Faking it

Georgia escorted her last client of the day to the door, glad that the day was ending on a positive note.  Her usual clients came to her hoping to make contact with a loved one who had passed.  Hoping she would take away their grief, tell them their loved one was happy or at peace.  Often hoping they had been forgiven for some past actions they now regret.  Tonight’s client was looking for hope on a new path for her life.  She was recently divorced and just wanted reassurance she could find happiness again, which Georgia was able to give her.  What her clients didn’t know, was that Georgia was a fake.

She wasn’t actually able to reach out to anyone's deceased loved ones.  She couldn’t see the future.  But she was good at reading people.  Sensing what they needed to hear.  Being able to give them that, with them believing that she was in fact speaking to their loved ones.  Some would consider her a fraud.  Say that she was cheating her clients, stealing their money.  Georgia didn’t see it that way.  She gave her clients what they were looking for.  Sometimes she told them what they wanted to hear.  Others she told what they needed to hear, even when they didn’t want to hear it.  She provided a service and was paid for it.

Georgia watched from the door making sure her client made it to her car as it was late.  She closed and locked her door, then spent a few minutes tidying her workspace for the next day before heading back to her living space.  She kept her workspace decorated to what she thought her clients would expect of a psychic, but it wasn’t her style.  She felt a sense of calm wash over her when she stepped through the door that led to her home.  It was bright but soothing.  Filled with green plants against white and pink walls.  It was here she could truly relax.  She made dinner, then settled into her favorite chair to read her current book until she was tired enough for bed.

Georgia didn’t keep regular hours due to the nature of her job and rarely set an alarm so she bolted upright the next morning when a loud alarm went off.  

“What is going on?” she said aloud to herself.

“It’s about time you woke up G,” said an unknown voice.  

Georgia jumped, looking around the room, not seeing anyone.  She sat in silence for a minute, still occasionally looking around the room.  Her heart was racing but she was too afraid of what she’d find to actually get up to investigate.  After hearing no more voices or movement in a few minutes, she shook her head.  “You’re losing it girl,” she said.

“You aren’t crazy.  I’m here.  You just can’t see me,” said the voice again.

This time Georgia shrieked and jumped out of bed.  “Who’s there?” she yelled.

“Calm down, I’m not here to hurt you.”

Georgia started looking through the room.  Behind the doors, under the bed, moving the curtains.  Finding no one in her room.

“You won’t find me.  I don’t have corporeal body.  You could say I'm just in your head.”

“Who are you?” Georgia asked.

“I’m your spirit guide.  Well, one of them at least.  I’ve been selected to help you learn your new gift.”

“My gift?”  Georgia responded.  She was still looking around the room in confusion, expecting to see someone come forward.

“You want to be a psychic right?  It’s what you claim to be.  Well, I’m here to help you navigate that.”

“But, I’m not actually a psychic.  I just read people.”

The voice laughed.  “Not anymore honey!  Welcome to the new phase of your life!  Now go get dressed.  We need to go to the store.”

Georgia was silent in shock.  She shook her head again and just headed to the shower, hoping she could shower away whatever dream she must still be having.  Luckily, the voice stopped while she showered and got dressed.  By the end, she had fully convinced herself she must have woken up mid-dream.  She’d never had a dream keep going before though so that was new.  But it was a much more reasonable explanation of what happened.  She glanced at the clock and realized she was up and ready a good two hours earlier than she planned.

“Ok, what should I do with this extra time?” she said aloud, but to herself.

“I told you we need to go to the store.  Did you forget?” the voice asked.

“Noooo! I thought you were gone?”

“I haven’t gotten to help you with your gift yet.  Why would I be gone?”

“Am I going crazy?  That has to be it right?  I’m crazy.  Do I check myself in somewhere?  How does this work?”

The voice laughed.  “You’re not crazy.  I’ve been with you your whole life.  You just never heard my voice aloud before.  I’ve always been masked as your own thoughts.  But I was always there, guiding and helping you.”

“I just don’t understand.  What is actually going on?” Georgia questioned.

