Rabbit's Foot

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:06] I'm Ben and welcome to the show where you and I gather around this campfire to hear some of our fellow campers scariest experiences. So whether you're a new or returning camper, I'm happy to have you. [00:00:18] Tonight we hear a story sent in by a camper who wishes to remain anonymous for reasons that might become obvious when you hear her story as it is both equally heartbreaking as it is terrifying. As always, before we begin the show, if you want to check out our camp's monthly bonus episodes, this month you get two bonus episodes. Head over to patreon.com t1hear ghoststory. You'll also gain early access to ad free episodes, get a shout out at the end of one and much more. [00:00:47] Now, without further ado, do you want to hear a ghost story? [00:00:54] Like many others, my new husband and I wanted to escape the frigid Milwaukee winter and sit on a beach for our honeymoon. [00:01:01] We didn't have quite enough money to travel internationally, but Tom had found cheap flights to Miami. In the morning after our wedding, we went on our way. It was beautiful. I had never been to Florida before, and I was enchanted by the Caribbean charm the city of Miami and its beaches had to offer. [00:01:20] Every morning, Tom and I would walk to a breakfast cafe near our hotel in Miami beach, and on our way we would pass by a psychic shop, Madame Celeste's Palm Spirit and Tarot Readings. The sign read, I remember it vividly painted on the door, the only indication really, that this building was still in use. [00:01:41] I remember Tom saying one morning, ahem, you think a psychic would be able to predict when they're going out of business? [00:01:49] He and I both had assumed that the general disrepair of the building meant that they were out of business. At the time, it seemed like a good assumption, but on the last night of our trip, as we walked home to our hotel from the chaos of Miami beach, we passed our breakfast shop. But as we passed Madame Celeste's, we caught a whiff of incense and something faintly metallic, like the air outside before the storm rolls in. [00:02:17] Something about it felt mystical, but also a little ominous. We stopped and looked at this shop we had passed every morning for the last week. For the first time, it looked alive, like an owl only coming out at night, watching every passerbyer with only the slight move of its neck. Tom always loved a good story, even if it was the kind that made you uncomfortable to hear. [00:02:42] We should check it out, he said as he leaned over to me. We went inside and who we assumed was Madam Celeste was just seated at the round table, covered with a fraying cloth embroidered with zodiac signs. Her hands moved in slow, deliberate circles over a series of crystals on the table, but her eyes instantly locked onto Tom's face. It never strayed. Newlyweds, I presume, she said to us. Yes, I answered quickly. Honeymooners just looking for a bit of fun. [00:03:17] I forced a laugh, trying to shake some of the heaviness in the room. [00:03:21] Though Madam Celeste didn't respond or look at me, her attention was wholly on Tom. [00:03:28] She leaned forward and grabbed his hand tight enough that I saw him wince. [00:03:34] The symbol of luck is not on your side. [00:03:37] While others might carry a rabbit's foot for good fortune, for you it will mark your end, she said to Tom. I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. Tom's lip twitched into a nervous smile. And you said, well, thank you, thank you for that. [00:03:54] You know, on that note, I think we're going to be on our way. But his eyes told a different story. [00:04:00] Like what she had said really hit a chord deep within him. [00:04:04] That's. That was very dramatic. But what does it mean? I said to Madame Celeste, and again Madame Celeste didn't answer, her gaze still as it was before, locked onto Tom. [00:04:18] Her fingers were tracing patterns across his palm. When she finally let go, he flexed his fingers like they had gone numb under her grip. [00:04:27] Then we simply turned around and left, trying to laugh off this strange encounter. [00:04:33] When we returned from our honeymoon, life went back to normal and the rabbit's foot became sort of a running joke. Well, at least for me. I used to laugh at Tom, you know, for how seriously he took this Madame Celeste's prediction. He never said it outright, but I could see it in the way that he carried himself, the way his eyes flickered to shadows that weren't there, the way he grew quiet when I teased him about it. Ooo, don't look, there's a rabbit coming. I would whisper dramatically, poking him in the ribs while he washed dishes or folded laundry. He'd give me a half hearted smile, but in hindsight the joke never fully landed. [00:05:13] He was too stubborn to admit that he believed her, but I always knew he did. [00:05:19] For me it was just a story, a weird little blip from our honeymoon. I eventually stopped teasing him about it and even forgot. [00:05:28] I would usually get home from work before Tom and I liked cooking, so when I had time I would try to give us a better meal than just ordering pizza or having him pick up something on the way home. [00:05:39] We had been talking about a trip back to Miami for Our fifth anniversary and I wanted to try to make this one chicken dish we had at a restaurant there. I texted him to let him know I was making dinner and that he shouldn't stop for anything on his way. He didn't answer, but that wasn't unusual. He liked to listen to podcasts while he drove and, well, he hated distractions. It was also a very snowy night, so