2 The Future

Andre waited in the room for another five minutes contemplating everything the old woman just told him. His mind crossed with many questions. "She didn't even ask for my Zodiac sign or anything of the sort. Her statements weren't leading me on as well and I made sure not to change my expression to avoid having my body language read. She did most of the talking and her last statement was very true in that as much as I have worked to get here, a lot of friends and luck coincidences has lead to my success which is one of the reasons I don't feel like my glory was never my own. Was I that easy to read?"

"Its not that your easy to read but that the lady you were speaking to is very good at deducing the past."

A mature woman's voice came from the other room.

Walking into the room was a veiled hooded woman also bearing purple eyes. The skin on her neck and hands was visible making Andre believe her to be around 40. She had curves and creamy skin like Angie's but this woman seems to have grown a bit in some feminine areas in ways only a mother can in preparation for child birth. Her facial features were not easily discernable behind the veil but Andre could immediately tell this woman was a woman of strength, respect, and motherly ability which is to be respected. Few people can command the respect this woman does as she steps into the room.

Andre got up for a handshake immediately which the woman promptly took as a sign of cordiality.

Sitting down in the chair, both of them stared at each other. He purple eyes glistening. She then took out a deck of tarot cards from her pocket.

She first shuffled them artfully and then placed the first three cards face down side by side. She then took a fourth card from the bottom and looked at it. She placed the deck down to the side and the fourth card she looked at face down next to the other three.

"I'm laying these cards down for the future. For now let's take a look at your present and how it relates to your past." She said this and asked for my palm.

I promptly listened to her and extended my palm.

"So how does this work?" Andre asked.

The woman looked at his palm for a moment and then looked at Andre. "Did you know that palm reading is one of the oldest arts in the world? It's formal name is chirology and is based on the idea that depending on your palm lines, the seer can learn about the person's personality."

Andre smiled, "so how does one begin to read personality traits through lines? I am sorry if I am prying but I am genuinely curious at this point."

The woman giggled with a graceful voice. "Most people wouldn't understand the wisdom in palm reading but I have found truth in it. Just like every person has a fingerprint so too do people have unique Palms. How deep, how many striations, and how long are these lines give seers the clues about the person and it is our job to put them together. That's all seers are, we find clues and we put them together to get a better understanding"

Andre thought for a moment, "Forgive me for being rude but didn't they disprove relationships between palm lines and personality."

"You aren't being rude because I love to answer these questions to illuminate." The woman's bearing changes from strong and elegant to inquisitive and informative very fast.

"They were never found formally to have a relationship not disproven. In fact, let's posit my own personal theory and see if you like it."

Andre nodded and the woman continued. "Every person is born with DNA dictating their life. This DNA is organizes our bodies to be us, how tall we are, how our muscles train, and what disease they could potentially inherit. What people don't know is that DNA is also responsible for certain personality traits. If the same source is responsible for palm lines and personality traits, all a seer has to do is relate the two to find them."

Andre thought that was reasonable with his own thoughts. "Your logic is based on the assumption that at birth, the nature of our personality is already decided and through biological markers you can recognize pattern. If that's true though, then why is there such a bad reputation for palm reading and fortune telling? Many scientist have done a lot to disprove your craft."

The woman smiled, "Excellent question. You see most palm readers don't realize this but people change with time altering them from the way they were born. It's the palm readers job to understand where you came from first and understand where you are now. The first seer you saw told you your past and I'm using the tarot cards with the palm reading to know where you are now."

"So in essence, we're still dealing with nature vs nurture argument." Andre furthered his own argument while trying to follow along with her.

The lady glanced at Andre and then continued looking at his palm.

She then spoke, "yes but there's always a little magic when it comes to the occult don't you think? If not where's the fun in it? I can't just reveal all my secrets."

Andre nodded and looked at his palm before she let go of his hand. He noticed her hands were dainty yet polished.

