Chronicles of the Craft vol 1 [COMPLETED]

The Dream Crystal

Lilly had wanted to learn the future; to learn what her future held. In recent months, she had been consumed with it.

Life had become boring, stationary. Lilly felt she was going nowhere, achieving nothing, that life was all work for no reward. And, it didn't matter how hard she tried to make something, anything happen, life remained dull and slow and frustrating.

When promotions came along at work she was always passed over.

When a new relationship seemed to be going well, something would happen and then it was over.

Friends were not supportive and were always too busy to talk as all the exciting things that Lilly wanted happened to her, happened to them instead.

It was hard to see others happy and succeeding, when you were sad and lonely and felt disappointed with your lot. That didn't mean that Lilly was not pleased when good things happened to those around her. On the contrary, she celebrated their achievements and helped them get on as best as she could because that was what kind people did, and Lilly was kind and compassionate. You couldn't ask for a better friend than Lilly.

Yet there was no getting away from the fact that all the good, positive vibes she put out into the world did not return to her as it was always said they would, and certainly not by the power of three. And so things dragged on and on and on, and didn't seem like they would ever improve.

One Monday, Lilly, feeling somewhat low after a gruelling first meeting of the week, where she seemed be asked one impossible question after another, and where if things in the office had not gone right the week before, the blame fell on her, decided she would go out for lunch. She had no plans, she just needed to be somewhere else, if only for an hour.

Lilly walked without knowing her destination. She wasn't even hungry, so every café, restaurant, pub and bistro she came to, she didn't even slow down to glance at a menu or an A board. She walked down one street and then up another. She crossed traffic and headed up little lanes, following the twists and turns of the smaller side roads of the city. Eventually, after twenty minutes or so, after feeling an insistent need to, she suddenly stopped outside a little shop.

She looked up. The building was narrow, and the window curved slightly outwards. A notice in it read:

Tarot readings £20

Palm readings £10

Lilly had never before been drawn to such things. She wasn't even sure that she was now. Yet, as she stood there wondering what had brought her here that day, the shop door opened and out came a young woman, around her own age, and something about her, Lilly didn't know what, told her this woman knew where she was going. They exchanged the kind smile of strangers, and as the woman headed up the street, the soft scent of incense hung in her wake. It was that which convinced Lilly to go inside.

Inside the fragrance was stronger. A soft chiming music played in the background.

'Hello,' a woman, perhaps twenty years old than her, said from behind the counter. 'A new face. Welcome. This is your first visit, isn't it?'

'Er...yes...' Lilly mumbled, before feeling like she needed to explain why she was here, now, 'I was wondering about the sign in the window...about the tarot readings.'

The woman looked over and studied her. 'Hmm...I'm not sure you need one of those. Of course, if you really want one, whom am I to tell you what to do, but...I hope you don't mind, but I think you need something else.' She scurried out from behind the counter and approached a table in the centre of the room covered with baskets of different crystals. The woman went to straight to the one she wanted.

'Come here, my dear. Pick one.'

Lilly saw the basket the shopkeeper was holding was full of black stones, all in a rather peculiar angular shape. 'What are they?'

'Black tourmaline. They work wonders for grounding. Your energy is a little...scattered at the moment. What you need to do is bring it together, and then you will be able to focus it on what it is you want. Keep it in your handbag during the day so it's always with you. And at night put it under your pillow.'

Lilly picked one of the stones out of the basket and was surprised by how right it felt in her hands. 'Why does it need to go under my pillow?'

'This little stone is a little wonder crystal. No doubt your dreams are full of the things you want out of life. This little stone will act as a bridge of manifestation. What you see in your dreams will be grounded in the real world.'

Lilly left the shop wondering if it was really possible, yet its effect was noticed almost instantly. She felt stronger, brighter, more determined and more focused. And the following day, her boss was waiting for her when she arrived at work.

'You still after that promotion, Lilly? Only, the new applicant fell through and we need someone who can start right away.'

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Story Notes:  This story was written specifically for this collection. I had been reviewing Chronicles as part of my NaNoWriMo project for 2021, when I realised my first incarnation of this instalment didn't align with criteria I had originally set out for the book. And so, inspired by a handful of crystals on my desk, I started to write...It was completed in November 2021 and published when I updated this volume in September 2022

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