The Fool
The Shadow Arcana: A terrifying look at the shadow side of Tarot
Ava couldn’t stop looking at the giant engagement ring on her finger. She loved watching the sparkles it created when she had her hand on the steering wheel and the sun caught it just right. Or when she had to sign paperwork, she would purposely hold down the paper with her left hand, allowing the ring to be placed on full display.
It wasn’t just the size that she loved; she loved the potential of it all. The daydreams of creating her perfect wedding, her perfect marriage, and her perfect children took up all of her waking hours. And even her sleeping hours.
And her husband to be, Richard Page, was perfect too. He worked at his family’s bank as a wealth investor. He already owned a large home and was extremely good looking, but the most important thing was that he was generous and thoughtful. He would always bring little gifts to Ava. He said they were little things he came across that made him think of her.
They were odd little things, though.
If she had to name something that might have to change in the future, it would be that these trinkets should be more in line with what Ava liked. But she figured he hadn’t gotten to know her yet, and since this was all new, she didn’t want to say anything disparaging about his gifts. She feared he would get upset and stop giving her gifts altogether. Or worse, leave her.
Ava did not come from money like Rich did. He was born into one of the wealthiest families in North America. He practically never wanted for anything in his life. Not like Ava. She came from a lower-middle-class family with two older sisters and two younger brothers. She was smack dab in the middle of the family, and she had become accustomed to finding happiness in the shadows of others.
It was only luck that she met Rich. She had taken a temp job at the bank he had been visiting that day. She had been so worried about making a good impression, hoping it could turn into a full-time job, that she had just about forgotten all the information the manager had given her at the start of the shift. And since she was a quiet little thing, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for help. So she just kept staring blankly at the customer, hoping they would get so frustrated they would leave.
But Rich, with his big personality, was able to coax her out of her shell that day. He saw how she struggled, and he came to save her.
He mentioned that she looked like a lost child behind the big teller desk. He was instantly drawn to her. She hadn’t had to take any temp jobs since meeting Rich. He even had her living in his mansion. He said he wanted her to focus on the wedding planning and on building them a perfect little family. So now, as she sat in her room signing NDA documents, she couldn’t help but look at the big diamond ring as she signed document after document.
She stopped signing for a moment while she enjoyed the view.
“Ava, I said you needed to finish signing those before you got your new gift,” came a deep, smooth voice from behind her.
She smiled and looked into the mirror in front of her and caught her fiancé looking at her in the reflection. He sat on the corner of her bed and smiled cheekily at her as he shook a little red box.
“I know, I know. I’ll finish up,” Ava mumbled as she signed the papers. “But, you know, I don’t even think I need to sign these papers. You know I don’t talk to anyone, and I love you so much. I would never speak ill about you.”
“I know that, my treasure,” he said. “But it’s a family rule. Anyone marrying into the family must go through this process.” He paused. “And our sons will need to go through this process as well.”
He walked up behind her and kissed her temple.
“What if we have daughters?” Ava asked with a grin.
“Oh, they just won’t be allowed to marry,” Rich said matter-of-factly.
“There. Done,” Ava announced as she reached the last page.
“Amazing, my treasure. And now your gift.” Rich bowed and handed it to her like he was some kind of lord.
“Oh, Rich, you spoil me,” Ava giggled. She grabbed the box and set up her fake smile so she wouldn’t have to force it when she opened it. She opened it, and was internally grateful she had pulled on the smile earlier.
Although the outside of the box was crimson red, the inside was a sweet, creamy color. Inside lay a bracelet. It was cheaply made, with what looked like worn imitation black leather, and at the center was a peace sign. It looked like something a goth or punk person would wear. Ava was more of a mint-and-sky-blue sort of woman, but she smiled and beamed at Rich.
“Oh, Rich, it’s gorgeous. I love it so much.”
“I knew you would! I saw it at our Youth Benefit event and thought that is for my treasure. It’s genuine leather, and that peace sign is pristine silver.”
Her heart melted; she loved how involved he got with the local charity events his family was known for.
“Go on. Put it on,” Rich demanded, pointing to her wrist.
She went to put it on her left hand but was told it should go on the right. Ava happily obliged. She modeled the bracelet for him, and he beamed down at her.
