Writetober Day 6 (Spirit)

Spirit

Day 6

King of Wands…again.  “I get it!  I need to start tackling my creative goals.”  Kyler threw the card on top of her deck and reshuffled the worn tarot cards.

It was her Friday night ritual, for the past two years she would shuffle the long cards in her hands as she asked a myriad of questions.  That night was slightly different however, it was Mabon, and Kyler made sure to give thanks to the nature that surrounded her.

“Focus on me…”  Kyler cut the deck multiple times as she continued to shuffle.  “What should my intent be for this coming season?”  She focused on the question as hard as she could.

By no means did she consider herself a witch, pagan, or whatever people wanted to label it, she was raised catholic, but fell out of the religion soon after college.  There wasn’t any life altering event that pulled her from the religion she was raised in, her ideas simply changed as she grew.  

What should my intent be for this coming season?  Kyler willed the question as she rested her hands on the well used deck.  She flipped the top card, as she did, she paid careful attention to flip to the side not end over end.

“Seriously?!”  The card teased her as the black haired man with the deep ruby robe stared at her.  King of wands…again.

She stood from her makeshift altar that sat in the corner of her small room.  “There are seventy-eight tarot cards in a deck, twenty-two major arcana and fifty-six minor arcana.”  She tied her long brunette hair into a tight bun.  “And yet, I somehow pull that asshole three times in a row.”  Kyler mentally worked her shuffle in her head, she had cut multiple times and profusely shuffled.  “Just woo-woo printed paper…yea right.”  It was a saying a friend of hers would always bring up when he spoke about tarot.  Just printed pictures made by minimum waged employees.  Kyler couldn’t think it without heavy sarcasm.

“One more try.”  She made her way back to her altar.  Strewn across the small table were different trinkets that she felt some connection to.  Most of her friends had asked her of the “magic” in each item.  She never openly said anything was magical, she more viewed her trinkets as focus points.  

Kyler grabbed the king of wands and placed him aside as she shuffled the deck with slight annoyance.  “What is my intention for-”

She froze her thought as three cards fell out of the shuffling deck.  It wasn’t the cards falling out that froze her, it was what they were.

“What the fu-”

A chilled wind blew through her open window as it knocked several items off her altar.  She dropped the rest of the deck as she went to catch the candles that threw themselves to the floor.

“No!”  Fear paralyzed Kyler as her eyes looked at the cards that were scattered on her bedroom floor.  Tears filled her eyes as she looked upon seventy-eight king of wands.

Stay calm, this is just…something, it’s in your mind, focus on…Defeat filled her body, Kyler was lost in what had just occurred.

“It’s just the king of wands.  I thought you liked that card.”

The blood ran from Kyler’s face as the voice crept from behind her.

Run.  She looked toward her bedroom door, the hallway showed her escape.  But he didn’t flee, Kyler turned and faced the voice.

“Hi!”

She leapt through her skin and stood frozen in fear.  A young boy sat on her bed, he looked different, something was off but she didn’t know exactly what.

“You…you are a ghost?”  Her voice trembled as she tried to regain her composure.

“Sure!  I have been called many things, spirit, demon, angel, you name it.”

“You said demon.”  Kyler tried to force her body to move, but it ignored her.

“Oh, sorry!  I am not a demon, well, I don’t think I am!”  The young boy’s voice was filled with cheer.  

“The cards, that was you?”  This isn’t real…wake up.  Her eyes scanned her bedroom, it was hers, she was awake.

“Yeah!  I knew that King of wands was your favorite.”

“So, am I going to die?”  Kyler fought the nerves and tears that clenched her.  “Sorry, what is this?”  Did I just apologize to a spirit?

“Well, I’m you!”  A genuine smile played on the boy’s face.  “Not you exactly, but I am a part of you, think of me like a guide that has known you all your life.”

“What?  No, I am dreaming, I need to go, or I don’t know…just leave.”

“You’re not dreaming and I can’t really leave.”

“Why?”  Kyler was entertaining what was happening, she was certain she was going crazy.

“Like I said, I’m you, I am as real as you are.”  The boy scrunched his face as he noticed Kyler’s fear and disbelief.  “Okay, remember that time you were riding your bike with Rachel?”

Kyler’s face went pale white.  “Shut up.”

“You two went down a big rocky hill, but when you started a rock hit your tire and you fell before you even started.”

“Rachel went down the hill and broke her collarbone…”  Kyler’s eyes were glued to the young boy.

“Yep!”  The boy radiated joy.  “I threw the rock at your tire!”

“So what, what am I, am I a witch?”

“I don’t know, I don’t really think what you call yourself matters.  I just wanted to say hi!  This was really the only time I could.”

Kyler’s mind raced.  “You mean Mabon?”

“Sure!  Again, I don’t really think names matter, but yeah, just saying hello and I love you!”  

The chilled wind blew once more through Kyler’s room, and as fast as he appeared, the boy was gone.

“Wait!”

There was no response to Kyler’s shout.  “What the shit was that?”  Defeated and confused she looked down at her neatly stacked tarot deck.  On top the king of wands stared her in the face.