READ AND BE SPOOKED

After I blogged about fortune-telling and Fantastic Farantella at the weekend, a reader sent me an amazing story. She doesn't know how to explain it and she's not saying it proves anything. I also don't know how to explain it. It doesn't shake my conviction that the future isn't like this, but I still don't know how to explain it. If I didn't respect the person who gave me the story, I'd say that there was a degree of mis-remembering, but I can't really say that. But I do think that when we tell stories, even when we tell true stories, we tell them in a way that sometimes does what magicians do: makes you focus on the bit the magician wants you to see by hiding the rest. When a fortune-teller tells something that turns out to be true, I want to know how many times they have turned out not to be true.

However, this is indeed a remarkable story and I believe that the teller is telling it honestly.

I'd love to know what you think. More to the point, in view of the Oedipus story I talked about yesterday, what would have happened if the clairvoyant in this story had actually told the girl and the girl had told her brother not to get out of bed?

Now that is the really interesting question, in my view.

Here is the story, exactly as told to me:

As a postgraduate student from Australia I lived in an international student hall of residence in London. One Sunday afternoon a Chinese friend invited a number of us to afternoon tea in her room.  This was because she had an Indian friend visiting from Singapore.  Su had already told us that her friend Parimala had a reputation for being able to ‘see the future’.

About nine of us sat (rather like sardines) drinking cups of tea and chatting for sometime before someone inevitably asked if Parimala was going to tell our fortunes.  Although the others seemed eager and even light hearted about this it made me feel very uncomfortable.  I therefore just said, “Thankyou but I would rather not know.”

Parimala gave me a rather odd look but she accepted it without comment. She then proceeded to go around the other girls in the room until she came to an American student. She was silent for a moment and then shook her head and said, “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything.” The other students seemed to find this rather amusing but I sensed Parimala was feeling uncomfortable too.

A little later the party broke up but I stayed behind for a moment because Su wanted me to look at something. When all the other students had gone Parimala closed the door quietly and said,

“I could not tell her anything because her brother will be killed in an accident riding his motorbike tomorrow.”

Parimala had never met the American before and knew nothing about her family. I don’t believe any of us were aware that the girl had a brother or that he rode a motorbike.

She looked at me again and asked, “Did you know too?”

I shook my head and said, “No. I just felt very uncomfortable.” I felt I could not tell her that I did not believe it was possible to foretell the future.

I still felt uncomfortable but my extreme discomfort lifted with the knowledge she had given me.

There was a telephone call the next morning to say that the American girl’s brother had been killed riding his motorbike along a highway in South America. 

I have no explanation for this, nor have I had another experience like it.

So, what do you think?

I should stress, by the way, especially for the benefit of younger readers who might be very spooked by this: I personally don't believe that the future is laid down in this way. I don't believe that it was inevitable that the brother would be killed by a motor-bike. And I do not recommend that you ever go to a fortune-teller if you even believe a little bit. I have no explanation for this story but I do know how many fortune-tellers and apparent psychics often appear to get things right. They also very often get things wrong....

Meanwhile, don't forget to enter Farantella's competition. All you have to do is guess! By the skill of my psychic powers, I predict that someone will win...

FANTASTIC FARANTELLA COMPETITION

Did you read about Fantastic Farantella yesterday? If not, go here.

AND NOW: COMPETITION TIME!

I’ll give a signed copy to the (UK resident) winner of the following competition. All correct answers will be put in a hat and I’ll draw the winner at random on May 30th. If you live outside the UK, you can nominate a UK resident to receive your prize.

Farantella is not her real name. Her real name is given in the book so you can either find a copy or guess. Here are your choices:

A. Maureen

B. Noreen

C. Doreen

To enter, add your guess to the comments below - just say your answer and give a brief reason why I should pick you if you get the answer right! I want to be amused, entertained, surpised or all three. Flattery will also help. I'm only human.

Deadline is May 30th, midday UK time.

Good luck! (Though of course, only one person will actually have good luck... Why do we always says "good luck everyone" when only one person can win???)

WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY?  Over at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles, talking about luck in publishing. Join me there on Kath Langrish's great blog.

FANTASTIC FARANTELLA THE FAMOUS FORTUNE-TELLER

Fantastic Farantella the Famous Fairground Fortune-Teller

Your Future Foretold for a Fiver:

She Can See It Coming!

I had such fun writing this scene. It’s funny but sinister at the same time.

Jack and Jess are in a fairground, running from some lads who want revenge. The only place they can hide is a fortune-teller’s caravan. But Fantastic Farantella is on her tea / cigarette-break and is not best pleased to have her smoke interrupted. Eventually, they persuade her to tell their fortune.

Farantella sits down at the table and signals to them to sit, beckoning with a swooping, dramatic arm. She slowly drapes something like a piece of net curtain over her head and pulls a crystal ball from under the table, sets it on a saucer covered in crumpled tin foil and finds the plastic switch on the side. The ball starts to moan and glow. Jess feels Jack begin to shake with laughter and she

refuses to look at him.

Fantastic Farantella closes her eyes. A hum comes from her nose, vibrating. It goes on for a long time, but then Farantella starts coughing. She takes a slug of tea. Opens her eyes.

Stares at them both. They stare back, wide-eyed, every muscle frozen to trap the laughter. “You are drawn together,” she says, in a drony voice. “Am I right?”

They nod. Well, it’s hardly rocket science. She’ll need to do better than that.

Farantella’s hands are hovering above the crystal ball. It stops moaning, begins buzzing and then the light goes off.

“Bugger,” says Farantella. “I knew that was going to happen.”

So, FF gets a new battery for the plastic ball and then tries again. But she can’t seem to get any vibes. And she really needs a cigarette. She keeps trying but Jack and Jess are not that interested any more, since they know that the lads who were chasing them have gone. Jack teases FF that it’s really just a bit of a joke anyway and FF gets quite narked with him and is determined to prove him wrong. She asks them to give her something close to each of them and she’ll see if she can get some vibes from it. Jack gives her his lucky coin – the one he plays the Game with. Up till this point, the scene has been comical, light-hearted. That’s all about to change.

Jess and Jack watch carefully, thinking she may have a secret talent for disappearing tricks even if she’s rubbish at telling fortunes.

For a few long moments the scene goes still. We can look down on them and see the dark red room with the tacky glowing crystal ball moaning away on its new battery. There’s the incense swirling, the mug of tea, Farantella with her net curtain. The distant sounds of the fairground are still outside and we have no idea where Simon and Joe are but we don’t have to worry about them just now. There’s a Post-it note reminding Farantella that she has a dentist’s appointment tomorrow.

And into this unlikely setting, a sinister spirit enters. If we believe in such things. Or if we don’t, then something else we can’t rightly explain. Jess shivers. Jack finds her hand. For some reason, they do not feel like laughing now. Both of them stare at Farantella. Her eyes are screwed shut but suddenly across her face flies something that clutches at her, twisting the muscles of her mouth. She bends forward quickly, her shoulders hunching.

A small noise slips from her mouth. Or the noise could come from somewhere else – it is hard to say. It is the noise a spirit would make. If such things existed. It is the noise that the future would make, if it squeezed through a gap in the skin of time.

Shivery. Well, I shivered.

Have you ever had your fortune told? Would you, for a laugh? But what if you were told something important? Something bad. Would you believe it? Even a little bit?

Fantastic Farantella gives Jack and Jess a sinister warning. The rest of Wasted hinges on whether they (and you) believe the warning or whether, when aspects of it turn out to be true, you decide that the truth was merely coincidence. Or whether perhaps Farantella had a more mysterious power than even she thought.

Come back tomorrow for a light-hearted competition to do with Fantastic Farantella... 


WASTED BLOG TOUR - WHERE AM I TODAY? Nowhere! resting. But thrilled to see that there are so many 5-star reviews on Amazon. I think some of them were written by readers of this blog so thank you very, very much. You are very kind to take the trouble.


Also, Amanda Craig did a great review in the Times yesterday. This means that even my parents might think I'm doing ok...