Fine Print

Chapter One

All she noticed were her soggy tennis shoes connecting into the sidewalk as she walked. The cars racing down the street, the people she passed, the conversations she heard, all lost in the hazy mess of her mind. The pain in her shoulders was a distant ping, but Sang refused to focus on anything but her destination.

It wasn't often that she got the chance to get out of the house. Between her chores, schoolwork, and punishments, Sang didn't have much time for anything else. Which was normally not an inconvenience. She didn't have many friends, despite being a senior in high school. If asked politely, she could name a few people, but it would take a minute of consideration.

Which was why her trip now was such a treat. Her mother didn't like to do the grocery shopping and typically her father was the one to pick things up on the way home. Except today, her father had called and stated that he was staying at the office for a bit of overtime. This could have been a problem easily solved, but Sang's mother had run out of cigarettes.

That was the reason Sang was walking down the street in the drizzling rain. Her recent birthday brought her the privilege of buying tobacco products and her mother had insisted she put it to good use. Pulling down the navy hood of her jacket, Sang frowned down at her feet. Was that all she amounted too? An errand girl for the needs of her sick mother?

A few minutes later, Sang had finally arrived to the nearest corner store. The neon lit sign displayed a broken letter, but it had been like that for ages. Sang shoved her hand into the back of her jeans and fingered the ID and the ten dollars she'd been gifted with. She didn't know where the ID came from, since she was certain she'd never taken her drivers test, but Sang hadn't questioned it when her father gave it to her two years ago.

She retreated into the safety of the store's canopy before removing her items. The rain continued to dribble onto the concrete, but now she was relatively dry and Sang shook off her hood. Bringing her ID to her chest, she turned toward the dirty glass door and pushed it open. As she stepped inside, her green eyes caught sight of a bundled up person resting against the ice container. Her heart clenched, but Sang continued to go inside.

Successfully paying for the cigarettes, Sang shoved the remaining four dollars back into her pocket. During her short time inside, it seemed the rain had picked back up and she let out a soft sigh as she peered out the door. It was going to be torture to walk back home in that. Especially without ruining her mother's cigarettes. Her hand pushed at the metal handle reluctantly and the sound of pouring rain increased.

"You're gonna need an umbrella," Sang nearly jumped out of her skin at the raspy voice, "You'll catch your death out there."

Wide green eyes stared at the talking pile of blankets leaning against the wall. It was the same person she'd seen earlier, "I'll be okay," Sang's voice was soft with unstated caution, "Thank you."

"Sit for a while," the voice let out a coughing laugh, "You need to keep offa that leg anyways."

How did they know? Sang took a step back as her hands rubbed uncomfortably against her arms. She didn't speak for a while, instead she trained her eyes on the pile of blankets. The strange person's laughter got louder and Sang winced at the rattling in their chest. With another laugh, the person sat up and dropped the blanket off their head. The face that greeted Sang was stained with wrinkles and age spots, but at one time, the woman could have been considered beautiful.

The strange woman pointed a gnarled finger at Sang's leg, "Burns like that won't heal themselves, chickadee."

"What?" The word's came out of Sang's mouth without her consent, "How could you tell?"

In response, the woman tapped her forehead with a snort, "I done saw it, bluebird. Oil, huh? Your mothers an original gal, I'll give 'er that."

She recoiled in shock at the accuracy of the woman's statement. The strange lady had got it in one, even the method was correct. Sang struggled to find her voice, "You saw it? How is that possible?"

"Lot's of questions in ya," The woman laughed, "Sit for a bit and I'll tell ya."

"I can't..." Sang shuffled on her feet. She didn't know what to make of this strange encounter, but the woman had an aura that drew her in. She really didn't want to leave, "My mother's waiting for me."

"That ol' hag can wait," the woman laughed, but she didn't pressure Sang to sit down again, "You need to be free of that baggage, little crow. How 'bout I give ya a present?"

Taking another step back, Sang shook her head in denial, "That's alright, ma'am. I'm... I'm not quite sure how you know all of this, but I'll be okay."

"You know that ain't true," The woman pushed herself forward and Sang marveled as the blankets fell off her shoulders. The skin underneath them was covered in black and white tattoos that spread all over her shoulders. They were a mishmash of words and symbols, but Sang was distracted when the woman spoke again, "It won't hurt ya, but you can make the choice, Sang. Are you going to let her ruin you or will you fight back?"

"How do you know my name?" Sang's voice was coated in fear as she took another step back, "That's not possible..."

"Hush, little raven," the woman's voice transferred into a coo, "You see these words on my arm? What do they say?"

Still shaking in fear, Sang trailed her eyes down the woman's arm. The tattooed words weren't in any readable language, at first. As she continued to stare, they transferred into letters she could understand. She voiced her findings, "A circle of crumb, a candle of one, a vial of bloodied mud, with gifts and love, let the veil be undone."

"Now, I wasn't expecting that," The woman let out a chorus of strangled guffaws, "Aren't you a strange one? Well, best remember those words, Sang. They'll come in handy the next time your ol' hag of a mother raises her hand."

"No," Sang shook her head, eyes wide on the other woman, "I don't know... I don't know what you're talking about. What does that mean? I can't do this..."

"Hush, chickadee," the woman smiled with too many teeth, "Get on now. Get out of here."

"What--"

With narrowed brown eyes, the woman cut Sang off with a sharp order, "Go! Get!"

Jumping back with a shriek, Sang stared at the woman. Her following movements were jerky as she forced herself to look away from the strange lady. Her body was about to leave the canopy and venture into the pouring rain when Sang gave into her morbid curiosity and looked back over her shoulder. With that, a shaky hand came up to cover her gaping mouth and Sang let out a distressed noise.

The lady was gone. Only the blankets spread across the concrete convinced her it wasn't a dream.