I don't often post bits of my writing here, but I thought after last weeks depressing story we needed something fictional and light. Below is a snippet of a story (still a work in progress) called Crystal Paths. I hope you enjoy it :)
Caroline looked up as the bells
above her shop door chimed. The figure in the doorway stepped inside and
blinked against the gloom. She cast a practised eye over her potential client.
Tall, dark haired and quite good looking, but there was an air of insecurity
about him, in the way he held his shoulders and flicked his eyes nervously.
“Good afternoon. How can I help you?” she asked cheerily.
“Are you the lady who tells…
fortunes?” His deep voice was hesitant.
She shook her head, ringlets
bumping her cheeks. “I don’t predict the future, I see possibilities. The
future’s not set in stone. We choose our own path at every fork in the road. ”
“What do you do, look into a
crystal ball?” His voice took on a subtly sceptical tone.
“Yes.” The bluntness of her reply,
as well as its content, clearly startled him.
She crossed her arms and forced
herself to keep the annoyance of her face. It irked her when people came to her
looking for answers, but treated her like a fraud. Either they believed or they
didn’t. If they didn’t she wished they would take their incredulous attitude
elsewhere.
“Umm…” His hesitancy returned.
“Would you look and see what it shows for me?”
She took a deep breath and smiled,
although she wasn’t sure if it reached her eyes. “Certainly. My charges are on
the wall. I will shut the shop then we can start.”
He shuffled his feet as she made her
way around the counter and over to the door. A faint scent of bourbon tickled
her nose as she passed him. She darted a glance under lashes. His eyes and skin
were clear, he wasn’t drunk. Nonetheless, for the smell to be in his clothes
and pores, didn’t bode well.
What would her crystal ball show her
of the path that brought him here, and the places he could go when he stepped
out her shop? She flicked her sign to
closed and latched the door.
The sooner they started, the sooner
she’d know. She set off towards the back of the shop and gestured for him to
follow. “This way please.”
She wound her way past shelves
filled with scented candles, tarot cards, and other knickknacks, then stepped
into a small room at the very back of the shop. The smell of old incense
lingered amongst the brightly coloured fabrics decorating the room.
She’d set up this room up shortly after she
opened her business. She’d wanted people to be comfortable—seeing what they expected
to see. She frowned as a tassel brushed her shoulder. Lately the bright
colours, fringes and fabrics seemed jarring and tacky. She pushed away the need
to redecorate as her client entered the room on her heels. She had a mystery to
solve.
She settled herself behind a small
table and slid a soft blue cloth off her crystal ball.
“Please sit.” She gestured to a chair when
the man hovered in the doorway.
He
hesitated for a moment, then straightened his shoulders and hurried over.
Pulling out the chair roughly, he sat with a thump. His gaze leaving the
crystal ball briefly to look at her face, then returning to the device that
might be his window into the future.
“I
need you to touch the ball with the ring finger of your left hand. I can’t
direct what the ball shows me, but if there is anything in particular you’d
like help with hold that in your mind.” She smiled reassuringly. “Are you
ready?”
He nodded, then cleared his throat.
“Yes, yes I’m ready.” His head lowered as he concentrated on placing his finger
on the ball.
Caroline took a deep breath, then
another, concentrating on bringing her breathing into a slow deep pattern. When
a core of light burned brightly in her mind, she cupped her hands palms up
above the surface of the ball and started to chant. The words were gibberish
but people expected her to say something. Over the years she’d found they made
a nice mantra for focusing her attention.
As the light inside her burned hotter, she
slowly tipped her hands as if she were pouring the contents of her cupped hands
over the surface of the ball. The polished crystal started to glow gently.
Across from her she, he started, pulling
back slightly. Ignoring him, she gently moved her hands down until they
virtually touched the surface of the ball. Bringing her head closer she gazed
into its glowing depths.
The light started to clear. It was
as if she were watching the parting of clouds.
