Part One
A PRIVATE SPACE
It all started with a few figurines that she’d bought at a local thrift store, but soon there were more purchases. The Entities (as they were known by then) now almost filled the storage area in the basement, and there were so many disputes and arguments that Barbara decided she needed some privacy while she dealt with them. She made a corner of the storeroom into a private annex by enclosing it with curtains and told everyone that entry was strictly forbidden. “Or back to the thrift store you go. I can get an in-store refund, and soon you’ll be on the shelves with customers making fun of you again.”
The entities hated being reminded of where they came from and shuddered at the memory of the hurtful remarks (“Look at this weirdo!”). They nodded solemnly, and those who thought Barbara was god genuflected or made a namaste.
She thought her threats would be enough.
And yet—
“You will meet a tall handsome stranger—” is what Barbara heard as she entered her private annex a few days later. It was crowded. The Fortune Teller was actually seated in her chair and seemed to be telling the Voodoo Doll’s Fortune.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded sternly.
“Telling Fortunes,” he replied promptly. “I’m a seer. But I need privacy for the crystal ball to work, and there’s none in the storeroom, so I came here.”
“I can always put you in the Oceanic section if you want privacy,” Barbara suggested. The gods there were noted for their ferocity, and sometimes the section was almost empty. The Fortune Teller shuddered and picked up his crystal ball, saying he’d find a place in Charms. He took the Voodoo Doll with him.
“This tall handsome stranger, is he Hispanic?” Barbara heard her ask him on the way out.
She only had to look at one of the Nok Sculptures (the timid one from Nigeria) for him to leave, muttering an excuse about mistaking it for the African section.
She turned to the Sufi Dervish. “And what about you?”
“Just practicing a bit of throwing with the sacred Double-Headed Axe,” he replied easily. “Didn’t want to hurt anyone, so I came here.”
“It didn’t bother you when you knocked Saint Francis down from his shelf, and you laughed when you gave the Medicine Buddha a black eye. I thought you Dervishes were supposed to be peace-loving. And the Axe doesn’t belong to you anyway.” She took it from him, gave it to the Simargl, and told him to take it back to the Ancient Greek section like a good little Entity.
The Rainbow Serpent was already halfway through the curtain before Barbara could reproach him. She sat down and started repairing a tribal god, wondering what would happen next.