"Your past shows your inquisitive mind is what defines you. From this conversation I can tell that's true still. You are fiercely loyal to those your close to and are willing to go to many lengths to help them. I can see you try to be very honest with others but you also put on a façade of happiness to make other people try and not see that on the inside something is wrong with you. In fact, I'd venture to say your inquisitiveness is the reason your so sad. You likely found out something that made you lose belief in life, God, or whatever most men do to cling to life. Ignorance is bliss right. You've never recovered from that and now you hide how broken you truly are from everyone. You don't know how to share this circumstance with anyone without it seeming pointless or seeming like your complaining."

She then turned over the fourth card she had looked at before revealing the High Priestess card.

"I'd wager you spent some of you life trying to be like everyone else but got tired of it for one reason or another. You then decided to use mystery as a guard. You kept part of yourself hidden from the world."

"You've presently pushed on with whatever career path you have had laid out for you. Using whatever you could, you've likely become a great man already and are likely on the precipice of something new."

"This scares you because deep down, your broken self can't handle the change for one reason or another. Originally you were shutting it all out and focusing on your work but what are you to do now that the focus of your attention is gone. Find another thing to hog your time?"

Andre was quiet. The accuracy of her statements were all true and struck a cord within him.

After a moment he responded, "no I do not want to do that. I want my life to have meaning. I want my family to live in a world where their choices matter, where our choices matter."

The woman looked interested. "But your life does have meaning, no?"

"I don't think it does considering I don't believe in an afterlife. What's the point in considering life when the fact is, there's nothing after we die. What's the point in living when there's nothing to live for and everything we do is quantifiable and predictable just like the universe at large. Like a chain, our lives are at the whim of luck, fate, or happenstance. The only way to live with this is to live in the present and live everyday like its your last." Andre answered her.

She tapped the table for a moment and retorted, "Even Einstein believed in a Grand designer but you don't."

Andre had a cheeky grin, "his comment was based on an objective observation on a closed system he didn't fully understand."

The lady continued tapping, "to call the universe a closed system is a bold statement, but even you have to admit you don't understand it better than him."

She paused, but before Andre could comment back at her she continued speaking with a sigh, "I understand your frustration but just because no proof of something beyond death has come to light doesn't necessarily mean it's not there. Even if life plays out written to a script, isn't it fun to just watch where the road leads?"

Andre's emotions were getting pent up but he relaxed and took a breath.

She paused for a moment letting Andre ruminate on his thoughts for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps there's no meaning to life and it's all just an accident, everything could technically be a big cosmic joke. But the truth of the matter is that you're here now. You're actions big or small have an effect on the people closest to you. You have the ability to influence those around you for good or bad. Don't you think its enough to at least make them happy with the time you have."

This conversation brought up old wounds for Andre about his grandfather and what he was to him. "You may be right about fate and although I'm uncomfortable with the thought of all my actions not being subject to free will, I can still live with it because I can believe in at least having a positive influence on other. With that being said, I am still haunted by the purpose of life. Are we really a a cosmic roll of the dice and everything is to return to the void at the end." Andre spoke the questions in his heart.

(Loki: I got to say, I was way more of think before doing kind of guy back then.)

The woman clapped her hands and smiled before standing up. "You came for a possible future you can lean on. I am just a lowly seer and do not have those answers you seek about the afterlife and meaning."

She stared at me with that glinting smile before continuing, "We seer's cannot solve your existential crisis but we can offer you a future you can cling to and choose as opposed the future you currently have but in order to accept it, you must open your mind and body to it. You have to think carefully and see yourself objectively. If you can't live another moment more being someone wildly successful and on the fast track to having everything you ever wanted, then we will grant you a different future that will give you the answers that you seek."

She passed by Andre and put her dainty hand on his shoulder giving him one last warning, "Sometimes, you don't need to look at the big picture to know what you should do. Just trying to do something that makes you happy is enough."

Andre closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

He thought of all the simple moments in his life that have kept him going. Learning about interesting subjects, the beauty of nature, his future family, his career and his grandfather. He had always tried to look for a purpose in how his actions affected things on a grand scale in order to prove his life meaning.

