By the time Lexi arrived at work the next morning, the campus was a buzz. Every where she looked, people were talking in hushed, tight close knit groups. As hard as she tried, she was not able to really make out the words. But apparently whatever had happened while she was at home last night, being disconnected from the rest of the world had made it big.
“Good morning,” she said to Denise as she hung her jacket and her black scarf up on the copper colored coat rack. ”Sounds like something big happened earlier this morning while I was on my way here. What is up?”
Denise looked at Lexi, and blinked her blue eyes a few times. Her jaw dropped and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other as if she was flabbergasted and trying to find the right words to say. “You mean you do not know what happened? You do not have cable, internet or get the newspaper, do you?”
Lexi stared back blankly and shook her head, “No. I do not have any of those. The library and my meager student funds really do not allow me to have the common luxuries like cable tv, cable internet or a daily subscription to the local papers. Sorry. But yeah, you need to really spell it out for me today. What is going on?”
Denise stepped towards Lexi and grabbed her by the left arm, “Come on. I will show you.”
They left the small break room and entered the main library. The smell of dust and old books hit Lexi’s nose and she relaxed a bit. The library always had that calming effect on her, no matter what happened during the day. Denise dragged her over to one of the racks of freshly laid out newspapers and grabbed the nearest one and held it up at chest height at Lexi. It was a USA Today with its blue icon proudly displayed up in the left hand corner of the paper.
Lexi bent forward to read the top story that had been printed in big bold red letters to set itself apart from the others. INDEPENDENCE FOR IRAQ! the headline read. Lexi gasped and put her hands over her mouth.
“No way!” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “When did they announce this Denise? I mean, that war has been going on forever. So what happened to trigger and cause all this?”
Denise held the paper out to Lexi, who took it and held it up to her eyes to get a closer look, “Well, it was on CNN last night. So I guess it happened sometime yesterday or last night. But what it means is that the war has ended and Johnny and the rest of our troops are coming home soon. It has been so long since I have gotten to see my little brother.”
Lexi nodded and took the newspaper with her back over to her station at the front counter of the library. She shook her head in disbelief as she read the paper.
INDEPENDENCE FOR IRAQ!
Washington, DC (AP)–Unity was announced today when the new Prime Minister of Iraq, Mr. Ghazi Ajil al-Yawer, signed a peace treaty with the United Nations and the United States, earlier today, solidifying their independence and embracement of Democracy. Today marks the monumental first step towards making Iraq a Democratic society which breaks over two thousand years of hostilities and wars among this Muslim nation.
The war in Iraq had taken over two hundred thousand civilians and troops, and over five thousand United States and United Nations troops over the course of six years.
The treaty was signed in the nation’s great capital of Baghdad and was overseered by British Prime Minister Douglass Watkiss and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. The Leader of the United Nations and several other world leaders were also on hand to sign and witness the treaty that marked a new age of diplomacy for the tiny third world nation.
“We are proud to begin a new age of prosperity and wealth in our great nation,” the Prime Minister said in an press conference with the Iraqi news syndicate. “It has been too long since our people have known the silence and joys that peace brings us over our great land. We hope to have great things happen to us and our nation and partnerships with the rest of the world in the coming years. We look to you as our role models.”
“This is a big step forward for both the United States and our new friends over in Iraq,” said President Smith as he was boarding his airplane the Freedom One, homeward bound from Baghdad. “This opens up a whole new world of opportunity for the peoples of this great nation to learn and grow and build up a better society for their children and I know that the United States is proud to have been given a front row seat to witness the drastic changes that have occurred practically over night.”
The biggest question that remains yet is when all the troops will return back home stateside from their long tour of duty in Iraq. To which the President remarked, “We have already started getting the ball rolling on bringing our troops home. It will take some time, of course, but we believe that we will have the majority of our forces home by the holiday season later this year.”
Many nations have started coming together to help rebuild the Iraq nation so they have a better and bigger infrastructure. China and Vietnam sent boxes filled with rice and grain to help many of the cities and districts hit hardest with the war in getting their food supplies and stores back up to proper status. The United States, under armed guard, sent medical supplies and doctors over to the nation to help the needs of the sick and the children who have gone without basic food or dentistry for so long.
“The help and openness of the world’s community has been overflowing. We did not know that so many people wanted to help us out as we build our new nation to something greater than it once was,” the Prime Minister remarked as tears welled into his eyes during a press conference this morning. “We hope to not disappoint you as we learn more about the culture and political changes our nation is moving into and towards.”
Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way what so ever.
Lexi sat in shock for what seemed like an eternity after having read the entire article and several other opinionated and related ones. She was amazed that so much had changed in such a small time overnight. Her mind boggled at the implications of all this meant for the Iraqi peoples, their way and quality of life and for the people back here in the United States. She knew that Denise was excited about the possibility of seeing Jonathan, her little brother who had been dragged off to fight in a war that not too many people were happy about. Even Lexi believed that the war was more about oil than of the welfare and benefit of the people living in the desert country. But it was not up to her to decide the laws.
Throughout the day, Lexi heard many opinions on the developing news. Everywhere she went on campus the television channels had some new news to report or some recap going on. CNN’s familiar ticker tape banner constantly scrolled with new updates and their news people, on scene were constantly blithering about some new development or two going on. The barrage of all this news started to overwhelm Lexi. And in a way she was growing tired of it all.
Her mind wandered back to the tarot book, and during her lunch break, she finally had an hour to escape the political noise and retreat into her own head and studies. Her iPod blasted VNV Nation through her headphones as Lexi settled down into a ratty old, lime green sofa to read. She kicked off her shoes and curled her feet under her butt and slowly bobbed her head in time to the music. She opened the book and flipped back to the page that The Dragon’s Eye spread had been bookmarked. She smiled at the thought of having successfully done her first tarot spread last night. However, as she thought back to the cards and the confusion she had while she had laid down each and every card, her smile turned into shock and horror.
