The Celestial Curse

by Marie Cameron

  “I am sorry I didn’t mean to sound insensitive to your predicament. I should have used common sense and realised that was why you were always around me.” I say as nicely as I can without sounding patronizing and melodramatic. I remove my hand from his arm and open the car door. I take a step away from the car when I hear my name, I turn around and the window is full down now and to Caleb who is looking at me with a crooked grin.

  “The curse and the cards are not the only reason I stay around you so much Amber.” He says, the promptly drives off leaving me gaping and speechless on the side of the road. Closing my mouth I ignore the people staring at me on the street and walk up to Aunt Betsy who has already ordered another drink for herself and two Mocha milkshakes for Caleb and I. I take a seat next to Aunt Betsy and take a sip of my frothy coffee milkshake. It is delicious! I’ll have to learn how to make it myself at home, am sure April will love it too.

  Betsy

  I watch the altercation between Amber and Caleb and smile to myself. I cannot hear what is being said between the two but it is obvious that something is going on with them. I continue to watch as Amber gets out Caleb’s Jaguar and as Caleb calls to her, she turns around and whatever Caleb says has her stunned speechless. I watch even more amused and excited for what I see brewing in front of me. When I sent Caleb to pick up Amber it was with the intention that they get to know each other and hopefully something develop between them but from what I am seeing in their behaviour it may have already gone past my expectations in such a short time. I watch Amber turn around and walk up to the table I am sat on. She doesn’t realise what a vision she is as every male from the age of puberty to the dirty old men walking by with walking sticks and wheelchairs all take a moment for a second glance at my niece. She has a vibrant look about her that makes people want to be friends with her. The colour of her hair is another thing that turns heads whenever she goes anywhere and in the sunshine of summer it is a stunning bright red and although it does come out of a bottle, we are all natural brunettes, it doesn’t make it any less majestic to see.

  “Sorry about not being able to meet you this morning and having to send Caleb instead. I had forgotten about my hair appointment.” I say. Amber looks at me while taking a sip of her mocha milkshake.

  “It wasn’t a problem Aunt Betsy honest.” She replies. A tinge of rosy cheeks gives away her lie though and just when I thought things couldn’t get any more interesting, Caleb walks down the street looking gorgeous in his black jeans, grey jumper and his black leather boots. Women try to get his attention as he walks past but the only person he has eyes for is the only girl who is currently drinking her milkshake and refusing to look in his direction. I knew these two would make a perfect match and I cannot wait to see the end results. Caleb walks up to our table and sits down beside Amber, sneaking glances in her direction.

  “Thank you Betsy for the milkshake.” He says looking at me for the first time and I smile at him and tell him to enjoy it. I finish my drink, sit back and wait for the other two to finish theirs. They take the hint and finish quickly. Time to take Amber to the holistic therapy shop to get her some sage and a crystal for her cards; I would give her mine if it would work for her but Ambers would tune only into her own personal energy for the remained of her life.

  “Ok boys and girls, it is time to go to Gail’s holistic therapy centre and get you some supplies Amber.” I say. She nods her head and stands up. Caleb follows and goes ahead to pick up his car. Amber watches him walk away and by the slight tilt of her head it isn’t hard to figure out where exactly she is looking. This is going to be a fun trip I think to myself.

  Amber

  I watch Caleb walk away, or should I say I watch his ass walk away! Laughter coming from Aunt Betsy has me hastily straitening up and turning around. I blush as I realise she had seen me checking Caleb out.

  “Like what you see Amber?” She asks coyly. I do not trust that look in her eyes and try to feign indifference.

  “Not bad. I have seen better elsewhere.” I say.

  “Oh really?” she asks with a smirk.

  “Yes!” I reply “In fact there was a guy at my last exam that was pretty hot. Who knows maybe something will happen with him? There were defiantly vibes going between us.” I say with a smug smile. Aunt Betsy’s smile fades a little before she answers.

