When she returned to the shop, there's already one customer waiting for her.

"Hello, Grandma! Is your shop open now?" the woman in her late 20's asked. ​​

"Yes, dear, let's get inside!" she said.

The customer followed her inside the shop.

"Please have a seat..." she said.

The woman sat on the chair and stared at the three candles in the center.

She took her seat and looked at the woman. "What can I do for you, dear?" she asked.

"I want a palm reading. My boyfriend and I want to get married at the end of this year. But I want to know if he is the right guy for me before I'll marry him," she asked.

"Alright, give me your right hand," she said.

The woman obeyed.

"Let's get started!" Menedelia put the woman's palm above the black clothe and covered it with her right hand and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later, Menedelia opened her eyes and looked at the woman directly. "Your boyfriend is not husband material. He frequented brothels and likes to get drunk during his free time. He can also be sadistic to you and hurt you physically if he gets jealous, am I right?"

The woman's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "Oh, how did you know everything about my boyfriend's bad habits, Grandma?" she asked.

"You don't have to know. I have my ways. If you want, I can give you a piece of advice. Just wait a little bit longer snd soon you will meet the perfect guy for you when you turned 30 years old," Menedelia said.

"Ah, okay. Thank you so much, Grandma!" the woman said.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"That's all. How much should I pay you for the palm reading, Grandma?" the woman asked.

"I don't demand a specific amount for my services. You can drop any amount in the donation box," Menedelia said.

"Okay, thank you!" the woman spoke. She stood up, went to the donation box, dropped five silver coins, and left the room.

Menedelia shook her head. The expression on the woman's face before she left was that of a conflicted one. She hoped that the woman will listen to her advice or else she will end up regretting her life decision later on. Choosing a husband to marry just based on good looks and love alone can sometimes make a person blind, failing to see the bad sides of their beloved, resulting in unhappy marriages and lifelong mistakes that can't be undone.

The wooden door opened again, two middle-aged men entered the shop.

Menedelia raised her head and looked at them, appraising their personality.

One of them is gullible, while the other one is cunning and crafty.

"Which one of you would like to seek my services?" she asked.

The two men looked at each other for a few seconds. "Both of us!" they replied in unison.

Menedelia shook her head. "Sorry guys, I can only entertain one person at a time. Who goes first? The others must wait outside. There's a chair there that you can sit upon while you wait for your turn," she explained.

Again, the men looked at each other, their eyes communicating privately for a few seconds.

"You go in first. I will wait outside. Don't forget our plan, bro!" the tall guy reminded the shorter guy.

The short guy nodded his head and lowered himself on the chair while his companion exited the room. Outside, the other guy was cursing the shabby place.

Back inside the room.

"Please put your right hand above this black cloth," she instructed the guy.

"Okay." The guy followed the instruction and put his right hand on the surface of the cloth.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked him.

"My wife hides her money somewhere, and I want to know where she put it. She's greedy and doesn't want to share the money with me. I'm talking about the inheritance she had received from her parents," he said.

"How many children do you have?" she asked.

"We have five children..."

"And what is your job right now?"

"I don't have a job because my employer fired me from the banana plantation that I was working with for the last five months," he said sadly.

"And what is the reason? Why you got fired from your job on the plantation?"

The guy scratched his head and looked at the palm reader with displeasure and annoyance in his eyes. "What is this-? A job interview? I'm not applying for a job! I'm here to ask for your help. I want to know where my wife hides her money? So please stop asking me so many questions! Just tell me where my wife hides the money. That's all I'm asking from you!" he said irritably.

Menedelia sighed. "Fine!" She put her hand on the guy's hand, grasping it tightly, and close her eyes.

A few minutes later, she released the guy's hand.

The guy looked at the palm reader excitedly. "Did you found it! Where did my wife hide her money?" he asked.

"Calm down, don't get so very excited," she said. "I want you to know that even if I'll tell you where your wife hides the money, it won't do you any good. If you take the money away, something bad will happen to you. Do you still want to take away the money?" she asked him.

The guy's brows furrowed together. "W-what's going to happen to me?" he asked curiously.

"After you and your accomplish get the money, you are going to visit a brothel, go to a gambling house and have a drink with intoxicating liquor, and soon after, a brawl will happen inside the tavern. Two of the men there will accidentally stab you and your brother with a knife, and both of you will end up bleeding on the floor and will die the next day. Now, do you still want to steal the money that your wife had hidden somewhere to feed your children?" she asked.

