Hand-Me-Down Magic #2

Madame Alma.”
Alma grinned. “Madame Alma? Really?” she said.
“Absolutely!” Del said. She curtseyed to Madame Alma, and Madame Alma curtseyed back. Suddenly, Alma wasn’t scared Alma anymore. She was Madame Alma, magnificent fortune-teller. And Del would find her some customers. All their guests might have left, but 86 ½ Twenty-Third Avenue was always filled with family.
“I need some practice before I tell a birthday fortune,” Madame Alma said.
“Good idea,” Del said. She wanted the best birthday fortune she could get, after all. “Wait right here.”
Del ran through the building. She found Abuelita in her kitchen and her father on their fire escape where he liked to read sometimes. Finally, Del found Titi Clara on the stoop, about to walk to her own building a few doors down. “You have to come with me,” she told each of them. “It’s very important.” She led them all to Abuelita’s living room, where the crystal ball and Madame Alma were both sitting on the floor.
“Abuelita, Madame Alma would like to tell your fortune,” Del said. Abuelita gave a serious nod and sat down across from Madame Alma. Del handed over the crystal ball. She put Madame Alma’s hands on its cool surface. “Close your eyes,” she said, and Madame Alma did. “Open them again,” Del said.
“I have to make my magical noise first,” Madame Alma said.
Del beamed. Finally, her cousin understood magic!
Madame Alma took a big breath and blew it out in a long, magical sigh. Then she made a humming noise. Then whistled three little notes and waved her fingers around. Del was impressed.
At last, Madame Alma opened her eyes. She looked long and hard at the crystal ball. She tilted her head one way, and then the other. She stood up, so that she could see the top of the crystal ball. She lifted the ball up so she could look at the bottom.
“I see a crystal ball,” Madame Alma said.
“But what do you see inside?” Del asked.
Madame Alma shook the ball. She turned it over and over in her hands. She held it up to the light.
“Aha!” Madame Alma said. “I see it!”
Del knew her cousin had some magic inside her. They were cousins, after all! And magic ran in their family. She couldn’t wait to hear what magical fortunes Madame Alma would reveal.

6
Something Black and Fuzzy
-Alma-
Madame Alma had hoped the fortunes would be very clear, but it wasn’t exactly the way Del had described. She didn’t see much in the crystal ball. Mostly just colors and almost-shapes. She guessed it was her job to figure out what those fortunes were supposed to be.
She looked at Abuelita’s hopeful face, then back at her crystal ball. She saw some yellow light. Kind of like the moon. “I see the moon,” Madame Alma declared. “A very beautiful moon.”
“¡Que lindo!” Abuelita said. Alma knew Abuelita loved the moon. Sometimes she painted pictures of it, and sometimes she sat under it at night, and sometimes she told the family stories about all the magical things the moon could do. “An evening in the moonlight. I can’t wait.”
“Who’s next?” Madame Alma asked.
“I’ll go,” Tío Victor said. Del’s father was always brave.
Madame Alma closed her eyes and hummed and wiggled her fingers. She looked deep into the crystal ball. She saw something blue and shiny. She tried to think about what the shape might be. It was sort of rectangular, she thought. Maybe a car? “I see a blue car!” she declared.
“A new one?” Tío Victor asked. He was smiling. Del’s family car was white and very old. He was always complaining about it.
“Yes,” Madame Alma said. “A new blue car.”
“Well, that’s great news!” he said. Madame Alma was liking this more and more! She had delivered two wonderful fortunes. She couldn’t wait for them to come true.
When Titi Clara sat in front of her, Madame Alma was pretty sure she saw red. “A dozen red roses!” she said. Titi Clara looked very pleased with this. “I’ve never gotten flowers from someone before,” she said. “And I do love roses!”
For Evie’s fortune, Madame Alma looked long and hard. She didn’t see any colors or shapes. Just her own face reflected back at her. “A . . . mirror?” Madame Alma said.
“Titi Rosa’s mirror?” Evie asked. She put her hand over her heart.
“I think so. Yes,” Alma said.
“Titi Rosa is going to give me her amazing mirror!” Evie squealed with delight.
Finally, it was Del’s turn to have her fortune told.
Madame Alma hesitated for a moment. It was a very big responsibility to tell the birthday girl’s fortune, and she didn’t want to mess it up. Plus, she wasn’t sure exactly what she was seeing in there. Sometimes it seemed like she wasn’t seeing much at all.
Still, Madame Alma leaned over the crystal ball. She closed her eyes as tight as she could. She hummed very loudly. She whistled and wiggled her fingers and, she was pretty sure, finally managed to wiggle her eyebrows and ears too. She opened her eyes and lifted the crystal ball up in the air. She put it down, very gently. She waved her hands above it and picked it up one more time.
“I see . . . ,” she said. But she didn’t see anything. “I see . . .” But still, there was nothing in there. Not even a speck of light or a hint of a shape. “I see . . . black?”
“Black?” Del asked.
Madame Alma tried again. It wasn’t just black, she thought. It was sort of blurry. Or fuzzy? Yes. Black and fuzzy. “I see something black and fuzzy,” Madame Alma said.
“Black and fuzzy,” Del repeated.
“Maybe . . . a dog? Or . . . I don’t know . . . a cat?”
“A cat?” Del asked. “You see a black cat?”
“Yes,” Madame Alma said. She wanted to sound sure. She wanted to be a good fortune-teller for her cousin.
Del’s face got very serious. And very pale.
“You love animals,” Alma said.
“A black cat is bad luck,” Del said. “The worst kind of luck. Everyone knows that. It’s why they’re around at Halloween. Because they’re