Читать книгу Image Carriers - Genel Anthony - Страница 5

He was going to advertise in his local paper…

Adam had always used a holistic approach in his education and training programs, and to his surprise the response was very rewarding. His holistic methods included mainstream approaches as well as cultural and spiritual practices. He worked with physiotherapists, nutritionists, dieticians when necessary and where appropriate. Some of his colleagues became fans of his approach and included what they learnt from him in their own action plans and training classes. Many kept the spiritual side of things discreet and did not go about advertising their successes, as many in the community viewed paranormal teachings, premonitions and instincts as a waste of time and non-productive.

Nevertheless, Adam and a few of his colleagues continued along these lines until he decided to look into this area with more energy and commitment. Feedback from key business clients, encouraged him to learn more about what was going on with those among us who appeared to be blessed with highly tuned premonitions and sixth sense capabilities. They also seem to use logic and reason to manage themselves and to get on in the physical and practical world. Moreover, Image Carriers and their equivalents seem very comfortable to rely on their personal hunches and instincts when tackling business and other decisions.

They are quite at home with invisible energies and tapping into the unseen world to gather their information.

Adam eventually began wondering if there were more of these special people around and how he could go about meeting them. He wanted to interview them to hear their spiritual stories and perhaps learn their ways so he could include them in his treatment programs.

When Adam got home that evening, his young friend and housemate, Joey, was watching television and waiting for Adam to cook him dinner. Adam and Joey go back a very long time. Joey moved in with Adam when he was fifteen, going on to sixteen, but they had known each other since Joey was a young child. Joey also has a bit of a psychic gift, as he often predicted things over the years that came true. This skill made Adam sit up and pay attention. Joey would casually make comments about people’s so-called intentions or pick up instantly if a person was lying or telling the truth. He had an uncanny ability to pick out the murderers, the liars and people with agendas on television. About eighty or ninety per cent of what he would say would come true. Sometimes he would say the phone call was for Adam, and a moment later, the phone would ring, and yes, it was for Adam.

Joey was around half Adam’s age: twenty-two. He has been staying with Adam for many years now, and the two of them have become very good friends. Many mistook them as father and son because of their closeness and respect they had for each other. Joey did not take his clairvoyant abilities too seriously; in fact, he didn’t bother with them much. He just thought they were normal and got on with his life. Adam remembered many years ago when Joey was around eight years old, and he had been visiting as he often did back then, as he lived four houses down the road with his single mother. Joey spent most of his time with Adam and would often visit or play in his yard even when Adam wasn’t home.

Adam remembered one sunny afternoon when Joey was sitting on the grass in his backyard, and four huge black magpie birds were walking around him and even jumping over his outstretched legs. They had no fear of him and vice versa, and he would occasionally touch and stroke them. These birds were wild and would often fly away when you walked towards them. They would also attack you if they had young chicks around.

Joey also had some affinity with plants, and he would often assist Adam in his vegetable garden and innately knew what to do with vegetation and young seedlings. Adam would give up on his garden, as his vegetables and flowers always ended up resembling a compost bin, with lots of dead and rotting plants. Sometimes, Joey would spend some time in his garden and before long, they were eating fresh garden produce, and his flowers bloomed like there was no tomorrow. His home-grown vegetables were also larger in size and sweeter and juicer than those bought in stores. Adam had just come to accept Joey’s extraordinary talent in these areas and had come to recognize it as part of Joey’s personality. Even his mother used to say to Adam that she has no idea where Joey gets his information from, as he didn’t take after her or his father in terms of disposition and personality. He is a totally unique child with an old soul, she used to say.

After making their favourite meal together, spaghetti bolognaise, Adam told Joey of his plan about trying to make contact with more people who possess psychic skills. Joey thought it was a great idea and wanted to be involved. Adam didn’t think that he should be involved at this time, as he wanted Joey to stay focused on his job and friends and to get on with his young life.

Adam thought of contacting psychic groups, but wanted to start something where people had demonstrated their talents, and he was thinking more along the lines of ex- clients and people he had known and was convinced of their uncanny abilities. He also thought that he would have to do this in secret somehow, if that was at all possible.