  “Ok, well I guess Caleb should go on that date he was telling me about. I will be good for him to get out and meet a nice girl that when the spell is broken he can settle down with.” She says this nonchalantly and I frown, funnily her comment about another woman does not sit well with me. Aunt Betsy walks towards the side of the road just as Caleb pulls up to the side. He looks at me and all I can think of is him with someone else so I shoot daggers at him while stomping towards the car door. Aunt Betsy gets into the front with Caleb so I pull open the back door and see Caleb’s eyes widen with weary shock. I look directly at him in the review mirror when I slam his precious car door and watch him cringe. I feel a small feeling of satisfaction when he turns his eyes to the front and begins to drive, but then I feel shame. I feel shame that I took out my jealousy and frustrations, with myself, out on him and his beloved car. All men love their cars it’s like their one true love or something. I slouch into the leather and let the regret at my actions consume my thoughts. After a lengthy discussion with myself at how wrong it was to take my feelings out on Caleb, my traitorous mind starts to go in a different direction, one involving Caleb and the reason for my jealousy. Any girl who has had a crush on a guy but didn’t know until it completely bashed them on the side of the head with that huge neon HELLO sign, thankfully you will understand what I am going through. Those of you that don’t, well I don’t think I should talk to you anytime soon!

  It is as we stop outside the holistic therapy centre that I make up my mind to apologize to Caleb and keep my feelings to myself. He is after all a nice piece of eye candy to look at and if I told him I think I fancy the pants off him, well I don’t think his high tech car could take him away in the opposite direction fast enough!

  Aunt Betsy and Caleb get out the car first so I hang back a little hoping Aunt Betsy will go ahead into the centre, leaving me alone with Caleb long enough for me to apologize to him for my behaviour earlier. She does not disappoint and quickly disappears into the building. Caleb locks the car from his side and quickly moves around to the sidewalk. He keeps his eyes averted from mine while making his way to the front door.

  I decide it’s now or never and call to him.

  “Caleb!” I whisper loudly. He turns to look at me with apprehension in his eyes which I cannot blame him really as he has done nothing wrong and I almost broke his car. I walk towards him until I am just a couple steps out of reach.

  “I wanted to apologize for my behaviour earlier. I wasn’t in the best of moods and taking it out on you was the wrong thing to do, so I am sorry and I hope I haven’t caused any damage to our budding friendship?” I ask shyly looking at him through my lashes. He takes a step forward and places his hands gently on my arms.

  “There is nothing to be sorry for.” He says. “After all, it is in a woman’s nature to be jealous if a man she likes gets too much attention from other women.” He says with a smile and just before I playfully punch him in the arm, I realise he is messing with me and trying to lighten the mood, so I don’t punch him instead I laugh while thinking, if only he knew how true that comment was. Now that the rift has been healed between us we walk in together in a better, more positive way than we would have done five minutes earlier. Aunt Betsy just looks at us with a smile.

  Choosing to ignore Caleb’s intended remark I walk up to Aunt Betsy and the woman she is currently speaking to. As they talk about the best crystals for a tarot card deck I look around in surprise. I don’t really know what I was expecting when Aunt Betsy told me about this place but I guess this part of the centre fits well with the idea of a normal shop. Everything from crystals, amulets and incense sticks like sage to post
cards and trinkets.

  I look around the room and notice the beige cream walls, with relaxing pictures of all different sizes placed around the room and immediately feel how light and warm the energy of the room feels, even though there are no windows to let in natural light. It still kind of freaks me out a little bit when I get these feelings or impressions when I walk into a room, where the energy level is high enough for me to feel but no one else seems to. Caleb stands behind me so I move further into the room.

