A MAD TEA PARTY

So then after giving it a lot of thought Edith convinced me to visit a psychic. I hesitated; I confess that shit still gives me a hard time but when I guess that you've ran out of all possible explanations I guess I can take it. The truth is it was far more professional and discreet than I realized. We made an appointment in the afternoon around six o' clock. The rain was fair, but as soon as it cleared out it was chilling my bones. I’m a very well known person around these parts so I opted to wear some shades.

The place was beyond fancy, I must admit, but rather kitsch. I bottled up my comments until the time was right. The psychic’s name was supposed to be Ava or something like that. She was a rather old woman, beyond her sixties. Her gaze was incredibly stunning; she looked at me as though I was her son and I was being punished for doing something nasty.

SO, TELL ME ADRIAN, WHEN WERE YOU BORN?

It seemed a natural question for any Tarot card reader so I answered politely, “January 29^th 1981.”

GOOD FOR YOU! YOU STILL LOOK SO YOUNG AND FRESH. WILL YOU JOIN ME WITH SOME RED TEA?

I couldn’t say no, she insisted because it would relax me. After that, we both sat on a round table covered with a handsomely decorated velvet cloth. Afterwards she ceremoniously unveiled a pack of cards from a purple handkerchief; she said the color was important.

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO ASK THREE QUESTIONS, MY DEAR. ONE IS FOR YOUR CAREER; THE OTHER IS FOR LOVE AND THE LAST ONE IS YOURSELF.

I had no doubt about love or my career since both seemed to be well balanced, but as my mom used to say, “Assuming if a very big mistake in this life.”

Ava asked me to lay my right hand upon the deck and cut in two. Later I shuffled the cards, and then she spread them for me for form a cross with ten cards. The rest, she saved them for later.

The first card she discovered was The Star.

“You are Aquarius, right? It is your ruling sign,” she said pointing at the illustration. The Star is a beautiful, blond naked woman underneath a starry sky, no comments.

“Well,” she continued with a rather energetic tone, “you are in a very good moment of your life dear; see this is the time where you begin to flourish and unravel your true self. Intuition and creativity are essential for your everyday work and now they will increase…”

“That’s rather interesting, but,” she interrupted me, “BUT, NOTHING! You want to know why it really happened, right? your mind is bursting with questions.”

She unveiled the next card, “a sad, unfortunate event caused this, some of them provoked by you,” she said as she showed the Four of Cups; some fellow under a tree.

APATHY; MY, MY MY…THESE FEELINGS ARE NEGATIVE AND OBVIOUSLY BRING DESTRUCTION. BUT THEY ALSO MAKE WAY TO A NEW BEGINNING...


"And..." I said softly.


"The apathy comes from overindulgence, the King of Pentacles reversed. It seems that a part of you if very, very greedy. Concentrating on material things is not enough, my boy. Your work is designed to bring another kind of compensation, are you afraid to fall or obsessed with something?"


That was true. This profession was always seen as a taboo in my hometown; nobody in their right mind would choose to become an artist, so they would either choose any random job they could possibly find and survive. I was also trying to survive and make it out of Elyria. A part of me wants to go back and the other pulls away.


The next card spoke for itself, "Seven Of Pentacles. The past comes back to haunt you again and again. The anxiety of amassing a huge fortune. You don´t have any trouble doing that. But if that tendency continues, then you will get nothing. Imagine you were selling something so beautiful but you never realized its actual worth?"


"I´m confused. You got me speechless," I answered softly.


"Luckily, that´s not the case. Your art is more precious than you think. Thanks to these apparently painful events you will be able to see things clearer. It is best that you remain this way; its suits you and makes you even more attractive."


Next, came the Hierophant; a sort of pope, I think it was. "People will come to you freely, no questions asked; a beacon of hope for others, turning something tragic into something beautiful and infinite. Then..."


Ava stopped and looked puzzled as she unveiled the next Tarot Card, "someone´s already knocking at your door, is it? Someone in need, someone with less resources than you, someone who feels like a nobody, a forgotten one...oh." The Five Of Pentacles it was.


"Can you tell who´s been bothering me now?" I asked.


I DON´T SEE THINGS, I FEEL THEM, ADRIAN! Besides, people will come to you freely for advice, you will be a magnet, soon, soon...


"Soon, how soon is that?" I laughed.


(to be continued...)