Whoever thought that living in Vegas was a good thing didn't have to go through what I went through. Leave it to me to be naïve enough to pack up and leave my family and friends in New Orleans and move out here at the insistence of wealthy older gentleman who somehow convinced me that I could be the next Las Vegas star.
Turns out all he wanted was a beautiful mistress and I didn't realize any of it until it was too late to walk away. And now he's dead and I was at the mercy of his greedy and sneaky attorney who had been trying to seduce me ever since he first met me. Thankfully, I had enough sense to find a job at a nursing home while my now dead married lover kept making promises to make me a star.
With the money I saved up in a bank account that he never knew about. I had enough money to get back to New Orleans with the vow to myself that I would not ever return to Vegas.
As sat in my seat on the train, looking out of the window. I scolded myself for ever listening to sweet promises of a man who had no intention of actually making me a star. I also scolded myself for not listening to that part of me that knew when something didn't feel right. Aunt Regina always told me that I sometimes took my empathic abilities for granted and when I did, disaster always struck.
So while I scolded myself on the train for allowing myself to get snowballed by a man who had less than honorable intentions, I also decided that I needed to start utilizing my empathic abilities more often. After all, they are a part of me along with my abilities of seeing ghosts, sensing spirits and casting spells.
A few days later I was back in New Orleans and I was happy to be back. As I got off the train I saw that my best friend and cousin, Gioia was waiting for me.
"So, what happened?" she asked
"Let's just say next time a wealthy man promises to make a me star, I'm passing on the offer" I said as we walked out to her car.
Gioia and I were the same age and almost looked like twins. We both stood around 5'6, with long dark brown hair and the same light cafe au lait complexion. The only differences between us was that my eyes are light brown and hers were hazel and I was curvy.
We pulled up to my Aunt Regina's house and as I got out of the car, I saw that Aunt Regina was sitting on the porch and she smiled at me.
Aunt Regina shared the same physical traits as me and Gioia, however her hair was short and graying.
"Welcome home, Karina" she said.
"It's good to be home" I said as I walked up the steps and hugged her.
"Maybe now you will listen to your feelings when something tells you that something is wrong" she said to me.
"I know right. I already scolded myself on the train" I said.
Aunt Regina smiled at me, "well, you are only human" she said and we all went inside.
It was definitely good to be home, be amongst familiar people. I returned to my job as a nurse at Paradise Springs Nursing and Rehabilitation and as it turned out all the staff and residents missed me. I missed them too as I threw myself into work, taking my mind off Las Vegas and the situation that I found myself in when I was there.
Everyday was practically the same as it was before. You had residents who were quiet and kept to themselves, while you had others who were loud and difficult. Yes, I was glad to be back home.
Chapter 2
It had been six months since I returned to New Orleans and everything was back to normal, at least what I considered normal. A world surrounded in magic, ghosts and other elements of the supernatural, however no one else is able to see them but me, Gioia and my Aunt Regina and perhaps a few others as I would discover later on.
