Through his lens

Is this all a dream?

As I walked through the velvet curtains a waft of woody incense hit me and smoke plumes swam through the hazy air in front of my face. It was a comforting smell and it reminded me of being by the lake with Harrison the other day.

That day.

The tent was coloured red and white stripped on the outside, whereas in here it was midnight blue. Stars were speckled across the ceiling that appeared to be twinkling as if they were real.

It didn't look like anyone was in the room with me so after calling out with no response I walked over to a cabinet pushed up to one side of the tent. It was filled with rows of different coloured and shaped bottles. Luggage tags were hanging off of them with written inscriptions that I could barely read. One particular bottle caught my attention amongst the crowd. The liquid inside was a cloudy colour yet it had an ink black trail running through. The black was dancing around the bottle but it never mixed with the white which would've turned it a moody grey.
I turned my head to try and read the tag on the side. I squinted to try and read the scrawl until eventually it clicked.
'Nightmares?'

'I think you already have enough of those already don't you?'
A voice from behind me said making me jump out of my skin and almost drop the bottle.

I turned around clutching a hand to my chest and found a middle-aged slender woman in front of me. She was dressed in a black flowy dress that made her red hair more vibrant. I guess if you work in this place you have to have interesting locks.
'I'm sorry I didn't realise I was keeping you waiting. I thought I was alone.'

'No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I was here but I was intrigued to see what you made of the room. I like seeing what area draws people in.'

I nodded in understanding but I was sure when I came in no one was in here. I even called out and there was no response.

'Please take a seat.'
She motioned for me to sit on a wooden chair in front of an apothecary table, herself sitting on the opposite side.
Laid out were many different objects ranging from a crystal ball, to an empty cup on top a saucer and then a pendulum on a silver chain. However, it was a pack of black and white cards that caught my attention the most. The artist in me was attracted to the beautiful drawings on the back of the cards ranging from flowers, to trees and then the night sky. I wondered what the pictures on the other side look like.

'So tarot is your medium of choice?' She asked quizzically. She smiled softly but had a look on her face that said she was holding back from saying something.

'I guess so?'

'I find that a certain object speaks to people most. It seems the cards have chosen you and you have chosen them.'

'Ok then, yes let's use the cards.'

She passed them face down to me and asked me to shuffle them. Then once I was done I needed to split them into four piles.

'I've met you before.' Her eyebrows dipped showing confusion as her almost black eyes ran over my face.

'I don't think so. I've never been here before.'

'Hmmm no I'm sure I have.' Ok this woman was seriously strange. Hopefully I could just get this done and over with quickly so I could go and find my friends.

'Ok if you say so.'
I carried on doing as I was told and then looked to her for assistance once I'd created the four piles.

'Now choose one of the four. Whichever one speaks to you the most.'

I tried to remain polite and not roll my eyes but the only thing currently speaking to me was my stomach and it was saying let's go, I'm hungry again.