I rathered he wasn't texting me back. Anyways, I began setting the table and putting the food out. [00:06:11] I went and picked up the phone and immediately said, tom, your food is going to get cold. Are you almost home? Ms. Daniels? It wasn't Tom. Ms. Daniels, this is Officer Martinez with the Milwaukee Police Department. [00:06:25] His tone was too calm, too measured. And in that moment I knew somewhere deep in my chest, I knew something was incredibly wrong. [00:06:35] I don't remember driving to the hospital. I don't remember parking or signing forms or even what the doctor said. All I remember was walking into that too sterile, too bright room and seeing my Tom laying there. [00:06:50] Still. [00:06:51] Too still. [00:06:53] His skin was too pale. His hands were too cold when I held it, and his forehead bandaged. I am sorry, Ms. Daniels, but the accident caused. That was the last word I heard. It seemed to be a word that didn't really mean anything anymore. [00:07:09] After the funeral, I became obsessed with the details. I called the police for an accident report. I read it over and over, trying to make sense of what had happened. What I couldn't stop thinking about was the other driver. The man who had taken Tom from me. I needed to see him. I needed to look him in the eye to know if he felt even an ounce of what I was feeling. I did some digging and found out he worked at a bookstore. So I went. This man sat slumped at his chair behind the register. [00:07:40] I quickly grabbed a book and started putting together the courage to go up to him. [00:07:46] When I noticed how tired he looked, like he hadn't slept in weeks, I really wanted to hate him. I thought I'd feel anger or grief or something clean. Instead, honestly, standing there with a book in my hand, I just felt empty. He looked worse than me. I chickened out. I couldn't confront him. I just walked up to the register and said sorry, changed my mind and put the book back in the returns pile. When I saw his hands, well, I saw what he was holding in his hand. [00:08:21] On his keychain dangling from his fingers as he nervously fidgeted with it. A small charm. A rabbit's foot. [00:08:28] My heart stopped. My breath caught in my throat. And for a moment, I thought I might faint. [00:08:35] The symbol of luck is not on your side. While others carry the rabbit's foot for good fortune for you, it will mark your end. [00:08:44] I had forgotten the prediction, or convinced myself I had. But now I couldn't ignore it. That charm, so mundane and ridiculous. [00:08:54] How did she know I ran out of the bookstore? I now knew two things. Tom was never coming back. And Madame Celeste, all those years ago, had been right. All of it. Tom's fear, her words, even my dismissal of it had been leading to this. [00:09:14] I didn't tell anyone about this. What would I say? That a cheap scrap of fur ruined everything I thought I knew about the world? That my husband had died because of something crazy that was foretold in some dusty little shop in Miami? People would think I was crazy. I thought I was crazy. But I couldn't stop thinking about her. About the way her dark eyes had locked onto Toms as if she'd seen something no one else could. That day, I wondered how many other people she'd told things like this. How many others had walked away scoffing, like I had. A few months later, for what would have been Tom and I's fifth anniversary, I went back to Miami. I told myself it was for closure, for some kind of final goodbye, but really, I wanted to see her. [00:10:05] I wanted to hear her say something, anything that would make all of this make sense. [00:10:10] As I walked down the streets of Miami Beach, I found the familiar breakfast spot and turned the corner to walk towards Madame Celeste's. But the shop was gone. The painted door, the dilapidated shop, had been replaced by a Starbucks, of all things. [00:10:29] That scent of incense and metal was replaced by the roasting of beans. I walked inside and stood there, staring at the place where she had once sat, where she had held Tom's hand and told him his fate. I waited for. I don't know, a sign, a voice, something. But there was nothing. [00:10:49] The last time I stood here, I laughed at Tom for believing her. Now I wish I could laugh with him one last time. [00:10:58] Thank you for allowing me to share your story. [00:11:00] This one haunts me. And I think it's going to be one that lingers with me for a while. [00:11:06] You know, I'm not sure if I'd want to know what brings my demise or. Or that of my loved ones. I also, as a rule of thumb, try to avoid psychics. Not that I have anything against them. I just. I like taking life as it comes. [00:11:20] I am truly sorry this happened to you. And I can't imagine what it was like to write this out and send it in, but I am curious about what the rest of the campers think. [00:11:31] Would you like to have this prediction about your life or loved ones? Or are you like me? And would you like to remain unaware of what comes next? [00:11:41] I don't even know how to transition back to a less heavy note from this, but I suppose I will just get into thanking our newest patron subscriber, a new camp counselor David Richardson. And suppose with that I will leave you here for the night. If you want early access to ad free episodes, a shout out at the end of one, head over to patreon.com. ghoststory as always I'm glad to have you all as campers on this journey so please keep sharing the show with anyone you think might like these stories or someone you're just trying to scare. If you are enjoying the show, please leave a review. I love hearing from you. Until next time.