Chapter 68 - The Reading and the Reader

I made a resolution (of sorts) to try new things, and be more adventurous. I have a tendency to turn down invitations and say 'no thank you' to many things, but not this year. So, when a friend asked me if I wanted to have my cards (tarot) read, I hesitated, then I remembered my resolution and I said "Sure, why not?!"

I didn't know the woman who was going to do the reading, I have never laid eyes on her before. She is from the Philippines, and is very sweet looking, and soft spoken in her broken English. When you meet, you are not allowed to shake hands or touch - as it will interfere with the reading.

We go into a boardroom in my office and she sits directly across from me. We say hello, but nothing more than that. She hands me the cards and tells me to shuffle them three times and then separate them into three piles. I follow her instructions and pile them in front of her.

She takes the first pile and arranges the cards in front of her on the desk. She smiles when she turns over the second card, looks up at me and says "You had a son."

This woman, who I have never seen before and exchanged not one single piece of information has somehow seen into my soul and uncovered my deep, dark, dirty secret. How did she know? How can this stranger know me better than people I have been surrounded with all my life?

I reply "No" while trying to recapture my composure, hold it in, hold it in...Don’t let it out.

She looks at me with those dark knowing eyes and says "You have an angel, and he is always with you." She asked nothing more of me...not one more question; from this point on she gave me information on my past, present and my future. She need not have spoken another word after her first question...she knew all there was to know.

So much for new beginnings… One step forward and half a step back.