The next morning, Adam suddenly realised how he could test the waters about contacting psychic people. It actually came to him while listening to his radio when the alarm went off earlier. He was going to advertise in his local paper and the general paper. He thought of the local paper so people could meet up with him face to face, whereas the more long-distance people would have to rely on the phone or email. Even young Joey thought this was a great idea.

Two weeks had passed since Carol placed the advertisement according to Adam’s brief. Not one person called in or corresponded by email. Carol thought the advertisement was well-written and couldn’t work out why nobody responded. The advertisement was descriptive, mentioning a research project and that applicants could remain anonymous if they wish; that the results may be published in an article or book. And she had even added free lunch and refreshments. The advertisement was simple, straightforward with incentives. Adam was disappointed and couldn’t work out what went wrong, as he was sure that there were people out there with these gifts.

Things died down for a while and Adam continued working with his clients. He was running an Assertiveness Training class when his receptionist called him from the office. Adam was in another part of the city teaching a group of about eleven people, all managers. Carol sounded strange on the phone, as she didn’t know what to make of the call she had just received. She told Adam that a strange gentleman called and he sounded sort of menacing in a way, asking questions about why they placed that advertisement a few weeks back. Carol had actually forgotten about the ad and had to think quick and hard when he brought it up. She told Adam that he wanted to know who worked in the centre, how many people were employed; he wanted names and qualifications and wanted to know if anyone was working on any esoteric projects. She told him that she would take his name and number and get the manager to call him, but he did not want to leave his details and finally hung up.

A few days later, while Adam was in session, the same man called and wanted to speak with the manager. Carol reminded the caller that Adam was in a meeting, and that she would take his contact details and have the manager call him back, but again, this strange-sounding man did not want to leave any details. Later that day, Carol raced into Adam’s office as he was working on his notes and quickly whispered that the same man was on the phone again. Adam was fed up by now, as he didn’t want to see Carol so worked up from this man’s constant calls; he thought he would be firm with the caller and put an end to this once and for all. He had it all planned. But the caller sounded hesitant and nervous at first, unlike what Adam was expecting. He asked if he was speaking with the manager. Adam advised him that he was, and that he also spoke to his receptionist, Carol, and wanted to know why he was ringing all the time. However, the caller wanted to know how big the centre was and how many staff were employed there. Adam reminded him that it was only him and Carol. After a pause, this mature sounding man said his name was Thomas Garrett, but told Adam to call him Tom. He asked if he could have a meeting with Adam.

Carol came into Adam’s office and asked what happened with the caller. Adam told Carol that it was a strange call, but agreed to meet with Mr Garrett the next day. Carol looked anxious and asked if Adam was doing the right thing, as she got weird vibes from his calls. Adam reassured Carol that the meeting would be fine.

Adam arrived home and, as per usual, Joey was watching television, playing on his laptop and listening to music all at the same time. Adam sometimes wondered why he took Joey in, but then remembered when Joey went to stay with his mother for two weeks during his holidays, the house felt empty and lonely. Over time, they had become close, like best friends. Joey was growing up very quickly and maturing into a responsible young man.

The next morning, right on time, an elderly well-dressed gentleman in his late sixties or early seventies, entered Adam’s office and went over to Carol. He told her he had an appointment with Adam. Carol gave him a clipboard with a personal details form to be completed. He didn’t say much and sat in the corner chair, reading the forms. Carol sent an email to Adam letting him know that his odd client had just arrived, and that he did not look scary at all.

Tom Garrett walked into the office with Carol. Carol gave Adam a curious look as she handed him Tom’s paperwork, gesturing down at the forms she had just handed to him. Adam noticed that Tom had not filled out all the information and had left out his personal details, only writing in his first name. He had left the other areas blank. Adam politely reminded Tom that he must complete the forms; otherwise the session would not go ahead. Carol closed the door behind her as she left the room. Tom seated himself and told Adam that he wasn’t there for a counselling session, and that he wouldn’t be staying long. He just wanted to meet Adam and have a quick chat about something. Adam asked how he could help the old man.

“It is nothing serious,” the man spoke in a friendly way. “It is in regards to your ad in the local paper.” He pulled out a neatly cut-out advertisement of Adam’s ad and showed Adam.

