“Well, you know, maybe tone it down. Some people are terrified of rodents.”
“Rodent? Rude.”Bracken crossed his arms in front of his chest and I laughed. His mannerisms were so human-like at times.
“Luckily, I think you’re adorable. Okay, that’s her here. Maybe up on my shoulder?” I squealed as Bracken leapt straight from the ground to my shoulder and nestled by my neck. “Right, you need to give me some warning, buddy.”
“Did you not ask me to go on your shoulder?”
“Aye, I did, I did.” I pasted a smile on my face as Greta stopped her car and got out, a nervous smile on her face.
“Hi, Greta. How are you today?”
“Nervous, I’ll admit it.” Greta looked around and fidgeted with the strap of her handbag. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“It’s painless, I promise. You’ll be happy for it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is that a squirrel on your shoulder?”
“Och, yes. This is Bracken. He’s my wee pet. Don’t worry, he’s harmless.”
“I’m a fierce warrior, actually. But she doesn’t need to know that.”
“He’s very handsome,” Greta said, coming closer. “I’ve always liked red squirrels.”
“I like her,”Bracken said, and I smiled, stepping back to welcome her inside. I’d moved the chairs so we could face each other over the coffee table, and had my charts, my laptop, and my tarot cards ready. I’d also placed out some of my favorite crystals and lit a pure white candle to cleanse the space.
I motioned for Greta to sit, tucking one leg under me on my own chair to try to look more relaxed than I felt. I was deeplystruggling to focus on Greta and not the way Torin’s kiss had twisted my insides into knots.
Focus, Liora.
Greta perched on the edge of the armchair, fingers worrying the strap of her bag. She was in her mid-thirties, maybe, with tired eyes and hair twisted into a knot like an afterthought. There were faint shadows under her eyes and a smudge on her T-shirt that looked suspiciously like Weetabix.
Single mum energy.
“Can I get you anything? Tea? Water?” I asked.
“Oh, no, I’m fine, thank you.” Her gaze flicked to the candle, the crystals, then to my laptop. “It’s all… very atmospheric.”
“That’s code for ‘a bit woo-woo,’” I said lightly. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep things grounded. This is all just to help me tune in a bit.”
“And the squirrel?” she asked, eyes darting to Bracken, who’d rearranged himself like a furry scarf around my neck.
“Emotional support squirrel,” I said solemnly.
“I am a fiercely powerful companion, actually,”Bracken muttered in my ear.“But sure, let’s go with scarf.”
Greta huffed out a surprised laugh, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. “Right. Well, I suppose if I’m here, I may as well commit to giving this my all.”
“Perfect,” I said, pulling my laptop closer. “I’ll just need birth details on the form, aye? Date, time, place? Can you write it down for me?”
Greta took the paper, wrote down her information, and handed it back to me.
“So what we’ll do today is look at your natal chart—kind of like a soul blueprint, I’d say—and then we’ll check in on the transits for this year, especially around what you want to focus on. Does that sound okay?”
Greta chewed her lip, then nodded. “That’s… what I was hoping for, actually. A bit of guidance. I, um…” She swallowed. “After I lost my husband, I’ve felt like I’ve just been drifting. I want to ask if I should do something. Take a chance. And I don’t really trust myself to know if I’m being daft, or irresponsible, or?—”
“Hey.” I set my hand on the table between us, palm up. “First things first. You’ve obviously been through a lot. So we go slow, and we look at it together. You’re not daft. You’re allowed to want more.”
Her eyes filled, just like that. She blinked rapidly, looking away. “Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry.”