The Celestial Curse

by Marie Cameron

  I walk to my car and take a moment to notice the array of colourful leaves, decorating the path in front of me. The multitude of colours produced by the changing seasons was always a favourite for me growing up and so spring and autumn became my favourite times of the year. I enjoy the visual reminder of nature for a second more before getting into my car and heading straight for Aunt Betsy’s place. I haven’t visited for a while and it would be nice to catch up and also tell her about my first client reading today. Forty five minutes later I pull into her drive and have a sudden feeling of déjà vu. Remembering the day that changed the course of my life, I discard it due to me completing my first tarot reading session earlier, I exit my car and walk up to the door and press the doorbell. Within minutes Aunt Betsy stands looking at me with surprise lighting up her features and invites me in. We walk in and by pass the living room, kitchen, dining room and head straight for the conservatory. Thinking this is a nice change from the living room, I stop dead in my tracks when I see Caleb perched in one of the two chairs gracing the room.

  Shock and puzzlement and a healthy dose of embarrassment play across my face as I remember what happened the last time Caleb and I were together. Aunt Betsy gently shoves her way past me and takes the other chair opposite Caleb.

  “So what brings you here so late Amber? How is it going at the Holistic centre?” Enquires Aunt Betsy as Caleb gets up to offer me his chair. Since my cheeks are still burning and Caleb is wearing his signature smirk, daring me to stay, I regret to say that I choose to take the cowards way out and high tail it out the door as fast as possible.

  “Um no thanks Caleb, I just came for a quick visit. Besides, I was in the neighbourhood and thought I would stop by for a couple of minutes. And the job is going great, I got my first tarot client today and I have another on Thursday and Friday.” I say while avoiding looking directly at Caleb. Of course he notices my avoidance and finds it amusing.

  “Ok well im gonna go now since I have to be up early for work tomorrow and everything.” I say while inching towards the doorway behind me.

  “Oh ok dear. Well remember to visit soon; we have a lot to catch up on.” She says while looking at me quizzically.

  “I will do Aunt Betsy, bye Caleb.” I say as I practically run back the way I came in my escape from things that make me uncomfortable. But of course Caleb had other plans as he followed me out into the chilly night air.

  “Don’t think you can escape me that easily. And I hope you know you just gave your aunt more fuel to add to her already curious and suspicious mind about us.” He says quietly, but loud enough only for me to hear.

  “And what exactly is going on between us?” I ask not really thinking about it but not regretting the question all the same.

  “Something Amber, im not too sure what yet but we are going to discuss it and when we do, you won’t be able to avoid or hide from me so you might as well get over this shyness you have suddenly come across.” He whispers this last part close to my ear before kissing the side of my neck, just under the ear and opens my car door for me, ushering me inside and closing the door.

  He smiles and says good bye before walking back up to the house and waits until I back out of the driveway before going inside. As I drive I think back to what he said and the kiss. A shiver works its way down my neck where his lips brushed the skin and I think to myself, that man is trouble, BIG trouble for a nice normal girl like me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Betsy

  I sip my hot chocolate while Caleb returns from escorting Amber to her car and sits back down in his chair. I watch as he picks up his Jack Daniels and takes a swig. I raise my eyebrows as he finishes it all in one go, then gets up to refill his glass. I wait until he sits back down before quizzing my boy. It has been such a long time we got together and I find myself enjoying the company of my old friend.

  Once Caleb slows his drinking down to a moderate level, doesn’t really matter since alcohol doesn’t seem to affect him in anyway thanks to the curse, I place my own cup on the table and turn towards him so that I am fully facing him. Caleb sensing I was about to question him on something and judging by the look on his face, he had a pretty good idea what, so I decide to go straight to the point.

  “Is there something going on between you and Amber Caleb?” I ask as matter of fact as possible. Caleb inhales and looks to a point just over my left shoulder before replying.

  “Would it bother you if they’re was?” He counters my question with one of his own. A little surprised at his comeback since I was expecting him to deny out right that there was indeed anything between Amber and himself, I take a moment to think over my reply. Knowing Caleb as I do, he will be looking for signs that I would not be ok with the idea of him and my niece. Which could spoil my plans if he decides not to pursue Amber and I can’t allow that now can I?

  I keep my features as plain and simple as possible when I reply. I wouldn’t want him to get suspicious because I lost control of myself for a moment or two.

  “I wouldn’t have a problem with you and Amber dating, as long as your intentions towards her are decent and gentlemanly.” I state while looking him directly in the eye so he knows I am serious. I may want to see where this thing goes with them, but it doesn’t mean I want to see her get hurt in the process, just because Caleb finds himself a little rusty in the women’s department of life and unintentionally mess things up before they even have a chance to begin.

  “Well, Amber and I haven’t spoken about it yet but there is definitely something between us that could develop into something special if given the chance”.

  I silently nod my head, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible. The last thing I want to do is to make him too uncomfortable to talk about it now that he is actually opening up about what is going on in his mind. He thinks he has been able to hide certain things from me, but he forgets I have known him a lot longer than most people. And we have always been close friends who have had each other’s backs when times have called for it.

