The Zodiac || By Advaita M.

Aries took a deep breath. She smoothed down her wrinkled apron and peeked out into the crowded restaurant. She straightened her glasses and peered through the crowd, scanning for someone in particular. He wasn’t here yet. She went back into the kitchen to start her shift.

She came out 3 minutes later with plates balanced on her arms and hands. “Hi, Mrs. Cancer!” She greeted the kind old lady that always sat at the corner table. When they had first met she was convinced that she would never like the pessimistic, moody old lady but had grown a new fondness for the loyal and sympathetic side of the woman. She had helped Aries through the death of her beautiful mother, Aquaria.

Her brash father Leo came in through the front door. “Aries, you forgot your phone.” He tossed it to her. He knew that she had waited in line all night to get the brand new zPhone X3. What he did not know is that she had found a note from her dead mom the night before in the diary she had left Aries behind in her will. It said “Find Virgo. He will know the answer.”

As the Zodiac diner was about to close a teenage boy about the same age as Aries walked through the door. He had an eerie look about him and a sinister smile on his face. Aries froze. On the back of his dark coat was the symbol of the maiden, the symbol of Virgo. She held the ram necklace her mom had given her close to her heart and approached the boy.

“Virgo?” Aries whispered hoarsely. The boy whipped around to face her. His eyes were lit up with an illuminating glow. Suddenly, something caught her eye, and Aries gasped. A silver necklace with the symbol of the maiden hung on his neck, just like the one she had. “Is that-” she began, but never got the chance to finish the sentence. The necklace on her neck flew up and touched the maiden pendant, and she soon found herself lifted in midair, their pendants clashing in the air. “What’s going on??” she screamed. The boy had the same sinister smile he had before, one that she would get to know very well….

To be continued!