The cards, the spread, the confusion about how it applied to her life finally added up. Lexi felt as if someone had walked right up to her and smacked her over the head with a really hard, long wooden board that had a billion splinters still on the outside of it. The reading did not cater to her life, but it was about the events of the world. The reading that Lexi had done the night before, where she thought it was about her own new beginnings and ability to take charge of her life, was not about her life at all. Instead, it was about the very political upheaval that had been plastered all over the news today. Her tarot deck and spread had accurately saw into the future and made it come true.
Blood pumped through her body raising her body temperature. Lexi’s face flushed with shock and fear. “Holy shit,” she said, running her hand through her hair, “I read it and it all came true. This is why I was so puzzled at first. It was because the reading was not for me, instead it was about the world. I read the cards and they came true.”
The book slipped out of Lexi’s hand and made a loud thump on the floor below the lime green sofa. The noise startled Lexi and she jumped a bit.
Denise appeared in the door way, “Hey, you okay in here? I heard something fall and figured I would come in and check to make sure you were okay.”
Lexi bent forward to pick the well worn hardback off the floor. “Yeaaaah,” she said with a gruff voice, “everything is fine. I just dozed off a bit and dropped the book I was trying to read for some research on my dissertation is all.”
The tiny librarian nodded, “Oh. Okay. Just as long as it is nothing serious. I would hate to lose one of my best assistants is all. I hope that research of yours is not keeping you up to all hours of the day, missy. So how is that dissertation going anyways? I know you were having some troubles with it awhile ago. Is it getting any easier for you to write these days?”
“Yeah, I think so. There is just so much I could do with that paper and there is a lot of interesting research on developing your own personal symbolism and how that all ties back into a concept of a group symbology…” Lexi paused and closed her mouth after she realized that she started babbling on about her dissertation. “I am sorry Denise. I totally did not mean to bore you like that. I know that what I am writing about is not really the most interesting thing in the world but in a way it is for me. Let me ask you something?”
“Sweetie, you cannot bore me. Not after some of the other things I have heard during my tenure here at the library. So sure, go ahead and ask me.”
“Do you believe that your actions can influence the world in a greater context?” Lexi spewed the question out rapidly.
“Wow, when you have a question, you really have a whopper. Hmm, wow, I do not know. Never really gave it any thought,” Denise retorted as she moved over to a faded blue corduroy rocking chair. She started rocking in it as the chair started letting out a rhymatic, creaking sound which attempted to lull Lexi into sleep again. “I guess that it is possible for one person to influence a whole world or culture. Look at some of the greatest minds of our time like Dr. Martin Luther King or the founding fathers of America. Their contributions and thoughts certainly swayed the world into doing new things and having new thoughts. So yeah, I guess it could.”
“Hmm, I was not really thinking about that way. More like if you did something that no one was around to see or hear… would it be possible for that small tiny event to change the world?”
Denise shrugged as she got out of the chair, and stretched, “Again, Lex, I am not sure. It could be possible; after all we have that one saying about a butterfly’s wings causing a hurricane wind force on the other side of the continent. So yeah, I guess it can be possible. Why do you want to know all this anyways? Is this part of your research?”
Lexi nodded slowly and deliberately, “I want to know if I think about a circle and then think about you thinking about that circle, does that mean that in a few hours you will be thinking of a circle and get the same meaning and maybe even the desire to call me about your revelation? Maybe. In any case, it is just a question that I had in my head while I was reading this book. Some religions, like many of the neo-pagan ones believe that your thoughts and consciousness has the power to change and influence other things. And well, I was wondering if you thought it was possible. I am not sure what I believe as I have never had it happen to me but I am certainly open to the possibility.”
She had flat out lied to Denise. Lexi knew that the power in those cards had somehow influenced the world and created a new democracy for the Iraqi government. Of course, she was not going to openly admit it. No, doing so would have probably got her a one way ticket into the local asylum and a comfortable and cozy white padded straight jacket with matching white padded walls to match. Instead, she thought it best to keep this insight to her self. Of course, she might try and talk to Naomi about it as she felt that Naomi would believe her and maybe try and help her to understand what exactly it was that she purchased from the Aquarian Dreams last weekend.
“In any case, your break is over, so I came back here to get you to go cover the front desk so Jules could take her break. And girl, try not to think too much. You have such a long life ahead of you and questions like these, while worthy, will only cause you to lose a lot of sleep over them. Just go with the flow and have faith. At least that is what my mom always told me to do.”
“Thanks Denise. I will be there in a few minutes. Let me put my shoes on and put my iPod and this book back into my bag. I promise I will be out there serving the devoted student population in just a few minutes, tops. Promise.”
Denise shook her head at the dramatics and went back to her desk in the corner of the staff area. She pushed a few strands of her long hair out of her face as the static from the computer monitor connected within reach. She stared at her computer screen and slowly lost herself in the ordering screens process for buying the books for students to use in their studies.
Lexi finished getting her shoes back on her feet. She took a long deep breath that came from deep down in her chest in a half-hearted attempt to refocus her body and mind and ground her back in this reality. However, she could not let the disturbing thought that she could use her tarot deck to control events that occurred in the world.
“What if something goes wrong and the reading hurts someone close to me? Is there any way I can control where the reading goes and direct only positive energy,” she thought. In addition to the rest of her front desk duties, Lexi thought about these questions and how she could learn to control the readings so they only benefited the world and her friends and could never produce any harm.