“I know, it’s a lot to take in.  You have been calling yourself a psychic all this time.  Helping people as though you are.  Even with faking this gift, you have been helping people.  We can see how much you help people and see how much MORE you can help people actually having this gift.  So, here it is.  You are a legitimate psychic.  A medium to be more precise.”

Georgia slowly slunk down to sit on the floor.  “You mean I’m not a fake?”

“You were.  But not any longer.  You are legit Georgia.  And you’re gonna rock this gift.  Now get up and let’s go.”

Georgia sat silent with her head on her knees for a moment.  She lifted her head, “Fine,” she replied and stood.  “Where are we going?”

“To the grocery store.  You need a few things there, but someone there needs you.  Let’s go.”

Georgia hesitated but then grabbed her purse and went out to her car to head to the grocery store.  She settled in her car and got out on the road.  “Okay, so once we get there, who am I looking for?  I want to just get this done.”

“Well that’s not how this works.  I don’t know who needs your help.  I just know that you’ll find them at the store. Honestly, that’s a lot of information.  Generally, you’ll just find yourself needing to go somewhere unexpected and then discover it’s because someone needs you.”

“How will I know when I find them then?  How does it work?”

“You’ll just know.  You’ll be drawn to them.  Something will come to you, to tell you what they need to hear.”

“Great.  So you’re here to help me with this gift, but no one actually knows HOW this gift works?  This all just sounds like a hot mess.”

The voice laughed.  “Few things in the spiritual world are straightforward.  Being a medium is different for each person.  You have to discover how it works for you.  Because it won’t be the same as it is for someone else.”

Georgia pulled into the parking lot and quickly found a spot to park.  She sat for a minute staring at her steering wheel before grabbing her purse and walking into the store.  She walked in with determination and found her shopping cart, and just started to find her normal groceries.  She may as well make this trip useful, she thought.  She also noticed the voice was staying quiet while she was in the store and that was a relief.  She did not want to worry about being seen talking to herself.

It was weird though, the store was very noisy.  As if it was packed with customers, but she didn’t see many people.  The noise grew and lessened as she went through the store.  It wasn’t until she made her way to the checkout lanes that she realized it grew louder the closer she was to people.  She was looking around trying to figure out who it was she was supposed to help because nothing had popped out to her.  Just the loud general buzzing one would hear in a large crowd.   As she checked out, she noticed the girl bagging her groceries looked sad.  Everything quieted as she focused on her.  Georgia paid her bill and as the bagger placed the last bag in the cart, she softly asked, “Do you need help loading these?”

It was a normal question for that store and Georgia had always declined before but something told her to say yes today.  

“That would be wonderful, thank you,” Georgia answered smiling.  

Georgia led the young woman to her car and together they loaded the groceries in Georgia's trunk.  

“Thank you,” Georgia said.

The young lady responded with a quiet “You’re welcome.” and then turned to head back into the store.

Georgia didn’t hear so much as she felt what she needed to tell the girl.  “Wait,” she exclaimed.

The girl turned around with a questioning look.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how to say this, and I’m not sure what exactly you are going through, but I need you to know to trust yourself.  Your gut is telling you what to do, and it’s right.  Trust yourself.”

The girls expression changed to one of shock and relief and confusion.  “Th-thank you.” she said quietly and walked back into the store but with a bit more spring to her step.

Georgia got in her cart and spoke, “So, did I do the right thing?”

“You did.” the voice responded.

“So what help did she need?  What was she going through?”

“I don’t know.  But what you said is what she needed to hear.  She got the message she needed.  And you are able to do that without knowing her inner secrets.  This gift comes with some answers, but many many more questions.  You will not always know what your path is.  You have to learn to trust your instinct, that it will lead you to the correct actions.  That was the first lesson for learning your gift.”

Georgia thought for a moment.  “I didn’t do much more than be kind to her.  Recognize she needed something positive.  But you’re telling me that was my calling for today?”

“Isn’t that enough? Spreading kindness?  I can’t think of anything else this world needs more.”