Sage glanced up, then nodded. “I do. That party freaked me out. We did a Ouija board afterwards, and I had so many spirits talking to me, I thought I was going mad. I stepped away from it afterwards, but then I realised, it’s a gift, not a curse. But it took me a fair few years before I acknowledged that.”
I nodded. I guessed it would be weird.
She flipped the first card, which showed a figure hanging upside down from a tree, looking oddly peaceful despite theirprecarious position. I had a vague memory of this card from our uni sessions, though I could never quite grasp what any of them were supposed to mean back then either.
The second card made my stomach clench. A figure lay beneath ten swords, blood pooling around them under a dark sky. It looked like a medieval massacre.
The third card was slightly less apocalyptic. It showed a woman in flowing robes pouring water between two cups, mountains rising behind her in the distance.
“Okay.” Sage tapped the first card with a silver-ringed finger. “The Hanged Man. This is about suspension, waiting, seeing things from a different perspective. Something you want might require you to let go of control.”
“Could you be more specific? That could apply to anything in my life.”
But Sage simply moved to the second card. “Ten of Swords. This looks dramatic, but it’s actually about endings that lead to new beginnings. Betrayal, yes, but also the kind of rock-bottom that forces you to rebuild something better.”
Was I there already, or was this in my future?
“And the last one?”
“Temperance,” Sage replied. “Balance, patience, the blending of opposing forces into something harmonious. But it requires careful timing and a willingness to trust the process.”
I stared at the cards, feeling like they were mocking me with their cryptic symbolism. “What does that actually mean for my life? You used to be much more specific at university.”
“That was different. Those were party tricks with cheap wine.” Sage’s expression grew more serious. “This depends on what questions you were really asking when you laid them out. But only you know that. The cards give guidance, but they can’t control how you act.”
I drained my coffee, and sat back, feeling even more confused than when I’d arrived. I knew my questions were fuzzy, which is why the answers mirrored that.
“Do you think I can trust Eliza?”
I couldn’t quite believe I’d said that out loud. But I couldn’t take the words back.
Sage didn’t flinch. “It doesn’t matter what I think. It’s what you think that counts.”
But then her eyes got wider, and her movements slowed. She held up a hand. “Hang on, I’m getting something.”
Cold washed over me, and every hair on my body stood to attention. I looked around again, but knew I wasn’t going to see anything. However, I swear the temperature went up a notch as a weird energy wrapped its arms around me.
“Are they here?” My voice was hardly audible.
Sage didn’t look at me, but gave a slight nod.
“An older lady is here. She’s wearing a blue coat.”
My gran. She loved that coat. My throat went dry and I couldn’t speak.
“She’s saying to trust your instincts. But you should also trust others, too. She’s telling me that people are generally good in the world.”
My gran was always optimistic. My mum, on the other hand, would probably tell me the opposite.
I sat forward, my heart thumping against my chest wall. “Anything else?” I looked around, desperate for a physical sign. The window opposite was open, and right at that moment, a feather blew in.
My mum loved feathers. All her cushions and pillows were feather. Was that clutching at straws? Maybe, but it felt like something.
“She says Voss Watches is in good hands.”
“With me or with Margot?” I needed specifics.
But then, just as quickly as they’d arrived, they went away again. I could see it in Sage’s movements as her shoulders relaxed, and she leaned back on the sofa.
