Meeting Destiny (18 page)

Snapped back to reality, at least my reality this minute, I responded quietly, “Yes.”

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What exactly did he tell you?”

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Exactly, he said that we were going to meet soon, but I had to be courageous. He said a lot of other things about challenges we would have to meet; I have to tell you that I really wasn’t paying that much attention at the time.”

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Well, it’s a good thing I’ve been keeping an eye on you then. He didn’t explain to you who you were, or who would be working against you?”

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No, nothing like that.”

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All right listen, my stop is coming up soon, and I can’t stay to chat. I’ll tell you what I can, but Max should have told you all this already. Every soul has a specific purpose predetermined before they take human form. Almost no one can remember their purpose after they turn two years old, but it is burned into them and resides in their unconscious until an event or a person is able to unlock it. The purposes are Protectors, Instigators, Anarchists, Tempters and Mates – there are more, but these are the basics. Some souls get more than one purpose relative to the other souls they are destined for.”

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So the robber was my anarchist, but he could be someone else’s protector?”

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Yes, exactly! Only the soul knows when it is time to assume a new role. You already know that Max is your mate.”

My wheels began to turn and I made a logical leap asking, “Does that mean that Seth is my protector?”

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That damn Seth, I need to grab him by his ears and shake him! Yes, he is supposed to be one of your protectors, and somehow he has convinced himself that it is his job to be a tempter. He isn’t imprinted for a temptation for you, so no matter how hard he tries or what he does, you will never feel the need to be anything more than his friend. His only role for you for this entire life is to be your protector.”

I could tell she was sensing my question, “So what am I to Seth?”

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You aren’t a temptation either! You are his instigator. It is your job to kick him in the tail end and make him find his mate, not succumb to his outrageous fantasies, which will never work. You need to stop worrying about his precious little feelings and get him moving, or he’ll be stuck where he is for another decade. His mate is about to get engaged to one of her protectors. If that happens it will be a whole decade down the drain and Seth will probably be living with his mom until he’s thirty.”

I hated feeling like the slow kid, but I asked anyway. “A whole decade down the drain? You are talking in circles again.”

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Oh, for Pete’s sake. Seth has a soul mate, too. He hasn’t met her yet because he is convinced that he is in love with you. Until you kick him to the curb he doesn’t have a chance to meet his soul mate. If Seth and Amanda don’t meet, then she will never feel the magnetic pull toward a true soul mate. If she doesn’t know the difference, her protector will propose marriage to her and she will say yes; since as far as she is concerned there is no one else out there. She will get married, and they’ll give it a go for a while, then in about eight years they’ll look at each other and realize they really aren’t in love with one another, they never were in love with one another. These always get messy.”

“
So you’re saying this happens a lot?”

“
Lauren, try to keep up dear. Every soul has a role relative to every other soul that is profound to them. If roles are misinterpreted, a delay to the natural order occurs. Why, I knew this one woman who was married five times, five times! At what point do you think it occurred to her that she was settling for the first man that showed her any attention? Each time walking down the aisle, then a few years later, realizing her mistake, only to repeat the same mistake four more times! If she would have just listened to her dreams, they would have told her how to meet her destiny.”

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So I’m not special? Everyone has a mate. Everyone’s mate comes to them in a dream?”

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No and yes. Not everyone chooses to have a mate in life; but for those who do, one will reach out to the other in a dream shortly before their paths may cross. A mate may have to cross paths five or six times before they are close enough to feel the magnetic pull, but once they feel it, they just know this is their soul mate. The travel through dreams is the only way two subconscious minds are able to speak. The conscious mind is too rational and discounts any contact as impossible. To answer your other question - Lauren, you are more special than you realize.”

“
You mean because I can read people, right?”

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What do you mean, read people?”

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I’ve always been real ‘in-tune’ to others. Most of the time, I can tell what someone is feeling by just looking at them.”

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In-ter-est-ing. You can do this with everyone?”

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I think so. I’ve read a lot of books on body language, but I was really good at it before I did any real research. Some people are harder than others.”

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Does it feel like an extrasensory perception?”

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I don’t know what that would feel like, but I guess so. I mean I don’t get a vibe based on sight, sound, smell, touch or taste – I just know what people are feeling. Sometimes I even know what they’re thinking. Not the specifics, but if they’re mad about something that just happened, I can tell that it’s a short-term mood swing – or if they’re chronically crotchety I can feel that, too.”

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Even me?”

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Well - you initiated the conversation, so I wasn’t exactly feeling you out. I can tell that you’re being truthful with me, or at least you think you are.”

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What about Max?”

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My emotions get in the way a little. I mean – I don’t normally, you know…get nervous around people. Max is just different. I have a tough time…”

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Your own nervousness doesn’t allow you to be objective and observe him the way you do others.”

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Right!”

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How does this feeling you get work?”

I had never given much thought to how it worked. “I guess most of the time, I look at a person…sometimes if I’m not that close I can’t sense anything. Sometimes if I shake their hand or bump into them the feeling gets stronger. I don’t really know how it works.”