  As I do I feel drawn to something or even better I feel like I am being pushes in a certain direction and the feeling gets stronger until I move towards the pendants hanging near till. There are many pendants hanging side by side but only one stands out and I reach out and pick it up. As soon as I have the pendant in my hand immediately warms up and I feel a hand brush against my cheek. Feeling a sense of peace and calm I relax as I recognize this is my guide telling me what I need for my journey ahead. I allow myself to be pushes in the direction of the crystals and when I reach them I immediately pick up five different crystals, all ranging in colours and size. I make my way to a pile of sage and pick the smallest one before turning around and looking at Caleb. I am not actually sure why I am looking at Caleb but that is where I am being guided. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Aunt Betsy and the woman she was talking with stood watching me with bewildered expressions on their faces. I will explain to Aunt Betsy and Caleb later when we are on our way back to Aunt Betsy’s but for now I keep it to myself. I walk towards Caleb and watch his eyes widen. I am still confused as to what he has to do with anything in the shop but I do not question, I just follow the guidance given to me. I stop in front of him and frown. I am still being pushed to walk forward as if through Caleb, then I realize it isn’t Caleb I am being drawn to but whatever is behind him. I gently push him to one side and sure enough, the back wall is filled with books. I walk up to the shelf and look through at the books sitting there. None of these books feel right so I rummage through them until I spot an older book bound in black, sat towards the back with other, newer books piled on top. I dig it out from underneath the others and hold it up. The sensation of being pushed vanishes as quickly as it came and again the hand softly caressing my cheek as a mother would fades slowly until I am left without the feeling of a presence guiding me anymore.

  I turn around with my hands full of things I guess I will be buying.

  “I guess you found what we came for Amber?” Aunt Betsy asks and turns the too woman she was talking with. Caleb walks up to me and looks at the book I picked up.

  “I understand all the other stuff, after all they are for protection and your wellbeing but I do not understand why you picked this book.” He says slightly confused. Aunt Betsy and the shop keeper are talking away again like long lost friends so I decide to confess to Caleb what just happened. I pull him towards a corner of the room so that we are out of hearing range and tell him what happened. He is shocked at first then his face lights up with understanding that the book could be something important to understanding the spell upon him or maybe give some clues to something else that might provide the answers we seek. Aunt Betsy glances at us a few times so we go over to her. She introduces us to the woman, called Gail, she has been talking with, who so happens to own this centre and has been friends with Aunt Betsy for the past ten years.

  I say my hellos then go the counter to pay for my things. Once paid for and placed into a bag, I go stand with Caleb who is talking with Gail and aunt Betsy about the different services they provide, which range from massage and physiotherapy to Chakra healing, tarot card readings and courses for those who wish to learn certain techniques like Indian head massage to Swedish massage to tarot card reading. It was the Tarot card readings that got my attention.

  “Sorry to interrupt but did you say you teach tarot reading as a course?” I ask Gail. She smiles and confirms that she does indeed and that the prices are very affordable. She also lets certain pupils sit in on her reading with customers that do not mind having an apprentice witnessing their reading since it is a very personal reading to some people. I listen with rapt attention to every word Gail says as it would be very beneficial in my training with the Celestial tarot cards. Thinking along the same lines as me, Aunt Betsy takes over the conversation.

  “Amber is learning to read the tarot cards and I think she would benefit greatly learning from you Gail. Do you have any classes going at the moment?” she asks Gail who immediately perks up at the thought of a new apprentice.

  “I do not have any lessons going at the moment but I am willing to give her private lessons on one condition.” She says. Aunt Betsy, Caleb and I listen to Gail and when she says she has one condition, I feel ready to shake it out of her and judging by the look on Aunt Betsy’s face so is she! Gail looks at me and continues.

  “A member of my staff is moving at the end of next week so I will be a member short. My condition is that Amber comes and works full time for me and in return I will let her watch me do tarot readings for customers that do not mind a student present, plus I will pay you a wage for the hours you work.” By the time she finishes speaking I already know my answer. I think it over and decide it is the best offer I am going to get, at least I will have a job and be able to study the tarot cards while working which I would not have been able to do had I gotten a job elsewhere. There is just one problem that I have to mention.

