The Oracle

Image by blackrabbitkdj from PixabayThe shin-high covering of damp leaves clung as they passed,

making sandpaper sounds in the early dusk. Bonnie clung to Penny’s arm, flinching at every animal noise.

“We should go back. It’s going to be dark soon,” she said.

“That’s the point. The Oracle only appears at twilight.”

“Do you really believe in this Oracle thing?”

Penny turned, a wicked smile on her face. “Is that real enough for you?”

Bonnie followed her finger to where a man blocked the path. He was rail thin, wearing a double-breasted military coat and a bird-skull mask with black feathers jutting out the back.

“He’s the Oracle?” Bonnie frantically whispered. “He’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen!”

Penny laughed. “No, the Oracle is a pool of water, still as a sheet of glass. That’s the… well, the best translation is ‘bouncer.’

She pulled away from Bonnie’s grasp and approached the figure. “We seek counsel from the Oracle.”

The figure continued to stand there, saying nothing. Bonnie grabbed her friend’s arm and tried to pull her away, but Penny shrugged her off. “Aren’t you supposed to ask me three questions?”

The bird skull tilted to one side. “No. You are allowed to ask me three questions in an attempt to ascertain my name. I am required to answer truthfully. Then you are allowed one guess. Answer correctly, and gain the Oracle’s counsel. If you fail, I throw your souls into the river Acheron.”

“You have used your first question.”

Bonnie tugged more insistently. Penny asked, “Is your costume somehow related to your name?”

“No.”

Penny opened her mouth to ask again, but Bonnie clamped a hand over it. “What is your name?” Bonnie asked.

“Cecil,” the figure said. “You have asked your three questions.”

Penny pulled Bonnie away. “That was a huge risk.”

Bonnie shrugged. “He said souls. As in both of ours. And we only had one question left.”

Penny turned back to the figure. “Is your name Cecil?”

The bird-man stepped aside. “You may approach the Oracle.”

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