Brenda's Dreams
Chapter One

“But Brenda,” Julia said in a please try to be reasonable tone, “Lucy Coe is a
teacher of meditation and psychic phenomena and not some fake who gazes into
a crystal ball. She’s also licensed by the state of New York to practice.”

Brenda Barrett glanced over at her sister. Pregnancy certainly seemed to agree
with Julia. Her hair shined brightly and her blues eyes positively sparkled. It was
hard for Brenda to deny her twin anything. She took a quick breath. How was
she going to get out of this? She knew she couldn’t walk through that door and
face a parapsychologist.

Brenda’s and Julia’s reflections showed in the glass screen door to Lucy Coe’s
lighthouse. Julia’s eyes looked back through the glass at Brenda begging her to
enter. Brenda’s brushed a piece of hair off of her forehead as she tried to think of
a reason not to enter the lighthouse.

“What is the matter with you, Brenda?” Karen demanded. “Don’t look at me like
that. I know your nervous because you always play with you hair when your
nervous.”

Brenda looked in to her sister’s eyes, as innocent as they were two years ago
when she had come to tell Brenda she was marrying Sonny.

Stop it! she told herself. Sonny was in the past and that was where he needed to
stay. Brenda didn’t need to go through all that again.

“I don’t think I’ll go in, Julia,” she finally managed to say. “Why don’t you go on in
and I’ll just go wait for you in the car.”

“Brenda, the reading won’t be any good unless you come in with me. Lucy told
me that if twins are involved both of them should be there.”

“That’s crazy. We’re not identical and we have never shared any unspoken
thoughts or anything like that. In fact, visiting this woman is stupid. If you would
of told me where we were going I never would of came here.”

Julia made a face at her. “Your are as bad as Sonny is. I thought *you would* be
more understanding. After all, you were the one who had all those weird dreams
that summer we spent in Massachusetts.”

Brenda tried not to show her sister how upset she was at the mention of those
dreams. She never spoke about them and she didn’t understand why Julia had
to bring them up now. She didn’t want to cause Julia any distress because Julia’s
feelings were easily hurt. Thinking of those dreams brought back the death of
her younger brother, Ben and that still was enough for her throat to tighten.

Not getting a response from Brenda on her accusation, Julia continued her attack
on her sister. “Your afraid to meet Lucy, that’s why your are behaving this way.
The reason you won’t meet her is because of those dreams, isn’t it? Don’t you
think its about time you faced the fact that Ben is dead and nothing you do is
going to bring him back?”

Brenda clenched her teeth to hold back from crying out in pain. Don’t mention his
name to me, she wanted to cry. Don’t make me remember the pain. Julia, just
didn’t understand and she never would understand. She hadn’t shared a dream
and could not know how much her words hurt Brenda. Brenda decided she must
try to get along with Julia, because she didn’t mean to hurt her. Julia was just
acting this way because she was pregnant.

Brenda shrugged her shoulders. “If you want me to go in, I guess I’ll go in with
you, but I still think its stupid.

Julia pulled Brenda into a hug. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

Julia pulled back from Brenda and knocked on the door. The door opened and
Lucy Coe greeted them and asked them to enter. She took their coats and hung
them on silver coat rack. Lucy ushered them into the living room, which looked
like any ordinary living room would except for a table that stood in front of the
fireplace. The table was round with a blue tablecloth that had moons and stars
on it. Three chairs made of wood surrounded it.

Lucy had them sit down and Brenda noticed a pack of tarot cards sitting on the
table. The card were face up and the top card had a robed and crowned woman
seated between two pillars, one pillar was black while the other one was white. A
moon in the shape of a crescent was by the woman’s feet. At the bottom were
the words ‘High Priestess’. What on earth had she gotten her self in to? she
thought to herself.

Lucy joined them at the table and flashed the sisters a smile. Not a fake one, but
a genuine smile. Brenda noted. “I’m so glad you were able to come with your
sister today,” she said. “It will make all the difference in the readings you both will
receive today.”

“Oh, but I don’t...” Brenda began.

“Why don’t you start with me?” Julia said, cutting in before Brenda could finish
saying she didn’t want a reading. “I can’t wait to find out if this is a boy or a girl.”
She laid her hand on her abdomen and started to rub it.

Lucy nodded at Julia. “Hold your hands out across the table.” When she did,
Lucy took Julia’s hand into her own and closed her eyes briefly. After releasing
Julia’s hand she looked through the deck of tarot cards finally removing one and
laying it on the table. “This is the Queen of the Wands. This card is your
significator, she represents you.” Lucy handed the rest of the deck to Julia.
“Please shuffle these while you meditate on what you wish to know.”

Harmless, Brenda reassured herself. Nothing but a guessing game. Whatever
she predicts the baby being she will have a fifty percent chance of saying the
correct answer.

After Julia had cut the tarot deck three times to the left, Lucy dealt ten cards face
up into a pattern she called Celtic and studied the cards for a long time. Despite
herself, Brenda grew tense as she stared at the strange symbols on the cards.

“Your wish to know about unforeseen perils.” Lucy paused a moment before
continuing. “Those who have opposed you in the past heave suffered while you
have had good fortune and success.”

Julia quickly glanced over at Brenda.

Meaningless, Brenda told herself.

The future’s not as clear-cut,” Lucy went on to say. “There’s misfortune ahead,
which can be averted if you choose the correct path. If this is accomplished then,
the rewards you seek will be yours to take.”

“What about the baby?” Julia asked.

“A boy. I felt his aura when we touched hands. A healthy one at that.”

Julia nodded, as though Lucy’s words confirmed to her own thoughts on the
subject. She turned to Brenda. “Its your turn now.”

Brenda shook her head. “I told you I didn’t want a reading.” Or anything else for
that matter, she had been going to add, but Lucy was already reaching across the
table towards her and not wanting to be rude allowed her to clasp her hands.
The wait seemed to take forever, and Brenda’s nervousness increased until she
thought that she would have to pull her hands away and run out of the lighthouse.
Finally, Lucy opened her eyes and let go of her hands.

“Oh my gosh!” Lucy exclaimed excitably. “Your one of us! Your a sensitive
yourself!

“No,” Brenda protested. “No I’m not.” She put up a hand to indicate for Lucy to
stop from continuing.

“Really? How exciting! What else?” Julia asked.

Lucy ignored Brenda’s protest and continued. “I have some very clear
impressions which is unusual. I see a house and a man. A oak tree with
mistletoe hangs over them both. The mistletoe wound so tightly around it that the
oak tree suffers from the parasite. And then a misty feeling of dreams. Dreams
that overlap each other. This is very strange. I’ve never received anything like it.
Its almost as the two dreams are one.” She turned to stare at Brenda. “Perhaps
you know its meaning.”

Brenda, her heart beating 90 miles per hour, couldn’t talk. She shook her head,
rose from her chair, and grabbed her coat before running for the door. She had
to get away from Lucy Coe before she could say anything else. Brenda knew that
she had heard too much from her as it was.