Page 37 of Heart of the Wren
“If it works for you.”
Carol said she hadn’t so I cleaned my hands on a towel and filled the kettle. I took a teapot and filled with a couple of scoops of tea leaves. “I’ll show you a simple method.”
While the kettle boiled, Carol cleared the potatoes away to make room.
“The best part of this,” I said, “is first you get to drink the tea.” I poured two cups.
Carol dumped a huge spoonful of sugar into her cup. “Are you and Lorcan fighting? I heard shouting earlier.”
I tipped some milk into my cup. “I wouldn’t say we were shouting. More like… vociferous disagreement.”
Carol’s spoon tinked against her cup and she stirred it. She licked her bottom lip, just a touch.
“Is there anything else on your mind?”
“Well,” she kept stirring and stirring. “You two get on well, don’t you? Most of the time?”
“I’d say so. He’s a nice man.”
“He is, he is.”Tink, tink, tink. “And you’re alright, sleeping on his floor?”
My ears started to burn again. “It’s fine. Very comfortable, all things considered.” I knew what she was getting at but I wasn’t going to make it easy for her. Nor did I want to betray Lorcan’s trust or privacy. “Drink up.”
When my cup was empty, I showed her the inside. “You see how the remaining tea leaves make patterns and symbols? You can interpret those to tell someone’s future. Sometimes they’re nice and clear. You might see letters or numbers, or shapes of everyday items. And then there’s the density of the bits that aren’t obvious patterns. The spaces between them.” I sat back. “But anyone can do that. You have to look deeper. Let the shapes tell you their tale. Let them build a narrative. It’ll become a story bubbling up from somewhere deep inside and flowing out through you.”
“Can you read my leaves?”
I thought for a moment. “I’ll give it a go. But you’re young. Full of potential paths. How much do you want to know?”
Carol finished her tea. “If you read me out one future does it mean it’s the path I’ll follow?”
“Not necessarily. It’ll be one option, though.”
She fidgeted in her chair. “Can you see what will happen if I move to England?”
Lorcan had told me all about Carol’s predicament on the drive to Ross Castle. I got her to turn her cup upside down on the saucer and turn it clockwise three times. I took the cup and peered inside. I kept my face neutral, giving nothing away.
“Well?”
“I see happiness,” I said. “The leaves tell me you’re a bright girl, with a good head on her shoulders. You have a light inside you and a strong gift. You can help people. No matter where in the world you are.”
Carol leaned back and didn’t say anything for a few moments. “How did you learn how to do this?”
I studied her face for a moment. “The spirits told me. Spirits of the air. The earth. The moon too. She talks quite a lot, if you know how to listen. I’m a witch.”
Carol grinned up at me. “I knew you were weird. I thought it was because you were gay.”
???
We found Eddie in the living room, sitting at one end of the couch. Carol sat at the other. Neither spoke a word. He’d made himself busy in the farmyard for an hour or so after we’d gotten home.
“Should I leave?” I asked.
“Please don’t,” Carol said. “You can help me explain.”
I sat in the armchair. “Did you not know? About Carol’s gift?”
Eddie bit his thumbnail. “It’s news to me.”
