Perception

XV

Sarah's eyes were wide and her mouth was agape, but she didn't look at her like she was insane.
In fact, she looked at her with... awe? Maybe?
What?
"Anna...." she whispered then. "You're a seer?"
Then she jumped up, so suddenly that Anna let out a startled yelp.
"You're a seer?" she said, louder now, pacing the small space between the couch and the window.
Anna's blank face must have tipped her off that she had no idea what she was talking about, because Sarah crouched down again now and put her hands on Anna's knees.
"Anna, my grandmother from Nairobi was a seer. She'd always know things that she could never have known and she did all these rituals and stuff, and she... well, the way she described her visions was just like what you were saying."
Anna stared at her for a moment in amazement, and then she shook her head and rubbed her forehead.
"Wow. Well, I don't know, Sarah, I just don't know. But I do know that it can't be nothing."
"But don't you see? That's just how it works. You saw that Susan's pregnant because she needed help and you could give her help. So it all must mean something and we just have to figure out what."

She'd not expected them, but Anna was so relieved to hear those words coming out of her best friend's mouth that a small giggle escaped her lips.
"We?" she asked quietly.
Now Sarah looked at her as if she had gone crazy.
"Of course 'we', what do you think? You thought I'd leave you be or something?"
Anna felt the tear roll down her cheek before she could stop it.
"The thought did cross my mind." she said softly, looking down at her legs again. "I thought maybe you'd have me committed."
Sarah laughed briefly.
"Yeah. No, that's not about to happen. I guess... well, I guess it helps that I know what it was like for my nanna."
Anna nodded and eyed her best friend soberly.
"Yeah. Yet another coincidence, hey?"

Sarah was quiet, pensive even, for a long moment.
"You know..." she said then, "My nanna told me before she passed away, years ago, before she ever knew I would be coming here, that I should go to this friend of hers if I ever needed help. I never thought anything of it at the time, but now I think... I mean, if you want, maybe we could go there together in the weekend."
"This friend... she's a seer?" Anna asked.
"I think so, I don't quite know. But... well, Nanna must have told me for a reason, no?"
Anna nodded and briefly looked out of the window. She could see the faintest splattering of red in the slither of sky visible above the buildings opposite. It seemed so very strange to her that the outside world was still working the same way it always had, while in here... well, in here nothing was.
"Wow, well, yeah, it would be great if someone could help me make sense of this of course. But would we call her? We can't get on a plane or anything, right now, can we?"
The faintest of smirks crossed Sarah's face then.
"Yeah, no, that won't be necessary. You like coincidences, right? 'Cause I got another one for you right here. She's here, in Holland, in a small village somewhere out in the province. I Googled her, a while back."
Anna would have looked at her incredulously, and part of her wanted to. But the biggest, the overriding part wasn't at all surprised any more. Could anything even surprise her, now?

"Hey, Sarah?" she said in the end, "I was real worried about telling you. But you know what? Now I'm not alone in this any more and that means a lot. Thank you for being there."
Sarah smiled and moved forward to hug her again.
"You reap what you sow, Anna."