"What is your name?" She looked at me. "Clay Walker."
"So Clay. You moved here fairly recent. It looks like you moved for work, but you also wanted a fresh start and to get away from a failed relationship."
I just looked at her not sure if I should respond.
"You're doing well with your job. I see you deal with a lot of legal papers, you must be an attorney." I shook my head yes. "Your relationship didn't end well and you're still blaming yourself. But I hate to tell you; you two were never going to work out. You made the right decision to finish law school. I know its easy to ask 'what if', but you guys were not meant to be. You need to let your self doubt go, and open yourself to the possibility of meeting someone new. You're a good-looking young man and you will find your soulmate."
"Thanks - I guess." I said and looked down at the table as she placed a stack of cards in front of me. They were large tarot cards. She told me to shuffle them well, cut them into three stacks, then re-stack them into whatever order I wanted. While shuffling, I had to think about a question I wanted answered the most. And honestly I really couldn't think of anything, so I just thought about my future and wondered if I was going to be successful. She placed the cards on the table one-by-one and told me what each card meant. The past reading was mostly what she had already told me; relationship, job, etc.
For the present reading, she asked about the house I had just bought. It's an old river road home just outside of Wallace near the old plantations. She told me to stop working so much and start enjoying my life. She also told me to hold-off for about a year on my plans to refurbish the older areas of the house, then decide if I want to spend the money. For the future reading she talked about me getting promoted at work and that I will be financially successful. Other than that, there wasn't anything very surprising. Oh, she did tell me I was going to meet someone pretty soon. "A dark haired girl." She said. I just smirked because there's about a 1 in 3 chance that any girl I meet would be dark headed.
"And what's your name?"
"Ashley."
"Ashley Walker." Gale stated. "In case you haven't realized it yet, you're the reason I took this reading. Everything I've told your brother could have been read by one of the others up front. But, there is an energy about you that I couldn't ignore." Ashley and I looked at each other not sure how to react to her news.
"Before I get into the important stuff, let's go through your past and present and get those out of the way. I see you are in the process of moving, or taking a long hiatus. You are here mostly because you're running from your parents, correct?" Ashley nodded yes.
"You know you can't blame them for wanting you to do well for yourself." Gale said.
"Yeah, well, I haven't figured out what my path is ya know? My parents want me to do what they did; get a job and work the rest of my life. I have a degree in nursing but I'm not sure anymore if that's the field I want to work in. If you look at them they really aren't happy. What do they want me to do, follow in their footsteps and be miserable?" Ashley defended herself as if she was talking to a relative or someone who was going to push her the same as our parents.
Gale huffed a laugh. "Remember. Yes or no answers, only when I ask. Most people feel cheated if they give me too much information." Ashley apologized and listened as Gale continued with her reading.
"I see you're pretty closed off and haven't dated anyone for a while. You are kind of cynical when it comes to relationships and don't trust easily. It all goes back to your first boyfriend, who hurt you. You have to realize that not everyone is the same. There are plenty of good natured guys out there. You are beautiful and shouldn't let your past control your future."
After Gale finished with her 'cold reading', she had Ashley deal the cards and gave her more details on her past and present. Ash apparently meditated about her career path because Gale said her path had not yet revealed itself, but she would know soon enough. Before she got to the last stack of cards, she told Ashley she was not going to read her future.
"Why?" Ashley inquired.
Gale stared at Ashley like she was contemplating what to say next. "When alone, do you ever have the feeling that you're not the only person in a room?" Gale asked.
"No, I don't think so." Ashley responded.
"What about waking up, being in some place and not knowing how you got there?"
"No." Ashley said.
Gale continued. "You have a very special gift Ashley. You are a host. Psychic abilities vary depending on the person. Some have the gift of sight only, some are only good at seeing the past, some the future. But on a rare occasion, a person will not only have the ability to read people, they will also have the ability to communicate with those who have passed beyond this realm. And once that communication has been established, that person can physically conduct the energy of those they have contacted."
"Wait a minute." Ashley said, holding her hand up at Gale. She looked like she was trying to figure out what to ask. "Are you saying that I can communicate with the dead? Like a medium"
"Yes, but much more."