An 18-year-old woman goes to a psychic. The psychic tells her that she will die by the age of 30. The woman spends the rest of her life trying to prevent her early death—eating healthy, not drinking or smoking, exercising daily, getting constant wellness checks with her doctors. She is in perfect health, but still she fears what’s to come. On her 30th birthday, she hears a knock on her door. Assuming that it’s someone to wish her well, she opens the door wide, smiling. Instead, it’s the psychic, holding a gun to her face. “Told you,” the psychic says.
As published by Friday Flash Fiction, summer 2025
Lisa Hartsgrove 