Psychic faith

Editor's Note: The following is a true account of the writer's visit to a local psychic. The words and descriptions are his own, but the predictions of his future are that of the two psychics he visited on a Saturday afternoon. As such, the following is not a traditional story, but rather a first-person experience, retold on these pages for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.\nNine days before Halloween, the weather almost seemed too good to be true. An oceanic sky cradled clumps of perfect clouds, the wind flowed subtly but carried enough strength to refresh walkers and cyclists and the sun gave a warm glow that reminded the student of early spring. He was dressed in jeans and a light jacket on a day when he could have been comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt. He rolled down the windows in his car and drove faster than he should have so a breeze would swish in and ebb the sweat that had already arrived.\nThe student was nervous about his appointment with a psychic who promised she would reveal his future.\nAs he traveled down streets lined with real businesses and real homes, the student imagined the fake world that belonged to the psychic. He imagined a woman adorned in elaborate scarves who would lead him through a doorway of beaded strings that would rattle like castanets when they entered a dark room filled with eastern music, silk pillows and a crystal ball that would glow whenever a question was asked. The psychic would speak with an Egyptian accent when she contacted spirits or when she told the student that he would live a long and happy life.\nThe student couldn't think of the psychic without thinking of a crook. Someone who would digest his real thoughts, concerns and dreams only to spew a mouthful of fake, idealistic "fortunes" as quickly as possible. The sooner she could get her hands on his money, the better. \nStill, no one was forcing him to make this visit. It was his idea. He was just curious. Besides, what if the psychic made sense … What if she told him things that were completely on point with his life … What if her "fake" visions tied perfectly into his "real" life … What if he believed her even if she wasn't telling him the truth … What if he believed her simply because she told him things that he desperately wanted to be true …\n*****\nA stoop with chipped paint led to the front door of the house where the psychic looked into the future. The student raised his hand to knock on the door, but a young woman who spoke with a firm voice interrupted the sound of his knuckles against the doorframe.\n"What can I do for you?" she asked. \nThe student told her he had an appointment for a psychic reading.\n"She's not home yet, but I can give you a reading if you want." \nThe student agreed.\n"Come with me."\nHe walked into a home of a psychic and was surprised by how normal it was. It was a real home with white walls and clean carpet. Instead of beaded curtains, wooden doors divided one room from the next. The faint smell of smoke hung in the air, but it came from cigarettes rather than incense. The student followed the young psychic into a small room -- probably intended to be used as a closet -- where she asked him to sit down on a black futon instead of silk pillows. In front of him was a small table -- minus the crystal ball -- and a chair for the psychic. She sat perched in the chair with her legs folded like a child listening to a story.\nThe psychic wore a white shirt and a long, khaki skirt instead of elaborate carves. The blonde highlights of her short hair, which was pulled back into a small ponytail, complimented the attractive tone of her tan skin. She gazed at the student for just a second before she broke the silence with her raspy voice. She did have an accent.\nShe asked the student his name and his birthday. When he answered the questions, the psychic felt his body energy awaken, and a fury of visions jetted from her lips.\n"What I am seeing with your energy and the aura around you, I am seeing a lot of confusion because I see two women. There is confusion and jealousy. One of them will not interest you, but the other will interest you soon. She is a good woman. She is trustworthy, faithful and understanding. This woman will be your soulmate. Do you follow me? You will find your soulmate."\n"Do you follow me?" she kept asking the student. He kept saying yes, nodding his head that he did follow her, but truthfully, he had trouble making sense of it all. Where did these visions come from … What did she mean by his body energy … How could she know all of this … Was he starting to believe her …\n"I am seeing that you are doing well in school; do you follow me? You have a job coming your way. I do see some friends who are concerning you. Who are these friends?"\nThe student didn't know who these friends were, either. Before she said that, none of his friends was a concern to him, but now he felt pressure from the psychic to find an answer to her question. He didn't want to seem surprised by the things she told him. He didn't want to accept the possibility that she knew aspects about his life of which he was unaware. He didn't want her to have that kind of control over him.\nHis mind raced for an answer but found nothing, and when he told the psychic none of his friends concerned him, she brought the subject back to his soulmate, followed by a fresh and fast list of visions: I do see … I don't see … I do see … I don't see …\n"But you do have concerns about this woman. You probably don't understand that she is your soulmate, but you will in time. I do see school getting better, and I do see you working. I do see you living a long and healthy life. I don't see you staying apart from your soulmate for very long. I do see some concern with family. What are your concerns with your family?"\nTo this, the student mentioned a brother struggling with pressure and stress, but the psychic assured him not to worry. He is fine, she told him. The student took some offense to the curt manner with which she dismissed these thoughts, but the psychic went on, and the student tried to follow. \n"I see you being a man of traveling; do you follow me? I do not see you staying here. I see you in more of the South. You are a man of traveling, trying to find his destination. I see you traveling for work. I see you going on a trip now in six months. I do see that everything is going well for you." \n*****\nAs the young psychic explores the young man's future, the older psychic enters the small room and sits down. She, too, has short hair, but she likes to dye hers the color of raspberries. She listens for a moment and then asks the young man to lean back, look into her eyes and relax. The accent in her voice is softer than that of young woman. There is comfort in her voice.\nThe older psychic looks deep into the young man and sees that he has been experiencing fear in his life and asks him to understand that while he is young in age, he is a full-grown man nonetheless. She notices that his energy is strong and says she does not see any death around him. Marriage stems strongly in his future but not for at least five more years. \n"You are not yet ready for marriage," she says softly. With his wife -- his soulmate -- he will have two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom will be very healthy.\nShe tells the young man more about his soulmate and confesses that there is another man with her at the moment. This surprises the young man, but she assures him that he must not worry. She sees that this other man is not a lover. "Her desire is not there for him as it is for you," she says. \nThe older psychic sees the paths of the young man and his soulmate bonding strongly together in the future. His work will draw him apart from this woman from time to time, but she sees that their faith will always bring them back together. \n"Realize you have a soulmate," she tells him. "That is a good thing."\nThe older psychic sees success for the young man. Success in different forms. She sees that he will be recognized by many for the work he will do, and with that recognition, money will follow. \n"I see you being a teacher above everybody else."\nThen she quietly exits, leaving the young man and the young psychic alone.\n*****\n"Be yourself. You have a lot of good coming your way. Peace. Happiness. Success. Love."\nThe session ended after those words from the young psychic.\nThe student stood up and gave the younger psychic cash for the reading. He opened the door he once imagined would be a beaded curtain and walked through a modest room in the real home of a real woman who, moments before, was the older psychic in the small room where she told him he had a soulmate. Outside, in a world that seemed more real before the student met the psychics, he got into his car and thought about the words spoken to him in the last 20 minutes. Like the weather, the words almost seemed too good to be true.\nHe drove home with some regret of his visit. More than anything, the student wanted to believe the psychics.