  “I have tried fighting whatever feelings I am developing for Amber since the first day I met her. I wanted to wait until the curse was hopefully lifted, before asking Amber out on a date, or whatever it is people do these days. I tried to keep it all to myself but one thing led to another over the months and the feelings I was denying just kept getting stronger. And when she went out with that Duncan guy I wanted to personally dig his grave and help him into it!”

  He pauses when I chuckle at the mental image I get of him actually digging a grave for this poor Duncan guy, who last I heard was actually dating Amber’s roommate April. Apologizing to Caleb for my rude interruption I encourage him to continue. He looks at his hands for a moment before continuing with a neutral expression and a blank voice.

  “That’s when I knew I had to stop making excuses and make a move. This time I got lucky, next time I may not be lucky at all and that is unacceptable to me.”

  He looks at me with a fierceness in his eyes that makes me smile. I knew from the moment those two met each other that they were meant to be together. It just took them longer than I anticipated for them to realise it for themselves and to do something about it.

  I give Caleb my blessings and he visibly relaxes. He takes a deep breath quickly followed by the rest of his Jack Daniels. I smile to myself and turn the conversation onto less stressing matters. Following my lead, Caleb goes with the change of subject and before long he gathers his belongings, calling an end to our time together. We say goodbye as I walk Caleb to the front door and wish his a safe journey home. Two minutes later, Caleb speeds down the street and out of sight and I turn around and close the door.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Amber

  Seeing Caleb the other week at Aunt Betsy’s house really threw me for a loop. I haven’t see either of them, although I have spoken to Aunt Betsy on the telephone a couple times, since that night I hid my tail between my legs like a dog and ran back to the safety of my apartment.
Since then I have gone to work every day as normal, but my magic lessons have not been going so well and I am starting to get a little frustrated with how slow things are progressing. I am glad I have not seen Caleb recently because I do not want to see the disappointment on his face when he finds out how little knowledge I have learned so far. I wonder if anyone has had any luck in finding a spell that will release the curse Caleb is under. To be honest I haven’t thought about it too much, since I have a lot of other stuff going on at the moment, like my growing success at tarot reading.

  Since my first session, my client list has expanded as word of mouth got around to a wide audience of people in the area. I am now being booked for parties and private sessions with one or more people at a time. Gail has supported me and my growing fame, offering support wherever needed. As I leave my latest session, Kate walks up behind me.

  “Amber do you have a minute so I can talk to you?” She asks me.

  “Um sure” I say while re opening the door to the room I just locked. Kate follows me inside and closes the door behind her. Interested in what she wants to talk to me about, I sit on the table while she stands in front of me.

  “I need you to help me tell Gail that I am leaving.” She says straight faced. I think for a moment before replying.

  “Ok, but I do not really understand why. I mean you guys have a great working relationship, so why would you need my help to tell her you are leave?” I ask puzzled.

  “It is because we have such a great friendship that I am having a hard time finding the words to tell her I am leaving. I just don’t want her to feel bad and think that I didn’t enjoy working here with both of you, because I did.” Kate says with such honesty that I take pity on her.

  “Ok I will help you come up with something to say, that will make telling Gail easier for you both.” Kate smiles and hugs me while saying thank you repeatedly. We agree to meet up for coffee the next day, since it is Saturday and we both have the day off.

  Leaving Kate to lock up I head off to the office for my Monday schedule, one client in the morning and two in the afternoon. I say goodbye to the ladies and make my way for my magic lesson with Lilith.

  Lilith opens the door as I pull up outside her house and welcomes me in with a hot drink. The weather has gotten chillier and rain is becoming more regular as the days and weeks pass by. Tonight it is raining so I am glad to see the fire blazing as I walk into Lilith’s sitting room. I take off my wet coat and Lilith takes it to put in the dryer for me. We catch up on the pleasantries and finish our drinks, which has become the normal, before getting down to business.

  “Ok so we will start off our session with seeing how much you have improved since our last lesson shall we. So what is the first thing you should do?” Lilith asks me as I place my cup on the coffee table.

  “The first thing I need to do is meditate.” I reply as I take my place on the floor. Lilith nods her head and sits opposite me, ready to go through the motions as she always does, and guide me when and where needed. Meditating has gotten easier to do without help or instruction considering all the time I have put into practicing at home and on my breaks at work.

  Twenty minutes later I open my eyes to Lilith reading a magazine. A couple of seconds later she takes notice of me silently watching her and puts it down.

  “I want to try something different today. The other things I have tried teaching you do not seem to be helping in any way so I think it is time for a new approach, follow me” She says while standing and walking further into the house passed the kitchen and heads for a door that leads into the cellar.

  I follow Lilith down the steps and into the cellar, through a heavy wooden door which leads into another room. Half the size of the entire house, this room spreads in all directions. With old fashioned paintings, tapestries and drapes lining the walls, couches and chairs make cosy little areas to sit. To the right of the room from the doorway sits a display cabinet that Lilith immediately walks towards. While she pulls open draws, I walk around the room admiring the different pictures and drapes. After a couple of minutes rummaging around in the cabinet, Lilith walks to the centre of the room and beckons me to join her. I stand and wait in front of her to tell me what to do next. Flicking through the pages of a book she got from one of the draws, Lilith pause on a page and mumbles to herself for a few seconds before shaking her head and carries on flicking through the pages.

