The Seer Renee Read Free Page A

of your family—I cannot see yours. You'll
probably never hear the conversations along with the images. Your great
grandmother could, but I can't. I don't know why. It may be an additional gift
a Loa gives for his or her own reason."
    The doorbell thankfully interrupted
my painful reflections of the past. When I answered the door, it was Oatha.
    "Good evening. You look
happy."
    A smile lit her face and her brown eyes
sparkled. "Yes, Remy and Bella both made the honor roll. I'm so proud of
them."
    "That's wonderful," I
said and led her to the old, wooden table in the corner of the shop. She sat,
and I shut off all the lights except for a small dim one over the table. The
reduced lighting helped to keep the person focused on me rather than the
contents of my shop. Oatha already had her hands stretched out on the table
when I sat down. I placed my hands over hers and closed my eyes. When my hands
touched hers, I felt an overwhelming euphoria as her future unfolded before my
eyes. In the beginning, I couldn't stop or slow it down, but with months of practice
I've been able to.
    As I watched, I saw Oatha jumping
up and down as her husband, Virgil, told her something. He had a small boat
rigged for seine fishing and from their activities over the next couple of days,
I was sure he had an exceptionally good month. I saw her buying new kitchen
appliances several weeks later.
    "Oatha, Virgil will have a
highly profitable month, and you will benefit. You can enjoy the anticipation
of good fortune, but don't jinx it by telling anyone what I've told you. It
could change what I've seen." When I opened my eyes and looked at her, she
was grinning.
    The intriguing—and
terrifying—aspect of my gift was that it allowed me to impact future
events. If I saw the individual would be in a car accident and then told them
not to drive on that day, the future would change if, and only if, the person
decided to take my advice. In that event, I would see a different future
unfold. So in a sense, I could change the future by convincing him or her to do
something they would not have done otherwise. When Granny had explained that to
me, it made my head spin. In theory, it sounded simple. In practice, it was far
more complicated since changing one thing could and usually did cause a ripple
effect of other changes—some more unpleasant than the original.
Complicating matters more, I couldn't be specific without people beginning to
realize that I did actually see the future—and worse—impact it. Even
thinking about it gave me a migraine. But telling fortunes brought in extra
income, and in truth, it was exhilarating and provided an opportunity to help
people.
    * * *
    For the next several days, I
averaged about fifteen to twenty customers a day and half of them usually bought
something. Twice I got to use my little Voodoo doll spiel and sold eight dolls.
It surprised me that Hector or some of his crazy friends hadn't stopped by the
shop. I began to worry that they might be waiting for a more private visit. By
the third day, I concluded all I could do was be prepared. Fortunately, when I
was fourteen, Granny had insisted I learn some form of self-defense. I tried several
styles the first year and finally settled on Bagua, an internal style of Kung
Fu that focused on continuously changing positions in response to your opponents'
attack. It succeeded through balance and skill, not strength or brute force.
    No clients wanted a telling, so the
evenings were quiet. I fixed dinner each night and afterward relaxed with one
of Granny's hand-written books on herbs.
    * * *
    Late one afternoon, just before closing, Mambo Asogwe—high
priestess—Monique, entered my shop. A Haitian in her sixties with a
strong-boned face and high arched brows, today she wore a long loose-fitting
purple gown with a matching head wrap. She said nothing as she strolled around
the shop until she reached my counter.
    "Bonjour, Renee. Your shop appears to be doing well.
Your Voodoo dolls