Nightmare Read Free Page A

leaves, but she silently watched as Haley carefully laid the box between them and slowly opened the lid. Inside the box were small stones—about three dozen, Emily guessed. On each stone strange-looking symbols had been artistically drawn with black paint.
    “Runes are part of a primitive alphabet that was developed by the Vikings well over two thousand years ago,” Haley explained. “Somebody, I don’t know who, found these alphabet symbols in caves throughout Scandinavia and discovered they had magic insight into the future.” She leaned forward, her voice dropping as though she were imparting secret information. “Runes are probably the most powerful way of all to foretell the future.”
    Emily reached out to pick up one of the stones, wanting to examine it, but Haley gasped and pushed her hand away. “Not yet,” she said. “We have to meditate.”
    “I just wanted to—”
    Haley shook her head. “If you want to do this right, you
have
to meditate cross-legged for at least three minutes. You absolutely must sit cross-legged.”
    “But I—”
    “Go on. Cross your legs,” Haley insisted.
    Emily sighed and did what she had been told.
    “Now, close your eyes. Meditate.”
    “About what?”
    Haley sighed impatiently. “About whatever peoplemeditate about. Life, your aspirations, your hopes, your childhood. Okay?”
    “I’ve never meditated before,” Emily said. “I don’t even know what meditation is all about.” She knew it would be easier to just go along with whatever Haley said, but she was beginning to balk at being constantly told what to do.
    Haley rolled her eyes again, then slipped on a look of exaggerated patience. “Meditation helps us withdraw from the stress around us and frees the brain to fully use its energy potential. Now, close your eyes.”
    “Tell me first, what has meditation got to do with your runes?”
    Haley thought a moment, frowning and twisting her lips. Suddenly she sighed again. “Don’t make this so difficult. It’s just what I said. Meditation frees your brain so the runes can pick up the messages they need. Okay?”
    Emily decided to give up, since it was clear that Haley never would. “Okay,” Emily said, and closed her eyes. She decided to meditate on the subject of why some people thought a bunch of little stones with drawings on them could possibly foretell the future. She wished she were home. She wished she were lying on the floor, one arm wrapped around her cat, Twizzles, as afternoon sun spilled through the window, creating a deep yellow patch across the floor. Twizzles purring in the soft silence, drowsy, sleepy …
    “Time’s up,” Haley said, startling Emily so much that she jumped. “I’ll go first so you’ll see how to do it. With all the last-minute rush to get here I didn’t have a chance to draw my rune for today.”
    Emily watched as Haley held the box high with herleft arm, then reached in with her right hand and drew out a stone. She glanced at the design, which was like a
Y
with its stem twisted. “Yggdrasil,” Haley said, looking pleased. “It represents a sacred tree from which all life springs and stands for new beginnings.” She replaced the stone inside the box and laid the box on the bed in front of Emily.
    “Obviously, I’m supposed to be where I am at this time and place,” Haley explained smugly. “No matter that I didn’t want to come. According to the runes, today is a day of new beginnings for me, which you can see is certainly true. Maybe things aren’t going to be so bad here after all.”
    She replaced the stone, stirred all the stones with her fingertips, then again held up the box. “Go ahead, Em. Your turn.”
    “No, thanks,” Emily said. “I really don’t believe in all that—”
    “If you don’t, you should,” Haley insisted. “Come on. We’re going to be roommates, so in a way our fortunes are tied together. I’m curious about what the runes will tell you, even if you’re not.” She held up