“Oh you look good enough to eat, future Mrs. Page,” he leaned down and kissed her roughly. After pulling back he asked if she was ready for dinner.
“Yes,” she said. “I just need to fix my lipstick.”
“Very good,” Rich said, cleaning his mouth of the pink coloring that circled his mouth. He looked around the room then added, “And you have all the accommodations you need?”
“Yes,” Ava said shyly.
When she first moved in, she thought she would be sharing a room with Rich, but he insisted that all the happy marriages he had seen were due to separate sleeping quarters. Ava was extremely grateful for all he had given her. But she also felt a little lonely.
Rich seldom wanted anyone to come over. If they did, it was for quick meetings while he was home. He was away a lot for work, and it was quite the hassle getting the schedule set up for anyone to visit. So, she just decided to go out if she ever needed to see her family.
She usually managed all of the doctors’ appointments and spending for her parents. She had always been great with numbers but never really took advantage of it. She had just hoped someone would notice her genius. Instead, she was noticed for her sweet quiet character.
Rich was gone most of the week, but he always made sure to have dinner with her on Saturdays, and he always came with a gift. Since the peace bracelet, he had given her a necklace with a yellow stone pendant which Ava found out was supposed to attract wealth. She thought it was a little funny since she had already attracted Rich. He also gave her a pair of rainbow shoelaces and a bright pink headband with colorful rhinestones that had been too small for her head.
She never quite understood why he was such a stickler for antiques. He kept saying he wanted to give her gifts with history. With meaning. And when she asked what the meaning was, he would say: “You’ll have to find out.”
Most of her days were spent meeting people that Rich needed her to meet with. He would set up wedding planner meetings, dress fittings for her, and doctor appointments. He would have a full schedule lined up for every week, and he was quite strict about it.
One time, she had canceled her afternoon appointments so she could go back home early to spend some time with Rich at the house. He was almost never home, and she thought it would be nice to spend the afternoon with him.
When she drove up to the house, she was met with his angry stare. His chest was bare and sweaty, and his black slacks looked to have some wet shiny substance on them. He had yelled at her, saying she was given a schedule for a reason and that she needed to stick to it no matter what. He had come face-to-face with her then and threatened her to never do it again. Once he was done yelling at her, he walked back to his home office, leaving Ava panting in the driveway.
After some time, she gathered herself and walked to the attached home entrance. The house was shaped like a giant letter C. One side had the main home, the middle had a small garage, and the other had his home office.
That was the first time Rich had ever yelled at her like that. But it surely was not the last. He would always come back and apologize to her, and then start a conversation about their future. He once brought up kids’ names, asking what the name of their children should be. She had relaxed after a while, thinking about the future and the potential it could bring.
She kept telling herself that he never hit her, and that he must be incredibly stressed. It was not in her nature to rock the boat, and she had plenty of planning that would keep her busy. The thoughts of the future kept her in a happy dream state.
But that was all brought to a quick halt one day.
She had been at her parents’ house, sitting on the kitchen table with the family dog, Cliff, on her lap. She was going through their utilities bills and making sure they were all paid, when suddenly Cliff jumped off her lap and barked at the TV. It was his way of saying, “change the channel, please.” Ava got up to find the remote, but a story on the news caught her attention. It was a story of a missing girl. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen. She had disappeared over a weeks ago, and the family was making one more attempt to plead with the public for any information. Their story was really sad.
But that was not what had Ava’s heart racing.
On the screen next to the parents’ pleas was a photo of the girl. She was in a school uniform and wearing a bright pink headband with colorful rhinestones. It looked exactly like the headband Rich had given her. She didn’t have to stop to do the math. She could picture the calendar in her head and knew the time lined up perfectly.
She told her parents she didn’t feel well and wanted to go home. She hurried home, ready to confront Rich, but as she got closer, she thought:
What if she is still alive? She could save her.
And then:
What if she was making all of this up in her head? What if this was just wedding jitters, trying to find ways to destroy her happily ever after?
Ava had always been told she overreacted. That she ruined things by blowing things out of proportion. She calmed herself, she was just overreacting.
Taking a deep breath, the reflection of the ring bounced the sunlight to her eyes and she fell back into thoughts of nurseries and paint colors. Once she got home, she made her way to the main house door, but stopped halfway and started walking toward the office.
