Four of Wands

Almost a decade earlier I had begun a new life in a different continent that turned out to be exhausting and lonely, full of time wasted with wrong people, living in a world full of hostility. When an old friend Maddy messaged me about flying into the island not far from me and suggested catching up, I jumped to the chance and got on a plane. I pretty much thought everyone had forgotten about me since I left.

I was beyond happy seeing her again. Whilst exploring the island, large advert outside a shabby building wall for a tarot card reader caught our eye. We laughed at his portrait photo; a tall man with a moustache and off-white polo neck sweater looked hysterically funny. Maddy made a suggestion I should go see him and report back.

Without further thought, I was knocking on his door. I saw Maddy crossing the road heading to the nearby bar laughing. Suddenly, the door opened and he was leaning against the doorway. I was staring at his large dark eyes and didn't know what to say.

I could imagine Maddy laughing and imitating him saying ‘look into my eyes, look into my eyes, you are being hypnotized.” I straightened my posture and mumbled about the tarot card reading before following him inside.

After pocketing my payment for a quick twenty-minute session, he directed me to a large air-conditioned room. He asked me to sit by the table and produced old cards that were little chirped in the corners. Minutes wasted away as he carefully lined the cards in front of me.

“Ask me a question.” He finally whispered under his salt and pepper moustache.

I looked hesitant and he gave me a short encouraging nod.

My eyes scanned the cards facing down as I cleared my throat.

After a few questions about my waning spirit and health in a new continent, he was easily unravelling my life. 

Time passed quickly, and as I could no longer think of any questions he turned a random card over, effortlessly harnessing the power of the card.

“A house.” 

“A house?” I stared at him with my bloodshot eyes.

“A four of wands is a card of celebration and as you can see, these figures are outside a house, I see this as a strong secure foundation for you. A home”

I had never thought I would be lucky enough to own a house or have a permanent home, whatever that meant. It was something that I had given up from a young age. After our parents’ divorce, our childhood home had been sold and somehow our brother had swindled the ownerships of everything including our old beloved summer cottage by the lake, leaving the rest of us nothing. Later on, during my years at the university, the house prices had skyrocketed and I had doomed to be a renter forever. I was so used to moving that I often left suitcases unpacked. I came to accept that as long as I had enough for a rent deposit I wouldn’t be on the streets and lived accordingly.

 “Have you got a house in mind?” he looked me hard in the eyes.

“No, I never thought of that,” I said and stared back at his almond-shaped hypnotizing eyes.

“Change your mindset.” He carefully squeezed the card back in the tight pack. I looked tense flipping my hair nervously.

“Relax, your intuition has got this covered in the end” he whispered under his moustache.

And, with that, we finished our session.

As I approached Maddy waiting in a nearby café with drinks ready, I was surprised at how easily my emotions were heightened and how he had changed my mindset from my initial questions to something completely different I would have never thought of.

Maddy was eager to hear about it all and I gave her a brief account of everything except the four of wands card.

“There are signs of illusions and imagination behind each card," I told her.

 "It must be hard to pinpoint real and true". She said her eyes falling on me.

'Yeah," I turned away and felt stupid and small getting hyped up over one card. The four of wands.

 “Maybe the agenda here is that we all go there to find hope and direction in life but get fed illusions.” Maddy's lips thinned.

I glazed over my shoulder at his building.

“Or maybe whatever the cards said, will come at me like a Phoenix out of the dust.”

“Until then, my friend…” Maddy raised a glass.

“Cheers” I cracked a smile and we finished our drinks before leaving.

That day marked a change, even if I would never get a house or have a permanent home. I still felt weak and shaken inside going back to my unhappy life, but something fundamental had changed.

Maybe the house was a metaphor for hope, not actual bricks and mortar but an illusion to hang on to something in life. 

After several years of my trip to the island, my health had deteriorated to the point where I had three surgeries within a year and was unable to walk for months to an end. I pushed through with a forced smile. One rainy afternoon, my mobile rang with a strange number flashing on the screen. I had left the phone on the side table and as I tried to reach out to grab it in time, my fingers slipped across the screen. I lost balance and fell hard on the floor. Knee scooter lying sideways over my other leg tear rolled down my cheek. My leg was painfully twisted but at that point, I was too accustomed to pain.

“Hello, hello, anyone there?” a female voice echoed through.

I grabbed the phone as fast as I could.

It was impossible to get back through to the public hospital phone line and schedule appointments.

“Yes, yes…it’s me...” I moved on the floor with pain pulsating through my leg.

"My name is Heather from the People Foundation Lottery. You purchased a lottery ticket through us a few months ago. Is that correct?"

"Yes, at the hospital canteen, why?" I clenched my teeth tight as the pain radiated up my leg.

“Amazing news!” she suddenly declared cheerfully.

 “You have been randomly chosen…And…” she paused.

“Randomly chosen for what?” I interrupted with a slightly irritated voice.

“You have won the $1,3 million coastal house: 4 Seabrook Lane, congratulations!”

I couldn't tell if her straightforward enthusiasm was fake or real.

“Is this a joke?” I questioned her.

‘No, definitely not!” she said.

'You can call back to check on us, we are for real."

My mouth felt dry and I was trying to control my shallow breathing.

I held the phone tight. Everything felt so surreal like trying to grasp fleeting fragile fairy dust.

I focused looking at the clock ticking on the wall. We stayed on the phone for exactly twenty minutes and during that time she convinced me this was for real and she would send over the paperwork. The charity marketing manager would later call me to discuss details and see if I was happy with my initials appearing on the winners' page. They would like to publish a happy winner's story.

After the phone call, I felt stunned. I slowly shifted myself up on the knee scooter.

I was not physically able to do a cartwheel of pure joy, but my heart soared of the possibility of life being full of miracles. I did a loop around the living room in my knee scooter. And then, I thought of the tarot card reader with his moustache and white polo neck sweater and felt the heavenly salty breeze from the ocean whilst approaching my million dollars home.