"So... you wish to know the future, eh?"
Stacy Graham almost spun around and walked out of the tent at that very moment. The line was corny enough, but that Bela Lugosi accent it was delivered in? Puh-lease, with a capital P! This guy was a gypsy the way she was a blonde. And the smell in the tent didn't help... the incense in here was so thick that she was surprised she could see all the way across the tent to the crystal ball. (The crystal ball. The man actually had a crystal ball. Le sigh.)
But before she could start to swivel her hips, she remembered why she'd come into the tent in the first place. Alec, her blind date of the evening. Another swell pick from Vicki... alright, fine, she was without a man. Manless. Sans male companionship. But did Vicki have to play matchmaker all the time? She was doing fine without a man. She was flying, soaring, swooping, and occasionally making use of a vibrator as an artificial flotation device in case of crash. She needed not the male of the species, not so long as she was well-off, living in an apartment with a maintenance man and a groundskeeper, and unwilling to get her mouth hosed down with semen.
Vicki kept insisting, though... and hence Alec. Alec of the Camaro and the ratty little mustache. Alec who used every possible opportunity to grab at whatever body parts of hers were within reach. Alec who she was avoiding as long as humanly possible by entering the fortune-telling tent, which was signposted with "One Person At A Time!" And hence, she was stuck with no real options but to sit down at the chair (which, she noted with a start, was surprisingly comfortable) and get her fortune told by Vlad, here.
He stared at her with a penetrating gaze, and she suddenly remembered he'd asked her a question. "Yes," she said, transforming her voice into politeness--no reason to take her bad date out on this guy, even if he was laying on his act with a trowel. She'd do that to Vicki later on. "I'd like to have my fortune told."
"Very well," he said, his accent lessening slightly. "In order to do that effectively, we must gaze, deeply, into the crystal ball... for within it, we shall see everything that was, everything that will be... gaze into the crystal ball, feel your mind flowing into it..."
Reluctantly, Stacey turned her eyes downward. The dim light made it a little difficult to focus, but just as she was getting adjusted, he made a pass over the ball with one hand--while, she noted with her peripheral vision, switching on a little switch under the table with the other--and the crystal ball lit up with a hazy, sparkling, rotating light from below.
I can't believe I'm actually paying money for this, Stacey moaned internally. Outwardly, though, she maintained a polite smile as she followed the trail of thought...how much was she paying for this? The man hadn't asked for anything yet... who knows, maybe it's based on how much money he sees you making or something. Her smile became a little less polite and a little more 'real'.
This caused her fortune-teller to grow stern. "You are not focusing," he said, dramatically gesturing towards the crystal ball. "Watch the lights, see the shimmer... see how the lights spin and swirl, spinning around the crystal ball like a million stars..."
A bit poetic, perhaps, Stacey mused, but I can see how 'see the desk lamp shone through a hunk of glass' wouldn't cut it in the fortune-telling biz. In order to keep nice, though, she furrowed her brow tightly, aiming for a look of intense concentration.
"Excellent," he said. "As you watch the lights, watch the spinning, watch the swirling, let it become the center of your eyes, the center of your world, as though you are not outside the ball, but inside, among the dancing, spinning stars, focusing your full attention as you gaze deeply, deeply, down into the center of the crystal ball..."
Stacey was beginning to get the glimmerings of a headache as she watched--her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the lights in the sphere--like when she'd studied a few hours too long, and the text stopped becoming individual words, and just became a big blur. The incense didn't help, either... it was almost choking in its intensity, and she longed more than anything for a breath of fresh air. You'd also get a big old breath of Alec, she reminded herself as she continued to stare at the crystal ball. Just keep focusing, just like he says, and let him talk...
"Wonderful," he said, as she felt a hazy warmth slide behind her eyes. The headache seemed to lessen. "You are doing so well, now, you are focused so strongly, you are watching so intently, on the deep deep stars within the crystal sphere... you no longer sense the rest of your body, now... your full consciousness is focused on the sphere, listening to me as I tell of your past, your future, your destiny... as I talk of your future, you feel aware only of my voice... you are no longer aware of your feet, your legs... they are not needed to watch and listen, and so you let them relax and sleep, now... you are no longer aware of your arms... let them rest at your sides, limply, loosely... you are no longer aware of your neck, you can simply let your head rest itself on the table, watching the lights, listening to my voice, watching the lights, listening to my voice..."
Stacey was surprised at how sleepy she felt, here, with her head lying on the table, mouth slightly parted, her whole body limp. But it was important to stay here, listening and watching. Very important. Because...
