Jacqueline testing her skills

Carminda had a more determined look in her eyes as she gazed at the waters of the swimming pool through the window. 

"Yes, they are now both somehow able to sense danger beforehand," she responded.

"Then there's also Jacqui. She can do a lot with her skills if she wants to be brave enough to accept it as a gift," Carminda continued as she stared ahead of herself unseeing.

"Do you want her to start practicing her newfound skills? Isn't she too fresh for that? She can still retrieve into her shell and focus on lecturing only for the rest of her professional life, you know," Shannon responded, lifting her chin and looking Carminda in the eyes.

"I think I'm going to take a chance on her. She can still surprise us. What if she takes over from me one day and becomes even better than me?" Carminda responded with a challenging look back at her sister.

"Now you're frightening me. What makes you talk about her taking over from you? Are you so quick to give up on developing your clairvoyant skills further?" 

Shannon examined Carminda's face carefully as she spoke.

***

"Great news if they allow us all to go as a family. They should have a good nanny there for Monique too," Blake responded after Laura gave him her news.

"Okay, I think they will allow that if they really want me there," Laura replied.

"But, are you sure that there's no catch to this? Not that you don't have the potential, but what will happen if we find that it's a smokescreen for something sinister?" 

Laura narrowed her eyes at this remark. She tried to ponder Blake's words. 

"You mean it could be the politician's ploy to get me back? A false international movie? I think that's too far-fetched, even for him. I don't think that he will still be that interested in me. He must have found a new fascination by now."

"Even in jail? Don't people daydream and fantasize more when they're in prison?" Blake asked with a concerned frown on his brow.

"I think that he will be too busy trying to find a way for an early release. I think he was only temporarily infatuated with me," Laura responded, shaking her head.

"In that case then we should still ask the film company for extra protection when we're there," Blake responded, still frowning.

"Look at the possibilities for you. There just might be something exciting for you to do there and we can both learn to speak French."

"You mean while I learn to become a French private investigator?"

"Well, you can ask Carminda about all the possibilities out there," Laura responded. She was too excited about what she would be doing in France for her to worry about whatever Blake would be doing there, though.

***

Jacqueline was surprised to get a call from Carminda.

"Hi, nice to hear from you," she responded when she answered her phone. She felt a nervous twist in the middle of her stomach as she spoke.

"So, when are you gonna try out your new new skills on someone else?" Carminda asked. 

"I'm still resting on that. I'm on a special weekend away for that, in fact," Jacqueline responded with a slight giggle. 

"Oh, so you're serious about that then? You're actually on a retreat to find out how you feel about it?" Carminda asked, sounding totally surprised. 

"Yes, I thought that you would have expected that. That's why you called, isn't it? To confirm?" Jacqueline asked in confusion now. 

"I wanted to suggest it to you. I wasn't thinking that you've already convinced yourself about this. It's a pleasant surprise. Now I can guide you further," Carminda responded in a high tone of voice. She really sounded excited.

"I thought that you have sensed what I was trying to do and then decided to phone me," Jacqueline mumbled. 

"Oh well, maybe I subconsciously knew that you needed some kind of confirmation?" Carminda asked, sounding slightly confused. 

"Yes, that could be it, but I'm slightly scared as well as excited. I just want to wait and see what happens to me when I change my environment, like when I was in Brazil," Jacqueline remarked in response. She shook off her uneasy feelings. 

"That's great. It's never good to be too self-confident and it's also not good to have high hopes at the beginning of a new venture. I'm just glad that you're opening up your mind to something totally new," Carminda responded with a slight giggle. 

"Yes, I'm ready to find out more about the unseen world, I guess," Jacqueline responded with a shrug.

"How about putting your skills on the test by asking yourself what would happen to someone else if they took a certain, deliberate decision about their lives? Then, what if that very action turned out to improve another person's life drastically?" 

Jacqueline frowned in confusion. She was happy that she had this amount of time to herself to have this chat with Carminda. Adam had gone inside the house to check on something involving costumes for some of the wedding rituals. 

"Am I right in assuming that you're suggesting that I advise someone about a life decision in the same way that a fortune teller would advise them?" she asked as she twirled her hair around her finger pensively.

"Well, not exactly like that. You won't be busy with any kind of rituals or anything. You would simply listen to the person's story and think about it a little bit. Afterwards, you just might have a dream or a vision about it," Carminda responded. 

"So, I will know about the consequences of them making that decision?" Jacqueline asked as she sat forwards on the garden chair. This sounded like a challenge. 

"Is there anyone around you there right now?" Carminda asked in a lower tone of voice. 

"No, I'm sitting outside by myself," Jacqueline responded in a low tone as well.