Shinigami in Paris

05. Unforgettable Spiritual Experience

"Please sit down," the witch commands. "It's more convenient if everyone sits on one side, in a semicircle, to see the inscriptions of the board."

The folks sit in a semicircle. Olivia on the left side, to her right – Jules. Then Rose in the center. And Naz on the right side. He moves close to the young artist, touching her with his shoulder, and smiles sweetly at her. Rose glances at Olivia, who signals with her eyes: 'it's okay, don't go crazy'. The witch places the candles at the top of the board.

"Candles will help to summon the spirit," says witch, "make sure that they do not go out."

Witch lights candles. They go out. Lights up again. They go out again. An invisible shinigami stands nearby and blows them out.

The witch can't figure out what's wrong. She closes the candles with her hands, lights them... They burn. Tim stands off to the side, watching the charlatan.

"Alright... now I'll perform a cleansing ceremony."

A lady dressed as a witch lights up the incense sticks, and begins to move them around the table, around the people sitting at the table.

"Okay, I cleared the room from unwanted spectators," says the Witch, not seeing the shinigami next to her.

The witch puts a wooden planchette on the board. It is a movable pointer with which the Ouija board will point to the symbols.

"This is a pointer. With it, you can receive the energy of the spirit and communicate with it."

The boys are smiling.

"I must say that the most important thing is that each of you must 'believe'. If at least one does not believe, then the spirit will not appear.

Tim looked at the pseudo-Witch again.

"Ok, ok! We believe," said Jules, looking at Naz. "Right?"

"Yep! We believe!" said Naz. "Please, continue."

The lady in black with a serious look continued:

"Put your hands on the pointer. Both hands."

The folks are doing what they are told. Naz touches Rose's fingertips, smiling slyly. She reacts with restraint. Tim is watching closely.

"All right," the Lady in black continued, "keep them in that position, don't remove your hands from the pointer. It takes time for the spirit to be summoned. When I will draw a protective barrier and leave the room, you can begin. Remember the rules:

1) Before each question, choose one person who will be talking to the spirit. The question should be asked by one person. Others should not interfere. After the question, the pointer will move and give the answer of the spirit.

2) Do not ask questions about Death, Religion and the Other World. There are things about which we are not given and allowed not know.

3) Don't let the pointer fall to the floor. The spirit can free itself and break out into our world.

4) Always know when to end a session. Do it in time while everything is fine. To end the session, be sure to thank the spirit, move the pointer to the word 'Good Bye', and then turn it over.

Remember that spirits do not always tell the truth and may deliberately lie. And most importantly, if something goes wrong: like strange things start to happen, – stop the session immediately.

At the end of her speech, the Witch drew a 'magic' circle of sea salt around the folks sitting at the table.

"The protective barrier is ready. You can begin," the Lady in black said in a mystical voice and left the room.