Page 13 of The Love Thief

CHAPTER EIGHT The Future in the Palm of Her Hand

Hmm , I ruminated , it’s Wednesday and while normally this would be more like my mother’s thing, not mine, I don’t need to be at cooking class till eleven.

And given my current state of loss and confusion, maybe the answers are no further than the palm of my hand.

So, with some curiosity and a little optimism, I decided, What the hell! Let’s go meet Sanjiv after breakfast!

“Great, let’s do it,” I said, smiling.

Sanjiv slowly took my hands into his and, with great intention, examined my palms. Both sides of my hand, all my fingers, and he pressed on my skin in various places, noticing the thickness of my hand, the shape of my fingers, the lines across my palm, the various fleshy mounds.

His face was mostly expressionless. After a few minutes, he asked me, “Are you ready?”

I nodded slowly, uncertain if I would ever be authentically ready for anything ever again.

His brown eyes met mine as he spoke. “You are currently in the most painful time of your life.” He exhaled as if to underscore his words. I sat motionless, thinking to myself, Well, I know that! But what line of my hand is telling you that?

Blowing air through my tightened lips, I waited for him to continue.

“But upon your arrival to Rishikesh, you have officially entered the spring of the soul. A time of rebirth. Who you are meant to become will begin to blossom,” he said brightly.

“Ah yes, I see too that this time of emotional and physical wounding is a crucial part of your growth. It is your karma. It is what brought you to Rishikesh so that you can discover your true dharma.”

Dharma? Karma? Schmarma!

His voice interrupted my thoughts. “You reside too much in the mind. Here you will discover your heart.” He grew silent.

Just when it was getting interesting! My heart? That was the last place I wanted to be! Damn. Would I ever love again? I had so many questions. I wanted to ask him about my love life, children, and happiness, but I didn’t want to interrupt him.

He inhaled slowly, then continued. “One of the most important lessons you are about to discover is that God never makes mistakes.”

My eyes widened as a shiver raced from my tailbone to my cranium.

Hadn’t I just discussed this very thing with Deepak?

“Mother Ganga will teach you what real love is. She will wash away the wounds in your heart from the false love you once thought was real.”

Everything about him seemed real and genuine. My shoulders dropped an inch and my breathing evened.

He then took my right hand again and looked at the side leading up to my pinky finger. Closing his eyes, he said, “It is unclear what your future is as to whether or not a child will come into your life.”

My shoulders lifted toward my ears. So much for soothing.

My lifelong resistance to all Mom’s woo-woo bullshit kicked into full gear.

I suddenly felt like a loser with a growing sense of regret for having even sat down for this crap.

My mouth stayed shut, but my mind screamed, Who the fuck are you to tell me that I may or may not have children?

You have no right to destroy my dream and expect to get paid for it, too!

I considered running out the door, but I thought better of it.

My inner good girl scolded me for being so foolish.

For a moment, I struggled with myself before finally pulling out my wallet.

If only he had properly played his role and indulged my fantasy by telling me the date, time, and place I would meet my one true love, along with the birthdates of my children, I might have considered sending him referrals.

I slapped down the Rs 600 in front of him and went off to cooking school, feeling angry and stupid for wasting time and money, thinking that someone could gaze at my hand and tell me my future.

Apparently, my life wasn’t going to be fixed in a thirty-minute reading.

No, it was going to take a turn of events so surprising I would have no idea it was coming.