Fear flashed on the guy's face. He released a deep sigh. "Alright, please tell me where my wife hides the money. I want to know if you're telling the truth or just spouting nonsense. But I won't steal the money. I'm afraid of dying..." he said.

"Alright, I'll tell you where your wife hides the money. Come a bit closer..." she ordered.

The guy obeyed.

"The money can be found inside a jar and buried under the earth below the house. A broken chair was above it," she said.

"Okay, I'll just take a look at it, but I won't steal it," he said.

"Good! You know what's good for you. Don't tell your companion about the location of the money, he's going to steal it. And one more thing, stop following your good for nothing brother! He's a bad influence for you!" she warned him. You may go now, we're finished," she said. Menedelia knows that his wife has divided and hides the money in four places within the house. She only showed the guy where the wife hides the lowest amount of money.

"Okay, thanks for the advice!" the short guy said. He walked towards the donation box and dropped two silver coins, and left the room.

Outside...

The tall guy waited patiently and smiled after his brother exited the shop. "Did the palm reader know where your wife hides the money?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes... but she warned me not to steal the money because an accident will happen after we took the money," the short guy said.

"What kind of accident?"

"We will get stabbed inside the brawl in a tavern and lose our lives the next day!" the short guy replied.

The tall guy laughed, finding the palm reader's prophecy a big joke. "Common, show me the money! I won't steal it. I want to know if that old woman actually knows where the money was hidden," he said.

"Alright, let's go home!" the short guy said.

They went home.

When they arrived in the house, the wife and the five children were not home yet, they're on the lake washing clothes.

The brothers went below the house and start digging in the area identified by the palm reader.

Soon enough, in a shallow hole, they found the jar and opened it. The tall guy emptied the contents into the ground and began counting. They counted a total of 100 gold coins inside the jar!

The siblings' faces brightened up.

"Wow! The palm reader is good! She guessed correctly where the money was hidden by your greedy wife!" the tall guy gushes.

"Yeah... let's returned the coins inside the jar and buried it again before my wife returns!" the short guy said hurriedly.

"Alright," the tall guy agreed but grabbed ten gold coins and put them in the pocket of his pants. "This is for me!" he said.

The short guy released a deep sigh. He just allowed his brother to steal ten gold coins! He hoped his wife won't be able to notice the missing ten gold coins!

The siblings buried the jar and make everything on the surface look the same as if the surface was never touched at all. They place the broken chair back on the surface to conceal the recently disturbed earth.

Done, they left the area. The tall guy patted his bother's shoulder and walked away.

The short guy sighed in relief. He was thankful that his brother didn't insist on taking all the gold coins away or else he will be killed by his wife after she found out that the gold coins on the jar was missing. He will be the first suspect to cross her mind because he's been asking and pestering her about her inheritance since last month.

He climbed the wooden stairs and went inside the house.

Outside...

The tall guy stopped on his track and turned around and looked at the house of his brother, a wicked smile appeared on his lips. Tonight when the couple is finally asleep, he will dig the jar and steal the money!

He continues walking back to his house located a hundred meters away, feeling happy and excited for tonight.

Hours went by.

Back in Menedelia's shop.

It was already 6:00 in the evening.

Menedelia was planning to close the shop for the day and finally go home with Rebecca.

Rebecca was outside the shop buying fresh fruit in the fruit stand.

She was about to stand up when the door opened, and the good-looking young man entered the door.

She looked at the guy. "You're back!" she said.

"Yeah, I've changed my mind. I'm going to be your last customer for the night," he said and plopped down on the chair.

"Alright, let's not waste our time because I'm going home after this..." she said. "Put the ring in the black clothe!" she ordered.

Zero took the amethyst ring and put it in the black clothing, it glowed brightly.

Menedelia picked up the ring, put it in her palm, and stared at it for a while.

Then suddenly... a bright light exploded inside the room!

When Zero opened his eyes...

The ring vanished from the room, including the palm reader!

"What the hell!?" he exclaimed in shock.

Besides the bright light, he didn't hear the woman exited the door. "Where is that old woman? Did she stole the ring from me!?" he asked, gnashing his teeth, totally pissed off.

Dammit!

His eyes turned red in anger.