  “I would love to accept your offer but I have not finished my exams yet and I have another two weeks of them before I could start working.” I say. Gail thinks for a moment before replying.

  “I do not think three weeks will be a problem, there is me and Jane who works here full time. We should be fine until our agreed start date. Will you be able to definitely start on the third week?” She asks. I cannot think of anything that would stop me being able to start in a the time frame given.

  “Well in that case I would love to work here with you.” I say with a smile on my face. Everyone is smiling now and Gail says how she cannot wait to get me started as we sort out my official start date. I tell her I am delighted to start working with her and learning tarot reading on clients and she laughs at my enthusiasm, what she doesn’t understand is that she has just saved me the trouble of having to look for another job for some time. Before we leave Gail gives me a contract to read through and sign. I had it back along with my bank account details and university expected grades. We say good bye and Caleb goes ahead again to start up the car. Aunt Betsy and I walk out together discussing the turn of events and when we are seated in the car and as Caleb drives us home, I tell Aunt Betsy what happened in the shop and that the stuff I purchased was because of my guide drawing me to each of them. She said I had a kind of vacant look in my eyes and that she suspected that a higher being make have been involved and that it explained why I picked up such an old book when there were countless others to choose from. Talking about the book, I remove it from inside the bag next to me on the seat and look at its older more used cover and wonder why this book was important enough that my guide would insist I buy it.

  I open the pages and read through the contents. Chapters containing herbal remedies, healthy diets and yoga positions for a balanced core were not really what I was expecting so I continue I flick through the pages until something catches my interest. A paragraph of what I assume to be ancient English has been written in the middle of the page. There are a couple pages after this that is blank except for some symbols drawn in black, blue and red ink. I do not know what the symbols mean nor do I recognize them. I turn the pages and the next couple are empty. I turn the page again but this time there is a hole, shaped like a rectangle in the middle of the book. Feeling confuses by this sudden find I decide I had better show Aunt Betsy. I turn the pages back to the first symbol. Aunt Betsy who is sat in the front seat again, which makes it easier to gently place the book in her lap. Startled she looks down to her lap and sees the symbols.

  “The rest of the book has healthy eating
recipes, herbal remedies and yoga positions but then I came across these symbols and a paragraph that looks similar to old English writing, possibly sixteenth Century. Then after these two blank pages there is a box like hole in the middle of the book.” I tell her, Caleb is listening as much as he can while driving on the highway. I turn the pages as I talk and show Aunt Betsy what I am talking about and let her figure it out. As she looks through the book and studies the symbols and the verse, I sit back and watch out of the window. After five minutes or so I drift into a light sleep and miss the conversation between Aunt Betsy and Caleb.

  Chapter Eight

  I wake up as we stop outside Aunt Betsy’s house Caleb comes around to the door I am sat next to and opens it to help me out. I thank him for his help and walk to the front door while he deals with his car, then he follows me into the house. Aunt Betsy is sat in the dining room and tells us to join her. She already has the kettle on for a cup of tea so gets straight to the point.

  “First of all, Amber I would like you to take the Celestial tarot cards full time now. I believe you are ready to start practicing with them on your own, just remember though that these are used as a guidance tool only and cannot control anyone’s fate or destiny.” I nod to show I understand that she is telling me she has taught me all she can in theory and that now I can only get better with practice with the real thing. I am actually pretty excited to finally have them full time and start a new diary of my practice readings with the Celestial tarots instead of the other deck Aunt Betsy gave me to use all those weeks ago.

  “I will leave them here on the table until it is time for you to leave Amber.” Aunt Betsy says and she indicates the box sitting on the far side of the table.

  “I would like to tell you about the discussion Caleb and I had on the drive back, while you were sleeping. And before you think we left you out on purpose, we did but only because Caleb recognized some of the words and we didn’t want to worry you.” She says just before Caleb took over the conversation.