BackCasting the Fries
I was in Jack in the Box the other day. You know, it's funny. Coyote stories used to start with things like, "One day Coyote was out walking. . . ." Mine all seem to start with food, most often with fast food. Anyway, I was eating chicken parts and fries with my fiancé when Coyote asked if he could come through and eat some chicken. I hadn't let him eat in my body for a while, so I agreed; he could have one piece of chicken, three fries and he could finish my soda if he wanted, but wasn't allowed to get a refill.
Naturally, when offered a deal like this, Coyote tries to get as much out of it as he can. He looked into the box of chicken and found a piece twice as big as any of the others. This made him very happy. He celebrated his discovery by downing half my soda in one gulp, before picking up the piece of chicken and taking a tiny bite so it would last longer.
Between bites, he took his time examining my fries, trying to choose the three he would eat. He found the ones he felt had the best combination of crispiness and length. These he . . . well, I'd say he wolfed them down, but really he Coyoted them down one at a time.
The process was taking long enough that my fiancé decided to talk to him a bit. He can be quite entertaining, but she chose a serious subject. She asked him about a friend of ours who is having troubles. I don't recall what he said about the situation, except that I know he didn't like it. He felt that it was a bad situation, that was likely to get worse before it got better.
Then my fiancé asked him what was going to happen. He didn't have an immediate answer for that but he could tell that it was important to her, and I was letting him eat, so he decided to find out. To do this, he swept aside most of my fries, then picked up a handful. He scattered them on the tray, and based on the way they fell he described the friend's position from an insider's viewpoint. Since she already had figured out that much, she asked him what would happen. He picked up the fries again and cast them once more, this time reading the resolution to the situation from their pattern.
As with all divinations, only retrospection will prove their accuracy. Still, considering the number of people over the years who have tried to tell me that divination tools must be fashioned by special tools or methods and absolutely require special care, I find it hilarious that Coyote just picks up a few fast food fries and tosses them on a tray. Heck, even tea leaves are supposed to be from tea drunk by the person being read. . . .
Four Winds Bar