IN A DARK AND HAZY ROOM, PEERING INTO A CRYSTAL BALL, THE MYSTIC
DELIVERED GRAVE NEWS:
"There's no easy way to tell you this", so I'll just be blunt. "Prepare
yourself to be a widow".
"Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year."
Visibly shaken, Laura stared at the woman's lined face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands.
She took a few deep breaths to compose herself and to stop her mind racing. She simply had to know.
She met the Fortune Teller's gaze, steadied her voice and asked,
"Will I be acquitted?"
For some reason, women tend to like this joke¹