what you wish for

prologue ~ the meeting

I steeped my milk thistle tea to purify my body in preparation for the toll my mind would take today. I wrapped my shawl against the cold breeze. I had left the window open by a palm width on the winter day. It was vital to the process to start the day grounded to the Earth, no matter the season.

It would be another hour before my next client arrived, the first of the morning. He was a yodeller, a type of singer that enunciated his vowels. I had learned by demonstration.

He had been seeking a medium to help explain the mysterious disappearance, and later death, of his great-uncle Mortimer. He insisted that Mortimer must be contacted in spirit to bestow upon him the honour of being the family's next great yodeller. An honour that he wouldn't forfeit to his younger brother under any circumstances.

Henry himself was a short man. The word toadstool formed in my head, more related to his demeanor than his appearance. He had entered with a tomato-coloured tint on his cheeks from the brisk air. He had entered without a knock and with no time for pleasantries.

He was a star, you see.

He was also quite shrewd, he self-proclaimed. He had called many other mediums on their bluff and he wouldn't hesitate to expose me for taking advantage of a man in an emotionally vulnerable time.

The only response I had offered was by way of a question, if this was what he truly desired. Because once an answer was sought, it could not be revoked from the universe. With his affirmative answer, we began.

I had warned that the process would take time, but in the second week even I had grown skeptical.

The smirk on his face, lightly pulling at the corners of his mouth, confirmed my suspicions.

"There is no Mortimer," I said, flatly.

My shoulders slumped on their own accord, from the energy expended rather than visible disappointment.

"Very good, Miss Rivera," he said, his tone invited a silent applause. "Are you ready for your next task?"

A test, but one that payed. Even without the compensation, my curiousity was piqued by this strange man and his fictional life story.

I nodded once.