He realized that doing that, he will never be happy. The problem was he didn't know how to stop.

"The final seer will be in soon, be ready and don't touch those cards." The woman said while walking away. Her hips were swaying in the way out making Andre slightly turn away to not seem indecent.

Andre sat in thought about what to do with his future. He didn't want to sit still but he hit the stratosphere already when it came to his career. Making medicines were never his passion though. Physics, philosophy, and history have always been his favorite subjects he thought and maybe he should start from there and make a career change. Maybe going to church and dealing with the community more.

But then he thought about all his previous thoughts, by doing this he was essentially still trying to prove his worth and find meaning in his life.

He was self conscious enough just by that one thought that he would never truly find meaning.

Lost in thought he didn't realize a young veiled woman sat in front of him. He couldn't see her hair but she had purple eyes as well looking at Andre intently.

"Oh my apologies, I was lost in thought." Andre said when coming out of his head.

She nodded and then put her hand on the cards, turning over all of them.

In order from latest to earliest pulled, the cards were the fool, the magician, and then the world.

An angelic voice sounded, "Before we begin, know that if you accept this future, your fate will be set in stone. Do you still want me to read your fortune."

Andre was silent for a moment. for him, this entire fortune telling experience is very bizarre and topics like changing my fate to show me meaning in life that the women were describing here is a bunch of bogus in his eyes but for him, this experience was a mental test for himself to see what he would choose should he be handed the option.

At some point during this experience, Andre picked up on these seers that although were very perceptive, didn't seem like the ones to tell lies. They truly believed in what they were doing and since the last seer attempted to help him through his philosophical nightmare in only a few simple words, the least he could do is follow a long for her and for himself. Andre hadn't even considered the notion that his fate and all his question will be answered today.

"So I will have a new fate where my questions will be answered and by doing this i will gain a semblance of free will?"

The angelic voice sounded again, "Yes, you will receive something similar to a new fate. Your decisions will be your own and you can do with your life what you please. You will find the answers to all your questions easily."

… Andre had already conjured this into a mental exercise in his head to prove how messed up he really was. So without a second thought he immediately agreed.

"Read the cards."

The maiden laughed and giggled, "the fool means a beginning. For you it must mean a new beginning. Unlimited potential to be harnessed at your leisure."

As she finished speaking the room began to shake. Andre wondered if it was a special effect or an earthquake of some sort but he still paid attention.

She pointed to the next card, "the magician, a master of the elements and linking of purpose. Your potential will lead you to learn much about the world and how to apply it. You will have purpose and will learn how the world links together as a whole with your purpose. This is auspicious."

Before she read the last card the woman did something that shocked Andre. She slowly removed her veil revealing herself to be Angie but her hair had take on a golden glow and her eyes had changed color.

"Angie!?"

Andre stood up panicked at what was in front of him. His girlfriend was giving of a silvery glow akin to a Goddess descending. He had no idea what to make of it.

Angie smiled, "the world, finality and end of purpose. You will achieve your goal whether good or bad and your life will change forever. You may have a new rebirth or perhaps settle. That is up to you to find out."

Andre was screaming at this point with the room shaking like a category 7 earthquake. "Angie what is this?"

Angie giggled, "My name is not Angie and I have been watching you for some time and find you worthy of my gift."

She stood up spreading her arms out wide ,"I call upon the Earth, Night, and Stars, pour your power onto me. In the name of the Crone of the past, Mother of the present, and Maiden of the future who have presented the fate of this child, I take him as my blessed one."

With those words the roof disappeared to reveal a night sky full of stars. The ground turned to grass. Andre completely dumbfounded and very scared at the moment and slumped back into his chair while grasping at the space between his eyes.

"Well looks like I'm in for a ride." He said this with a smile.

Wishing the next few moments that everything was told to him was true, darkness descended and Andre could see no more.