For seconds or minutes Tira blocked the groping fingers of fear. At the moment she was safe but she couldn’t ride the subway forever. She considered her options. She had some change, her Metro card and the twenty she always kept for emergencies. Not enough to rent a room. Going to work at Louie’s was out. Until her first pay check from the teaching job arrived she was broke.

Think. Plan. Where was the nearest homeless shelter? Sure they could be dangerous but she could protect herself. Tira wiped her hands on her jeans. Even if she could hang out for ten days she couldn’t begin her first day as a teacher wearing dirty jeans and a sweat-stained tee shirt.

On the seat beside her she noticed a crumpled piece of paper. Curiosity stabbed. She smoothed the wrinkles and read the words twice.

Life got you down? Have you unsolved problems?
Looking for escape? The answer is in your stars.
A counselor is available night and day.
Dial 1- 800 – 555 – ASTRO

Tira frowned. She could answer yes to all the questions. Had the paper been left for her to find? She smiled at her magical thinking.

When the car stopped at the next station she grasped the paper and rose. She followed people to the street. Should she take a chance? Did she have a choice? Across the street she saw a coffee shop. She had to consider her options.

She jogged to the small restaurant and entered the dingy place with the paper clutched in her hand. A flutter of nervousness settled in her chest. What to do? Call or not call? Go to the cops? Find a shelter? She sat at the counter and ordered coffee. As she sipped the bitter brew her thoughts raced. The answer to the last two options was a definite no. She frowned. If the answer was in her stars they certainly hadn’t brought her a sliver of luck. Would making the call produce a change?

Tira swallowed the last of the coffee. She would make the call. If the paper was a hoax she would devise another plan. She stepped outside and opened her cell phone. In the fading light she read the number and dialed.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked.

“I can answer yes to all your questions.”

“Do you need help?”

“Yes.” She wasn’t sure what this woman could do. By accepting the offer she would be off the street and buy time to plan.

The woman gave an address. Tira repeated the street and house number.
“We’ll be waiting for you. Ring the bell. Remember, the answers are in your stars.”

At the corner Tira looked at the street sign. Fourteen blocks. Not that far. Unless a bus came along she would walk. Though the neighborhood wasn’t the greatest, hers was worse.

She walked briskly and directed her attention to the surroundings. Occasionally she glanced over her shoulder to check for followers. Once she glimpsed a large man and nearly froze. Her heart skittered but the next time she looked he had vanished.

Her imagination took fire. The drug dealer might not know where she had left the subway but the route was known. He could have snitches everywhere. He believed she knew where his drugs and money were hidden. Luci, what did you do?

She glanced at the numbers on the buildings she passed. Would the drug dealer’s men try to discover where she went? Probably a given. By the time she neared her destination her heart pounded. She saw three men behind her and knew she’d been made.

A rush of heavy footsteps sounded. She dashed up the steps of the brownstone. With a staccato rhythm she pressed the bell. Hurry, she thought. She glanced over her shoulder. One of the men was the knife wielder from the alley.

“Tira,” he called.

The door opened. An elderly woman pulled her inside. “Welcome.”

She closed the door. “Why have you come?”

“The answer is in my stars.”

The woman’s eyes held kindness. “What is your name?”

“Tira.” The woman’s eyes, her voice and smile eased some of Tira’s fears. No matter what happened here she would rather face this woman than the men outside.

“Follow me. We have time to find your proper place.”

As Tira walked down the hall she noticed a series of photographs on the wall. One caught her attention. A temple with statues of cats perched on plinths and a crook behind them. Hieroglyphics were carved above the feline. She traced the figure.

The woman turned back. “So that’s the world to hold your interest.”

Tira smiled. “Reminds me of ancient Egypt, a place that’s always fascinated me.”

“Perhaps your stars will show you the way there.” The woman beckoned. “Come along. We must be ready when the planets align.”