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The sunny day in Târgovi?te already made my arrival worthwhile. I avoided the Transylvanian area as much as I could. After arriving at the Bucharest airport, I rented a car and drove straight to the place I once visited Nadia so many centuries ago. My hopes remained low. I couldn’t imagine the same hut would stay in the same place and keep the same services. Though I quite missed Nadia’s candor.
The main issue was to pinpoint the location. The times had changed the town’s infrastructure. I didn’t know where to start. On a whim, I took a taxi to Vlad the Impaler’s castle and continued on the path that most reflected my knowledge of the town. What I hadn’t realized was the amount of nostalgia and melancholy I would get from visiting these places again. Not only from way back then but from the time I saw Gabriel looking like a modern-day prince. He built for us a life beyond the dream. But in the end, it all turned into a nightmare. How could a person make me feel so many opposing emotions? I loved him and feared him. I believed in him and doubted him at the same time. Could too much time spent in this world turn even the most optimistic of people into cynics? Or was there something much deeper hindering Gabriel’s ability to make the right choices.
I reached the location, but it wasn’t clear if the place I arrived at belonged to a psychic facility. It looked more like an office building with windows instead of walls. I drove several times around, hoping I would find something resembling a hut. Then I remembered Mei saying the present-day psychics worked under the guise of business consultants. Based on Mei’s words, this building would describe the company to the T.
As I entered the facility, I felt intimidated by the sleek décor of mirrors, orchids, and crystal chandeliers. The receptionist noticed how out of place I looked and asked what or for whom I was looking.
“Um, I’m here for a business consultation,” I said.
“You’re at the right place,” the receptionist replied with a slight accent. “Do you have a consultant in mind? Or wish to be recommended one?”
“How long has this establishment been open here?” I asked.
“This branch has been open for around twenty years,” she said.
“Then you’re probably not the ones I’m looking for,” I said, almost ready to leave. “Unless you know someone by the name Nadia.”
“Nadia, you say. I believe we could help you,” said the receptionist. “Right this way.”
I looked at her dumbfounded but also a bit apprehensive. It seemed odd she knew about Nadia straightaway. Maybe they were a money laundering, human trafficking organization and were looking to recruit my organs. “Um, I think I should go,” I said.
“But you said you knew Nadia,” the receptionist said.
“There’s probably a million people named Nadia. How do you know of which Nadia I’m speaking about?”
The receptionist chuckled. “You’re talking about the one who lived here five hundred years ago. The seer who could read through the darkness.”
“Don’t tell me she is alive,” I said.
“No, but her progeny is. The gift was transferred to her daughters and son, and then it spread like wildfire across the world. You’ll meet one of her great-great-great-great-great-granddaughters.”
“With some many greats ahead of her, who wouldn’t want to meet her?” I said, but the receptionist didn’t get the joke. I followed her through a corridor of offices that had aquariums instead of windows. These people made big money based on the fish alone. Most of the offices were empty, except for the last one. And in that direction, the receptionist guided me.
I entered the half-dimmed room, but the 4x great-granddaughter’s chair was turned to the curtain-covered window. The receptionist told me to take a seat and wait.
The whole area looked like the den of a goth lawyer. A mysterious atmosphere spread throughout the room. Be it from the low light coming from the wall sconces, the dark purple curtains, or the skull sculptures adorning the interior. The sole things that stayed relatively office-like were the black leather sofas and the leather chair Nadia’s progeny sat in. Even with so much style, people opted for comfort. I couldn’t blame them. The couch I sat on felt divine.
“We have a client who said she knows Nadia,” said the receptionist.
“Very well,” said the psychic.
The receptionist left, and I remained awkwardly alone with someone who had yet to present their face.
“Is your accommodation to your liking?” Nadia’s progeny asked.
Her question startled me. Did she read my mind? “Yes, very much so,” I said.
“Good. And if you’re questioning if I read your mind. I didn’t. All my clients tell me how cushiony the couch is.”
“That makes sense.”
“Then again, this is a lesson for anyone who steps through my office door. I am not here to perform gimmicks and circus tricks. The art of reading beyond the fabric of reality consists of far more complex components. Thus, I would require you to trust the process. My name is Cassia, and I’ll be your counselor today,” she said as she turned toward me. Once she saw me, her whole demeanor changed. “It is you.” She rose from her chair and rushed to shake my hand.
“Do you know me?” I asked.
“You are the reason we have this establishment,” she said as she popped a piece of gum in her mouth. Like ancestor, like descendent.
“How?”
