"You'll know when the right one comes along," her mother had said, all through Renee's teenage years. "Don't be in such a hurry...."
Well, now she had found the right one. He was wonderful, and here they were at the carnival, on a beautiful day, and everything in her world was perfect. She was so absorbed in her happiness, she almost walked right by the little sign...
*PALMS READ!*
*Fortunes Told! See What Your Future Holds!*
Renee paused, but Mike tugged her along: "I already know what your future holds, beautiful," he said, kissing her. But--suddenly, she didn't want to be tugged along, and talked out of a palm reading. She pulled away, almost irritated.
"It'll only take a minute; I want to." and she wisked into the dusty old tent.
It was dim and cool inside, with an odd, spicy smell, not unpleasant. A hideously wrinkled and hunched old woman sat at a little table, and motioned to the chair opposite. She silently held out one claw-like hand, and Renee put a five-dollar bill in it, almost cringing. She felt compelled to hear what the woman would say, however, and let her hand be taken by the crone.
"Ah, you've found The Right One," she croaked, grinning toothlessly at Renee. "I don't see you holding him long, though. Another will come along and take him, if you are not careful..."
Renee shuddered--weren't these fortune-tellers supposed to tell you what you wanted to hear? She tried to pull her hand away, but the old woman's grip tightened painfully, crushing Renee's hand. The ugly old face wavered in front of her, and Renee felt suddenly, horribly disoriented. The fortune-teller's face seemed to melt, and reform into a younger, beautiful one, and Renee stared in shock back at her own face. Looking down, she saw her own hands as withered old claws. She felt stiff, and old....
The thing that now looked like Renee rose, and lithely sauntered toward the tent opening. It turned back , once, and said, in Renee's voice,"Don't worry. You'll be able to switch one day, though it may take a long time. But you'll know when the right one comes along..."