Page 160 of Nights At Sea
If only he wasn’t a mob boss… or if only my conscience could live with it. But both are non-realities. I am who I am, and so is Gualtiero.
These feeling will pass eventually, won’t they? Or at least they won’t be so intense anymore?
As I gaze up into the vastness of the star-filled firmament above, all thoughts finally evaporate for a few precious minutes.
I’m so little in this endless, infinite cosmos… my problems so insignificant.
And isn’t that what they are? Insignificant?
In the bigger picture of things, if you consider lifetimes, being a fugitive running from a Mafia boss who has sworn to travel to hell and back to find you is nothing, right? It’s a drop in the vast ocean.
It really comes down to perspective. I just have to broaden mine and trust that everything will work out for me.
What else is there to do?
Panic?
Well, I’ve done that. It didn’t help anything.
So, I repeat to myself“Everything is going to work out for me.”
I keep staring up at the cloudless sky, letting it comfort me. A feeling of hope suddenly flows through me, and I cling to it. I don’t understand where it comes from, but it’s there surrounding me all the same. And it’s as if my soul embraces it, welcomes it into its depths.
The moment of peace is disturbed when I hear the chatter of girls approaching. They giggle and laugh; it makes me miss Rhia all over again.
They don’t notice me as they sit down a few chairs away.
“I tell you, Rosie, you have to go and see Claudette. She’s amazing. She told me the other day there was someone on this cruise who would rock my world. And I met Chris the next day at breakfast. Oh my God, Liz, he not only rocks my world, but shoots me straight into the stratosphere,” the girl gushes. “And then she told me of a windfall coming my way, and tonight I found one of those scratchy lottery things in my bag I was given ages ago, so while I’m sitting on the loo, I scratch it and you won’t believe it! Ten grand, Liz! Ten fucking grand was sitting in my bag for like four months. Un-fucking-believable!”
Wow, that is unbelievable. And even more so that Claudette called it. How does she do it?
I sneak away, not wanting to be seen by the girls.
As I walk down the corridor to my room, Claudette is walking toward hers from the opposite direction, and we reach our doors almost at the same time.
“I just heard amazing things about you overhearing a conversation.”
“Ah, happy customers… I love it. They’re good for business.”
“Yes, she was a very happy customer. That windfall you told her about happened. She’s ten grand richer.”
“Oh, I remember her. I’ve also seen her prancing around with some hottie on her arm. I didn’t tell her though that he’s likely trying to take her money.” At my shocked expression, she adds, “Don’t worry. Some other guy will intervene and voilà a match made in heaven.”
“Why didn’t you warn her?”
“It wasn’t my place. Some things have to unfold just as intended. If I warned her, she’d dump Hottie’s ass and wouldn’t get her chance with Mr. Rescue. What’s a little stress when the happiness of the rest of your life is at play?”
“Oh.” Is all the reply I manage. I’ve never thought about it like that.
Claudette opens her door and gestures inside. “Cup of tea before bed?”
Do I want to spend more time with her? She makes me nervous. Yet I do have a few questions. I nod and walk ahead of her.
“How do you do it? How do you tell what’s going to happen?” I ask, sitting down on her lounge. Yes, she has a lounge. Unlike my shoebox, her room is big enough to fit one.
“I talked to her angels. But I also read her energies. What’s going on presently for someone is easiest to read… and what played out in their immediate past. I get shown images and sometimes it’s like puzzle pieces you have to fit together. It’s all about how well I interpret them. I got pretty good at it over the years.”
“The other day, you said to me‘Wow, you’ve waited for this.’What did you mean by that?”