Baby I wasn't there

Tarot

"Yes we shall." Alastor said, before I gestured to the laid out cards.

"Pick a card first." I said, before Alastor picked the one in the middle. He pulled it out before handing it to me. I flipped it towards him, laying it flat down in front of him. Then I picked the cards up and began to shuffle. "Tell me about yourself." I say, shuffling the cards.

"Well, you met my mother yesterday." He said, his body shifting in his seat. A card falls from the deck, and I flip it over, placing it on the right to the previous one. Alastor doesn't look at it.

"I hear you on the radio." I say, before Alastor grins, seeming more comfortable now.

"Yes, I recently got a position back here." He said, before I stopped. Back? So he was somewhere else?

"Back here?" I asked, before a card falls from the deck. This time we both stare at it, giving the fact I'm not shuffling them anymore. The cards are all black when shuffled, it's only when the client looks at the card does it change. The card changes and morphs before there's a six of swords on the front. I place it to the left of the first card.

"Yes, back here." Alastor says, and we continue as if nothing happened. The air in the room grows tense now, as if he's fighting with himself.

"Where were you before?" I ask, before he chuckles.

"Up North. More positions for a man like myself." He said, before another card falls from the deck. Then another, and another. Three cards are now flat on the table, and out of the three only one is facing upward. Seven of cups. Again.

"That's odd." I say, fixing the three to place them above the first set. " They don't usually repeat themselves." I say, before Alastor smiles, not saying anything. " So you went up North?" I ask, and he nods.

"Yes, it was where I started my career." Alastor says, and I nod understanding. " How long did it take for someone to hire you?" I ask, before he grins.

" A year." He says, and I feel my mouth open wide is shock.

"I apologize, that's just a long time." I say, before he laughs shaking his head.

"I understand, don't fret."

"So what did you do in the meantime?" I asked, flipping through cards. Then, four cards fall from the deck. Now, there are eleven cards on the table. Two have pictures, the rest are black.

"I'm assuming I need to look at the cards now." He says, before I nod.

"Yes. You have two of the same card. I need to see the rest to know what that means." I say, before he lets out a 'hm.' In response. He looks down, and the cards change. Seven of cups, twice. Six of swords. A tower card, page of swords, the fool, death, the lovers, eight of wands, five of cups reversed, the emperor reversed, and the devil. We sat in silence for a moment, before Alastor laughed.

"This all seems tedious." He said, before I looked at him quickly before fixing the cards. I picked them up, looking at them before fixing them around to make more sense.

"It won't be in a minute." I said, before placing the seven of cups next to each other.

"Then please make sense of it." Alastor said with a grin. I glared for a moment before continuing.

"Seven of cups twice, you could be overwhelmed with something. Maybe something recent; an event or person." I say, before placing the two before him. He doesn't say anything, simply staring at me to continue. "Six of swords, you could be transitioning, maybe you're becoming vulnerable, or going to be at some point."

He doesn't speak, I place the card back down in front of him and he picks it up.

"Do you see what I see?" Alastor asks, before I nod.

"Yes. But only because I see these all the time. This also isn't my reading." I said, before he nodded.

"The Tower card, you could be unstable, or feeling unstable. You could also feel like your running out of time. Given the last three cards, you could be dealing with a recent event, maybe you did something or witnessed something. You could also feel like your running out of time, decision making or processing." I say, before going to the next card. "Page of swords, you maybe found a recent love for something, a new hobby. You also have the fool, maybe this recent love isn't quite seen often." I say, before placing the cards in front of him.

"Do you believe them to be true?" Alastor asks, before I nod.

"In a sense yes. I believe you take what you think can be applied to you. The rest is forgotten." I say, before he doesn't say anything. "Death can be the end of something. Maybe your leaving something behind, or a part of yourself. It could also be someone else." I say, before continuing. " The lovers, an impactful choice is coming. Maybe having to do with someone else. Eight of wands, a new surge of passion for something. This could be relating to the page of swords and the fool card."

" Five of cups, this is the card your mother got." I say, before swiping my hand over the top, changing the card. "This is the card that was pulled for you. Five of cups reversed. Your coming onto a new realization. Maybe a new feeling. You also got the emperor reversed, it could be that you're," I pause, thinking of the word. He stares at me waiting before I finish my sentence. " Immature. It could be about someone or something. It also leads to an absence, maybe this could be the reason you act a certain way. Absence of a parentela figure or maybe a role model. You also got the devil card." I say, now holding the last card. Then I pause.

"What's wrong?" He asks confused.

"I pulled eleven. This is twelve." I say, before looking to my deck. The cards are now all twisted, some poking out the sides and the top one being flipped over. Something is wrong.

"Maybe it fell with the four." He said, before I shook my head.

"No. That makes eleven. I counted. This card wasn't pulled." I say, before trying to place it back into the deck. I sit it on the bottom, lifting the cards and reshuffling the deck. On my last shuffle, the card falls back out again.

"Maybe it's a sign."Alastor says with a grin.

"The devil is a personification card. Like a reflection, a what if card." I say, before grabbing an incense and cleansing the card. " It's meant to show what could happen if you make a certain choice. The chains, the box, it's meant to show what could be." I say, before he sits in silence. Before either of us can leave, I whisk the incense around, and take the twin off of my hands.

"Is there anything you believe I should do?" He asked, before I nodded.

"I know you practice."I say, reaching forward to grab his hands, wrapping a new set of twine around them. "But it feels as though you might be doing more." I say, staring at him. He doesn't say anything. " You need a cleansing." I say, reaching forward to brush the pad of my thumb under his eye cautiously, noticing the bags. "Your not sleeping well. Nightmares." I say, before he nods slowly.

"Yes. I have been. Are you supposed to be a mind reader?" He asked with a laugh, his smile straining.

"No. I'm just here to show the truth." I say, before I put his palms together. In them I place herbs, before reaching under the table to grab my bottle. It has sage, which I lightly sprinkle into his palms. I place his hands together before wrapping more twine around them.

"Is this your way of courting me?" Alastor asks with a chuckle, before I roll my eyes.

"I'm helping you, relax." I say, before grabbing an incense, burning it around him. I start to speak. It's not too loud, and I say it in french. " S'il vous plaît défaire la négativité, reprendre les nuits blanches et purifier cette âme." I say, and repeat it.

"Mon chère, I appreciate all this but-"

"Mon amour, this is for your own good." I say, before repeating the words one final time, then remove the twin. When his palms open again, the herbs and sage are ash. I undo the twine bindings and he lets the ash fall onto the table.

"Am I cleansed to your liking now?" He asks cheekily, standing from his seat, dusting his hands off.

"Yes, you are." I say, standing with him and straightening my clothes. "Let me walk you out." I say, lighting a candle before leaving.

This had to be one of the more, live readings.

word count: 1514