gypsy to Julia. She smiled reassuringly. “I suppose if you are feeling well enough, we could walk you over to my first-aid station. You could rest there if you wish. Your presence here seems to be upsetting Madam Esperelda.”

      “I’ll just go along back to my hotel,” Julia said. “I don’t need to rest. I’ll be all right.”

      The nurse helped Julia to her feet. Julia still felt a bit faint and not too steady, but she forced herself to stand tall and straight. Leaning slightly on the nurse’s arm, she walked out of the tent with Elizabeth, Allyson, and Margaret following silently. As Julia passed the old gypsy woman she turned and looked at her. The old crone’s face was black and somber. She recoiled from Julia’s gaze. The gypsy raised her shawl up to hide her face from Julia’s eyes. “Go away,” she said in a frightened voice.

      “Please,” Julia implored. “You are making terrible accusations of me. You must tell me what you mean. What did the crystal ball tell you?”

      “Go. Leave me. Go.”

      Julia felt miserable standing there, knowing she was frightening