Reality Controlled

Reality Control

Tarot Readings Available

I saw the sign and thought- why not and in I went. The place was dimly lit, but not gloomy, more an atmosphere full of peace and serenity. The incense was obvious without being overbearing. Crystals lined the shelves. Everywhere there was a space there were crystals. Pyramids, bracelets, necklaces and polished stones. I have a passion for crystals. I wandered, slowly around the shop, letting the energy pour over me.

I was startled by a mess of white hair as she popped up from behind the counter.

“Hi” the head smiled.

“Hi, you scared me” I laughed.

“Did I? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you come in”

“Did you want a reading?” She picked up a Rider Waite deck and began to shuffle.

“Oh, no, well, I’m not sure”

“Right then let’s do it, come sit over here’ she led me to a small table, she lit a black candle and passed the deck of cards over the flame mouthing words I couldn’t hear.

I sat mesmerised. I had never had a tarot reading before, I had always wanted to, but I had never felt a connection with any tarot readers I had come across in my travels.

“Ok, what are you worried about”

“I’m not worried, I’m just, I don’t know, fed up”

“Explain”

I didn’t expect a tarot reading to be like this.

“Well, you see, I’m a writer, or I would like to be, I just can’t get back on track”

“I see, well it’s not a reading you need” she stood looked around in a puzzled kind of way and indicated for me to follow her. She led me to the far end of the shop. We went through a beaded curtain.

She opened a cabinet and took out a small lovely decorated wooden box.

“This is what you need”

She opened the box and held up a very small pyramid made from black tourmaline crystal.

“Oh, ok” I kind of expected something a bit grander than a small healing crystal.

“Disappointed? don’t underestimate this little fella”

She held the crystal up to the light. Was it my imagination or was there a light shining inside the pyramid.

“Ha! you seen it, I knew you would”

She laughed and handed me the crystal.

“Go on hold it up, look into the crystal, you can see it alright”

I could see a light; it flickered and swayed in a kind of rhythm and in some crazy way it made me want to write. I needed to get out of there right now. The urge to write was overwhelming.

“I’ll take it”.

The cost was a lot more then I anticipated but anything that helped me write was worth every cent. The woman put it back into its lovely box. As she handed me the box, she took my hand.

“Just some words of advice, this is a very powerful crystal, when you have had enough of it, bring it back to me and only me, ok?”

“Ok, I guess, yes ok, thank you so much, I feel like I just need to write, it’s amazing”

I rushed from the shop, wooden box under my arm, shouted a thank you and ran home.

I opened my laptop and began to write. The words flowed effortlessly. When I finally stopped it was well after midnight. I had been at it for over 12hrs. Surprisingly I wasn’t hungry, but I was overwhelmingly tired. Shutting the laptop I headed to bed.

My alarm woke me at 8am. I showered and headed to my day job. A boring café that I worked at from 9am to 2pm, five days a week. The hours passed painfully slow, as I counted them down, just wanting to get home and back to my writing. Finally, my shift ended, and as I raced for the door, I was only to be delayed from leaving by an enormous man blocking the entire doorway. I stopped in my tracks and waited. The man had his back to me, he was possibly talking to someone, but I couldn’t see. I stood waiting impatiently.

“Excuse me, hello there, are you coming in or leaving, can’t just stand in between now, people trying to get out” I called out to him.

He turned his head slowly and glared at me.

“What!”

“Oh, sorry, I just need to get out”

He moved at a snail's pace, but finally he moved enough so as to let me pass.

There was something familiar about this man. His size, his face, I wasn’t sure, but I knew him from somewhere.

“Thank you” I murmured as I squeezed past his bulk size.

“Yeah” he boomed.

As I walked the fifteen-minute walk to my house I pondered on where I knew the man from. I was sure it would come to me in time. Again, I worked on my book until early hours in the morning. My fingers literally flying across the keyboard. Only stopping when overwhelmed with tiredness I fell into bed.

I woke late and had to skip breakfast and a shower or risk being late for work.

As I rushed through the door of the café, I noticed my big friend was already having breakfast, his huge frame squeezed into a booth.

“Take this coffee to the man at the booth”my manager said as he pushed a cup into my hand.

“Here’s your coffee sir” I placed the cup on the table.

“Hm” he grunted.

“Sir, I was just wondering if I know you from somewhere?” I asked.

“Of course, you do, what are you, stupid”

Wow! I hadn’t expected that response.

“No, actually, I don’t think I’m stupid at all, I just can’t recall how or from where I know you, so if you could just jog my memory” I was getting annoyed with this guy.

“So, you’re an idiot then?”

The manager was waving his arms around like a lunatic as the customers orders were piling up and he needed my assistance. By the time we had attended to all the orders the guy was gone. I questioned the staff and manager, but no one seemed to know who I was talking about. I was seriously starting to doubt my sanity or theirs because no one remembered seeing an enormous man at all.

That night I wrote chapters three four and five. I was on a roll with this book.

The next day it was raining heavily so I caught the bus and who should be sitting right there on the bus but the enormous man from the café. I stared at him, and he glared at me. What the hell was this guy's problem?

I got off at my stop, not bothering to look back.

As I entered the café I almost fainted, there at the booth sat the man. How on earth did he get here before me and was that a full breakfast in front of him. Impossible I was saying to myself as I walked up to him.

“How did you get here” I snapped at him.

“You would know stupid” he smirked.

“What the hell is your problem with me” I yelled.

“Don’t you even read what you write” he laughed.

I headed to the counter to serve the line of morning customers wanting coffees. By the time I had caught up, he was gone again. What did he mean- don’t I read what I write? Of course I did, or did I? How did he know I was a writer? What was going on?

At the end of my shift, I wandered home in a bit of a daze. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t remember what my book was about. I was five chapters in, why couldn’t I remember what it was about and what did any of it have to do with the man?

I began to acknowledge that something was wrong with everything.

With an ill feeling in the pit of my belly. With a trembling hand I opened the file on my laptop and began to read.

The storm had blown in, just as they had forecast. The enormous man pushed against the wind and rain and headed to the coffee shop. He was in need of a hot coffee and big breakfast, and he had heard good things about this café.

I slid into the chair.

What the hell was going on? Had I created the enormous man? How and why?

This was ridiculous. I deleted the file and opened a new one and began to write. I would put it to the test and prove that I didn’t invent the enormous man, and it was all just a coincidence.

My story began.

Trinity was beautiful if you bothered to look close enough. She was young and full of life, but poor Trinity had an affliction. The poor girl had sustained dreadful burns to her face as a child in a fire and because of these she always wore a pink scarf to hide her dreadful scars.

The next day I arrived early for work full of anticipation. Would the enormous man be there eating his big breakfast again.

It proved to be a busy morning, and I had been working pretty much head down making coffees for a few hours.

A staff member told me the manager wanted me in the kitchen to help run meals for a while as they were building up. The chef handed me a meal and told me to take it to the booth. I knew it before I seen them. There they were across from each other. Her with her pink scarf, him with his big breakfast. I put the meal down in front of her.

“Are you serious?”

“I see your not that stupid after-all and here I was telling Trinity that you were” he gave a laugh.

“So, if I created you with my writing, why are you still here if I deleted the story?”

“You’re the writer you figure it out”

The End