Chapter 3

No one prepares you for how undignified scattering ashes is. Of course, it sounds like a lovely ceremony, letting the wind carry your loved one to their final resting place, but in practice, dad and I were washing out a plastic bag that was full of mom in the ocean and debating on what to do with said bag. We couldn't litter in the ocean, should we throw it out? What if it still had parts of mom in it and she ends up in some landfill in bumfuck North Carolina? 

"I don't think she'll mind," dad said, reading my mind and gently placing the bag in the park trash can.

"She doesn't," the ancient voice came from behind us. Dad and I turned slowly towards a woman who looked to be in her 80's or 90's.

"Actually, I'm 103," she said, reading my mind. Now she had my attention. "Child, you look just like her," she continued. "Your mama needed an adjustment too so she could cross paths with him." The old woman nodded towards my dad, who, like I, must have looked visibly shaken because a younger man, perhaps a companion, stepped in.

"Mawmaw, I told you, don't go reading energies of these poor strangers," he turned to us, "Please don't mind my great grandmother, she was raised by voodoo women in the marsh and thinks she can see through space and time." He began to wheel her away, when she stuck out her knobby hand and clasped mine tightly.

"Your mate calls to you," she said. 

"My husband must be getting impatient at the hotel," I laughed nervously.

"Your husband is most certainly not your mate, child. I know you can feel that in your bones. But he is out there, searching for you. Dream sharing is common among soulmates. You need an adjustment, a course correction. Just like your mama," she again nodded to my dad, who was looking increasingly more befuddled. 

"And how do I find this man?" Divorce had already been on my mind, I may as well figure out some path to happiness and if anyone had answers, it was an ancient woman raised by voodoo ladies in the marsh.

"You've been mated to him for a millenia, dear," she explained as though she were talking to a toddler who wasn't understanding. "You've likely encountered him in this lifetime, and felt the connection almost instantaneously."

"So I need to kiss a bunch of frogs to find my prince?" I asked.

"The connection is emotional as well as physical. Being in his presence will bring you peace. He will feel familiar even if you think of him as a stranger" I knew as soon as she said the words that my husband was most certainly not my soulmate. "Like your mama, you're destined for a course correction. She also had to travel to this realm to complete her timeline," Mawmaw said. 

"So is death a course correction?" I asked.

"Not necessarily," Mawmaw replied. "Adjustments happen all the time but very few notice it. Deja vu is simply an adjustment to your timeline. You might notice something is off or that you've experienced it before. But recalling the memories you had or you think you had is difficult, isn't it." I was captivated by this woman. The deep lines etched in her face were illuminated by the orange sunset, her chocolate eyes twinkled with ancient wisdom. 

"If you notice your adjustment, don't retrace your steps, child. This is a special chance, a gift from the universe. The feeling of deja vu will wane as you further deviate from your original timeline. Run, run, run towards your destiny, child." As soon as she released my hand from her grasp, her eyes turned gray from cataracts and her expression catatonic. Dad and I glanced at each other.

"Thank you, Mawmaw. Enjoy the evening." I wasn't sure of oracle etiquette. 

Dad and I continued to make our way down North Lumina Avenue towards the hotel, our shared silence a sign of our close bond. "She'd want you to be happy, too," dad said quietly, "Justin isn't the guy for you." After Mawmaw’s encounter, I was ready to ask Justin for a divorce. I felt too stuck and too unhappy and was just gifted with a rare seal of approval to start a new life from a seemingly random stranger. With each step, my mind became more and more made up. For the first time in a long time, I felt the resolve to make some changes in my life and make it completely my own. My ears were ringing with anticipation of what could come next for me. 

"Isn't this where that old cottage was? The one we stayed in the summer before you left for college?" We stopped and stood before an $8 million monstrosity that stood where one of the most magical little cottages once was. The Broadfoot Cottage had so much charm and was nothing like the austere stuccoed villa before us. The ringing in my ears was getting louder and louder. Those little floaties danced in my vision, getting more and more dense by the second. I’d experienced seeing a lot of floaties the night my mom passed away and had read that seeing them meant that a veil between two worlds was briefly lifted.

I looked down and kicked the gravel a bit. I looked down and saw a manhole cover that said, "Broadfoot." Feeling like I was about to lose my balance, I bent down to take a closer look and…