A memory came to her of a time she thought she heard muffled shouting coming from the office, but Rich had assured her it was nothing but a client shouting about some bad trades. She stopped outside the office looking at the door handle. She went to grab the handle and heard:
clink
The diamond ring struck the brass handle. The sound rang sharp in her ears and she froze. Her eyes dipped down to the ring. It sparkled up at her shining up at her with all the promise of her happy family. She pulled her hand away and walked back to the main house entrance.
She wouldn’t see Rich until Thursday, so she had a whole day to sit with the idea that the headband belonged to the girl in the news. She opened a small treasure box that Rich had given her and looked at all the gifts he had given her. They were all completely different from each other. No rhyme or reason between them. Except, except that they never looked to be something a woman like Ava would ever wear.
A quick thought flashed: Missing girl?
She opened her laptop, ready to search for a missing person’s report. She remembered her local grocery store had a billboard dedicated to missing people with a website listed. But as her cursor flashed in the search field, she looked down at her hands and typed: cute baby names 2026.
On Thursday, when Rich came home, she gained the courage to bring it up during an afternoon lunch. Rich had been talking happily about a deal he had closed with a new client. He could usually hold a conversation all on his own, with just a nod from Ava to keep him going. Today, though, she cleared her throat. After a few attempts, he finally stopped and asked if she was okay.
She took a deep breath as quickly as she could said, “I noticed that the headband you gave me last week matches the one in the photos of that missing girl.”
She said it as fast as she could. Rich looked at her. His charming face shifted. Someone who didn’t know him intimately wouldn’t have noticed. But she did. The slow lowering of his eyebrows. The slight tightening of his mouth. The steady drop of his chin. He put his silverware down. Wiped his mouth, and said:
“Oh.”
Ava felt the full weight of it. He was waiting. She shook. Looked down at her hand clutching her fork, then at her sparkling engagement ring. At all its hopes and promises. A few tears slipped out. She wiped them away, and casually brought up her bridal fitting. “I think the fitting went really well today.”
That Saturday, she sat at her vanity, freshly showered and just about to start getting ready for their dinner, when she heard a knock on the door. Confused, she said come in and then started saying, “Oh, you’re here early,” but she stopped when she saw his red face. He was sweaty and shirtless. Swallowing hard, she looked back into the mirror and continued brushing her hair. He sat on the corner of the bed and began talking about family vacations he took when he was younger.
He spoke in great detail of lavish holidays and large family gatherings in exotic places. Ava smiled. She had never been on vacation. His voice put her into a calm trance.
After a while, he stood and walked towards her. He pulled out a small red box from his pocket and placed it on the vanity. Slowly, Ava reached for the box. It rattled in her shaking hands, gently she placed it on her lap and opened it. Inside were small gold hoop earrings. They looked like costume jewelry.
“Oh, Rich,” she said softly. “They’re lovely. I absolutely adore them.”
“Put them on,” came his steely voice.
Reaching into the box, its soft creamy lining was now smeared with red stains. Grabbing one earring, she tried hard to ignore the hair wrapped tightly around the hook as she pushed it into her pierced ear.
She reached back down for the other, which was now stuck to the bottom and made a sickly sound as the red crust around it broke off. Pushing the earring into her pierced ear, she closed her eyes as she felt the red scabbing around the earring push into her ear.
When she was done, she closed the box and slowly looked up at Rich. He smiled down at her and said, “you look good enough to eat.”
Looking up at him she couldn’t help but wonder what features her children would inherit.
I hope you enjoyed my Shadow Arcana horror story. Below are a couple of questions that might be fun to answer:
What details or symbols stood out to you the most, and what do you think they represented?
How do you think this story reflects the shadow (reverse) side of this tarot card?
Author’s Note: This story is part of a series exploring the shadow side of each card in the Major Arcana.
The Fool is often seen as carefree, full of possibility, new beginnings, and blind trust in the future. But the shadow of The Fool is not ignorance.
It is seeing the cliff’s edge…
and choosing not to look down.
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Wow, this was good! Definitely has that slimy undercurrent, that “oh nooooo” kind of feeling following it the whole way. I definitely wondered if it was children’s jewelry, and the ending? Oof — well done!
Wow!