Rewsna nodded. “You chose a tough life, but so far you haven’t needed anyone’s help. You are just barely an adult and you have attained a tough pillar and you have found your soul mate. Some spend whole lifetimes trying to attain courage and you got it at twenty-one. We will be watching you with interest.” She glanced at the window quickly and announced, “This is my stop.”

Rewsna stood up, stepped in front of me and waited by the door for the bus to come to a complete stop. When I stood up to follow her, she shook her head and her voice sounded stern in my mind, “Child, this is not your stop, keep to your path.”

“
But how do I find you if I need you?”

She looked at me perplexed, “If you really need me, I’ll be there, but from what I’ve seen, you won’t see me again.”

“
Wait, Rewsna, I have so many questions!”

She smiled at me wryly and responded, “Unlock Max. He has all the answers.”

My encounter with Rewsna weighed heavily on me as I glanced at the area of town where she had just gotten off. It was downtown near the market. Even if I knew exactly where she was heading, I doubt I would be able to find her in the flood of tourists, shopkeepers and locals browsing.

Keep to my path? My hands started to sweat as I considered what she meant; maybe I was supposed to be on this specific bus right now for a reason. I looked at the other passengers and wondered if some epic event was going to take place. I paid attention to every stop, who got on and who got off.

My nerves were nearly frazzled when the bus came to a stop at the mall. I got off and half expected an earthquake, or tsunami, or something. The bus closed its doors and pulled away. I stood motionless for far longer than I should have. An older gentleman with a cabbie hat on was approaching me, perhaps to see if I needed any help. My eyes darted to the ground as I willed my feet to move before he got to me.

After making my way in through the entrance to the mall, I walked toward the food court. Rachel is normally, “fashionably late” - her term, not mine, so waiting for her in the food court is a regular occurrence. I looked at my watch: ten o’clock on the dot. As I rounded the corner past the cookie store, I saw her sitting at a table in the middle of the court. Staring in disbelief as I approached, “Hi, Rachael, I thought we said ten o’clock. What’re you doing here already?”

Rachael looked at her watch, “It is ten.”

“
What planet are you from and where did you take my friend Rachael?”

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You’re hysterical. I’m willing to overlook your snottiness, so long as you have some juicy details. Tell me about this mystery man, Max.”

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You mean all this time we’ve been friends all I needed was juicy gossip for you to show up on time?”

Rachael slapped my arm and laughed, “Come on, out with it!”

I spent the next fifteen minutes giving her the condensed version of my day with Max. As I was nearing the part where we were on the carriage ride, I could see Rachael looking intently over my shoulder. I turned around to see what had her attention. My stomach knotted in an instant: it was a guy, probably our age, standing at an oriental fast food shop. As I looked at him - I got a really strange vibe, even though I couldn’t see his face, because his back was to us. I felt an odd sensation, one I can’t even describe: not the pure danger I felt when the robber walked through the door, but similar. I knew he was trouble. It was the strangest feeling to know I didn’t like someone without knowing why, but my instincts had always been flawless. Without missing a beat I stated quietly, “Not him, Rachel.”

Rachael looked back at me quickly and almost stammered, “What did you say?” She could tell that my three words had nothing to do with me telling her of my perfect afternoon with Max. My quick warning had caught her off-guard, “Lauren, what’d you just say?”

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Rachael, there is something I don’t like about him, a bad vibe.” Rachael had always heeded my advice without question. She had seen firsthand that I was intuitive for situations and people, but this time was different.

“
Oh please! He’s gorgeous!! How should I start a conversation with him? What does he like? Come on, Lauren. Help me!”

I shook my head at her and repeated, “Not him.” It’s extremely difficult to tell your friend that the guy she thinks is amazing could, for all I knew, be Jack the Ripper.

“
Lauren, come on, he’s got his food. Just tell me what to strike up a conversation with. Sports? Weather? Shopping? I know you know, come on!”

Still feeling a bad vibe, “He’s not someone you want to meet. Pick any other guy in this place and I promise I’ll help, but not him.” I am not clairvoyant, telepathic, or any number of other supernatural categories. I’m somehow sensitive to people. I don’t know how best to describe it other than I pay attention to what people wear, expressions on their faces, body language, the tones of their voices, and I don’t know how many other factors. Other than on my bus ride to the mall today, I had never heard voices of any kind – I just got a feeling. These feelings helped me pick out things that were important to people, even strangers.

A disappointed look took hold, and I could tell Rachael was getting irritated with me. She was not arguing with me, so at least she was thinking straight. I tried to ease her frustration with me, “Seriously, pick any other guy.”

In a very dramatic way, “Never mind, tell me about Mr. Wonderful and your perfect day together.” She propped her head on her knuckles with her elbows on the table. She was still looking toward the guy I had just warned her about, but it looked as though she was going to drop it.

After another couple minutes of me relaying my day with Max, I could see Rachael’s eyes light up. She sat up straighter still looking at me, but somehow, not really listening. I knew what was about to happen.

“
Excuse me, ladies,” came the smooth voice from the guy I had just asked her to stay away from. “I’m waiting for a friend who’s running late. Would you mind if I sat with you two?”

“
No, we wouldn’t mind!” Rachael answered quickly, I’m sure in an effort to keep me from telling him to take a hike. “Pull up a chair. We were just hanging out.”