"Straight. Looks like I win boys."  Shawn smirked as he pulled together all his winnings from the poker game. "Same time tomorrow?"  He was met with three almost angry faces but after spending nearly two weeks with them Shawn knew it was caused more from exhaustion than anger.  Smiling again he left the tiny travel trailer and began toward the place he was calling home. 

"Hey, wait up!"  Shawn spun and smiled at the woman who jogging toward him, she was an honest to goodness gypsy laden with chains and fabrics.  Shawn stopped and waited for the woman to be by his side.  In two weeks he had made many friends but this gypsy woman had become one of his closest.

"Marla, what brings you out on this beautiful night?"  She just shrugged and together they walked around the carnival grounds, Shawn making sure every gate was secure and that no one was trying to jump the fence. 

He was in Oklahoma when his bike decided it disliked the cheap gas and no oil he been treating it to.  He was on the side of the road for almost six hours when he heard the caravan of trailers, semis, and the occasional truck rumbling down the road.  Almost all the vehicles passed him save for a RV with "Marla the Magnificent" painted on the side; a woman with long gray hair opened her door and motioned for him to board.  Shawn didn't want to leave his bike behind so he sighed in relief when one of the trucks stopped and a behemoth of a man stepped out to retrieve it.  Without a word he hopped into the RV and went along for the ride.  They came to rest outside a little town and Shawn was offered a job so he could pay for the repairs to his bike.  So for the last two weeks he had worked odd jobs from running the Ferris wheel to cleaning up vomit, at this carnival that still featured things like a bearded lady, strong man, and the psychic that was matching his steps.

"Is this going to be another one sided conversation."  Shawn glanced at the woman and saw how she smiled at him, that smile made him miss his mom so much he almost couldn't stand looking at her.

"No I think tonight I will hold up my half, if you keep me company tonight."  She motioned with her head to the RV. "I know it smells of incense and sage but it has to be better than rooming with the wonder twins."  The wonder twins were a feature in the freak show, one was a giant man with arms thicker than most men's waist the other was a three foot even little person and their idea of a bath was a wet wipe and some spit.  Shawn nodded and followed the woman to the RV.

When the door opened he was assault with the strong smoky smell of incense but that was a billion times better than the odor his roomies gave off.  Shawn helped her up the steps and followed her into the dimly lit trailer; every time he was in here he couldn't keep his eyes in one place too long and not because of his ADD.  There were baubles everywhere and they were each unique, Marla had everything from shrunken heads to the eye of a wizard preserved in resin. 

"Every time I come in her I see something new."

Marla sat at the table that had a crystal ball on top of it. "Well most people do."

Shawn sat on the opposite side of her. "Well I'm not most people."

"I know."  She poured some tea in a cup and handed it to Shawn. "Drink."  Shawn wasn't sure what was in the tea but he didn't want to be rude so he sipped on the steaming liquid.  Marla studied him as he drank. "You, Shawn Spencer, are a man of the world.  You were forced to grow up way to fast and now you are trying to get your childhood back."

"Well almost anyone can see that." 

She held up a wrinkled hand. "You have a gift, though, you see what others can't.  You can put two and two together and get four, every time.  You can look at someone and tell them more about themselves than they knew."  Shawn smiled and continued to sip, the tea was slightly bitter but the honey put a nice sweetness behind it and he couldn't seem to stop himself from drinking. "You're psychic."

Shawn choked on the mouthful of tea he had and as he coughed and sputtered he heard Marla's laughter. "Psy....psychic?"   He took a few deep breaths to make sure no more coughs were coming. "I'm sorry Marla but I don't believe in psychics. Highly observant and intelligent people but not psychic."

Marla's expression betrayed nothing.  "Then why do so many come to me for their future to be read?"  She leaned forward and took the now empty cup from Shawn's hands.  "Hmmmmm...."

"What?" 

"Oh I'm sorry I thought you didn't believe in psychics and, well, tea leaf reading is part of it."  She sat back in her chair and continued to read the leaves.  "You are going to live an interesting life Shawn.  There is a lot of death surrounding you but you're not sad because of it."  She tilted the cup more and smiled broadly. "You are going to find your soul mate but it's going to take a while for both of you to realize it."  Putting the cup down her haunting crystal blue eyes met his disbelieving hazel. "You're going to right a lot of wrongs."

"Like Robin Hood?"

Marla laughed again.  "Not robbing from the rich and giving to the poor but yeah in a way you're going to have a rag tag group fixing the wrongs in the world."  She stood and yawned. "I'm going to take my leave. You are more than welcome to sleep on the couch."  Shawn saw the couch was made up with tons of fluffy pillows and warm looking blankets.  Shawn heard the jingle of the chains that separated Marla's room from the rest of the trailer so he kicked off his boots and snuggled into the plushness of the couch and unlike the past two weeks he was asleep almost instantly.

The warmth of the sun on his face was what woke him the next day and as he stretched and yawned he noted that the normal cricks in his neck and back were gone.  He strapped on his boots and went to say goodbye Marla. "Marla? "  When she didn't respond Shawn got a sinking feeling, Marla was always an early riser but it didn't even sounded like she had stirred at his voice.  "Marla? You Ok?"  Shawn decided to check on her and if some embarrassing situation arose from it then he would just have to deal.  He parted the chains and as they jingled back to their resting place he approached the bed.  Marla looked like she was sleeping but her chest wasn't moving and her face lack the pink it normally had.  Shawn reached forward and when he felt no breath on his hand his fear was confirmed.  He grasped her hand which was still warm. "Goodbye Marla."  He felt a tear roll down his cheeks and he wiped it away.  He let go of her hand and when he did a piece of paper fell from it. Shawn opened it and laughed at the elegant writing. ‘Goodbye Shawn and good luck.'  Shawn folded up the paper and put it in his wallet. "You were wrong about one thing Marla, I am sad."

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"She just reminded me so much of mom when I found her that way I couldn't help but feel like I lost so important to me."  Shawn laughed a bit. "Marla had paid for all the repairs for my bike saying that I had better things to spend my money on." 

"Wow." 

"Yeah. She was pretty spot on with everything."  He sighed. "I still have the note."  Shawn pulled his wallet out and handed Henry a yellowed piece of paper.  Henry looked at the loops and curves that constituted of this woman's last message to the world.

"You know she was right about you."  Henry extended his arm up so Shawn could take the paper back.

"Dad you know I don't believe in psychics.  I just pretend to be one, is your concussion that bad?"

Henry scoffed. "Idiot. I was talking about righting wrongs.  You have put together many broken lives."  Shawn didn't respond. "Shawn?"

"Sorry dad my mind wandered for a second."

"It's alright."  Henry felt his eyes droop shut.

"HEY!"  His eyes snapped open and he sucked a deep breath of air. "NO. SLEEPING."

"Keep talking then."

Shawn closed his eyes and concentrated on anything but the pain in his chest that had gone from a dull ache to a much more persistent throb. "Shawn?"

"OK.  How about the time I spent in Italy in authentic brick oven pizzeria."