  “Not that I doubt you or anything Lilith but, what are you doing and why are we down in your creepy little cellar?” I ask confused. She takes a moment to look at me, raising her eyebrows probably at my description of her underground room.

  “Well Amber, we are going to skip a few lessons since they don’t seem to be helping much anyway and go right to the hard core stuff.” She replies still flicking through the pages.

  “Aha!” She finally stops and lets me look at the page. I start to get a little excited at what she is showing me and the possibility of actually being able to accomplish something finally. Although I do still have a hefty dose of doubt!

  “Telekinesis is all about opening up your crown Chakra and letting the power of your mind free, from the barriers you place upon them. This usually happens as a child when your mind is deciding what is real and what isn’t and will create these blocks as a way to protect itself.” I listen as Lilith explains in detail about the crown chakra and telekinesis and how much easier it should be for me to learn to use telekinesis, since I have no problems with meditation.

  “Right go sit on one of the couches by the drapes.” Lilith instructs who follows me as I make my way over to sit down and tuck my feet underneath me. Lilith again sits opposite me and adopts the lotus style seating position and rests her hands upon her knees with the book open in her lap.

  “Ok so first things first, close your eyes and clear your mind.” I do as instructed and close my eyes. Then I clear my mind which I find gets easier every time I do. Lilith seeming to know when to give the next instruction, tells me to open my palms out in front of me and imagine a pen from a nearby table, floating towards me and landing in the centre of my open hand.

  I give it my best shot but with no luck. After ten minutes of trying Lilith says that’s enough for today and to keep practicing.

  “Try to put some of that hidden power you have into making what you imagine a reality.” She says and ends the session early before leading us back up into the main part of the house. I say my goodbyes and head home.

  Chapter Twenty

  Monday morning I find myself manning the front desk all by myself, while Kate tells Gail about her quitting her job. We met up on Saturday like we arranged and talked over different ways Kate could tell Gail she was leaving.

  Kate had told me that she and her boyfriend had decided they were going to travel for a while then settle down, possible in another country to raise a family. After hearing the reasons Kate was handing in her notice, I told her to just be straight and honest with Gail and tell her the same thing she told me in the exact same words. After half an hour of drinking coffee in one of the many cafes around Wetherby, we made our way back to the Holistic centre so Kate could break the news to Gail.

  Finally they both emerge from one of the many consultation rooms looking a little red around the eyes. I paste on my most sympathetic smile as they both walk towards me. Walking arm in arm they wipe stray tears from their eyes. They hug it out before going their separate ways. Kate starts restocking the shelves, trying to look busy and Gail comes straight to me asking about shop business while I was on my own. I reassure her everything was fine and that only one customer came in and bought something while two others called and made appointments for Reiki sessions. This seems to please Gail as she goes back to the office to do whatever it is bosses like her do.

  The rest of the day flies by and before long I am pulling up outside of my apartment. I sit and think for a moment and come to the conclusion that now would be a good time to call Duncan. As long as he isn’t with April in my apartm
ent right now that is, since I need him to fulfil his end of the deal we made a while ago. I take out my mobile and dial his number I got from April’s phone book. Yes I went into her room without permission and yes I looked through her stuff without her knowledge but in my defence it was all for a good reason. And with that in mind, I let the phone ring and ring and ring, until finally a male voice answers on the other side.

  “Hey Duncan it’s me Amber.” I say and listen for him to remember who Amber is.

  “Hey Amber, what’s up?” He replies.

  “Nothing much, I just wanted to know if you were still ok to pick up Aprils birthday present for me.” I ask with bated breath as he takes his time answering.

  “Yes of course!” He finally replies. I release the breath I had been holding and tell him what he needs to pick up when and where.

  “Then after you have gotten the right one I will need you to bring it to the apartment without April knowing, so I can gift wrap it for the party. You are still coming to the surprise birthday party I am having for her aint you?

  “Yes I am and yes I will. Listen Amber do not worry about a thing, I can handle this one simple thing for you so you just concentrate on everything else you have to do. Maybe you should get some help, I would offer to help you but I am kind of busy at the moment with work and not this pick up that you want me to do, not that I am complaining, I am just saying is all.” I listen to him ramble before finally it ends and I can think again.

  “Yes I know Duncan, you are being very helpful and I appreciate it. I think I may know someone who might be able to help me with the other stuff so don’t worry about me. Plus I’ve just just had an idea about where to have the party. I will get back to you with details when I have them. Good night and good luck.” I say before hanging up, not even giving Duncan the chance to say goodbye, too many thoughts racing through my mind to sit and give idle chat. He is right though about needing the extra help and with the magic lessons getting a little harder, or should I say interesting, I think I may have to ask Caleb to help me out. And as for the party, I know Aunt Betsy would not mind me having it there as long as I clean up the after mess. With plans in place, I make my way to my apartment and find myself looking forward to the foreseeable future.