“Yes, how can I help you with that,” asked Adam, not sure where all this was heading.

“I may be interested in what you had to say in your advertisement?”

“In regards to…” Adam sat forward.

“Not sure. What have you got to offer?” The old man responded, looking expressionless. Adam thought his behaviour was a little odd and respectfully decided to bring the meeting to an end, as he wasn’t really getting anywhere and realised that this vague old man may be lonely and perhaps looking for some drama in his life.

“Mr. Garret,” Adam spoke, keeping a polite tone, “I think you have made a mistake coming here, as I don’t really know what you want and I am not sure how I can help you.”

The man with the balding, short silver hair smiled gracefully and stood up. He thanked Adam for seeing him and left as quickly as he came. Carol then came into the office and gave Adam another inquisitive look. “What was all that about?” She said looking a little suspicious.

They were used to strange people visiting Adam’s rooms because, after all, they were a counselling and coaching centre. Yet, what took place just then was one for the books. Adam had a nagging suspicion about this man. Something wasn’t really right, and he felt that there was more to the story than this elderly man was letting on. He appeared full of secrets or was hiding something. Meanwhile, Carol came in and told Adam that the lady from the local paper called again and asked if they wanted to re- advertise for a discount. Adam decided to let the ad run again, but this time, change it to bold print to hopefully capture more people’s attention.

Three days after the ad appeared, a radio station called. A heavy, masculine voice was on the other side of the phone. He wanted to speak with the manager or the person who placed the advertisement. Adam spoke briefly with him and soon realised that he was being sarcastic and disrespecting Adam.

“So you looking for people who see dead people, is this correct?” the radio announcer sniggered. “What’s this all about?” He quickly added.

Adam explained that it was a research assignment, nothing ground-breaking or sinister. He further explained that it was routine from time to time to embark on transcendental work as research projects. Adam pointed out that students are looking for people with the ability to see visions they feel are vivid and carry messages. He heard the announcer chuckle in the background, but suddenly realised that he was live on air. The show was broadcast across the state and in nearly half of the country. Adam decided to use the situation to his advantage and continued promoting his advertisement and the name of his practice, irritating the announcer, as it was not going according to the radio announcer’s plan. Before the broadcaster realised that he was no longer in control of the conversation and that he was giving Adam free advertising airtime, he abruptly terminated the call.

After hanging up from the radio station, Adam sat back in his chair and secretly smiled to himself. He wondered if this would do the trick and envisaged thousands of psychic people swamping his office to be part of his new venture.

Carol then buzzed Adam on the phone, “Kim on hold for you. Can you take the call?”

Kim was one of Adam’s earlier clients. She was definitely a sensitive, a medium, if you like, but took a long time to come to terms with this fact. She hated being a medium and wanted medication or psychological strategies to remove her vivid and uncontrollable images that seem to engulf her at all the wrong times. It took many years for Kim to manage her mysterious and mystical experiences, and to this day, she continues to shy away from anything to do with the supernatural.

Kim had heard Adam on her radio while driving home from the shops. She had nearly driven off the road when she heard his voice. “Oh my God!” she said excitedly. “What’s going on with this psychic stuff?”

“Calm down, Kim. It’s okay,” Adam reassured. Kim was fearful Adam may implicate her somehow, as she was a deeply private person and still somewhat in denial regarding her own abilities. Kim believed that her psychic talents were the cause of her anxieties.

“The first thing I thought was ‘please don’t mention my name,’” she spoke quickly.

Adam interrupted her. “No names. Just trying to locate more enlightened people like you, Kim,” Adam said trying to reassure her again. He knew that she would not be interested, so he did not ask her if she wanted to be involved in his new group.

Kim was a very anxious and nervous person and always expected the worse to happen. She used to report horrible visions to Adam about dead people just standing there watching her; they were always associated with chaos, upheaval and mayhem. She also spoke about the faceless Big Four. She never went into much detail about this topic, refusing to elaborate further. These visions scared Kim immensely, as her images repeatedly showed her the catastrophic outcome of what is still to come.

Since seeing Adam for counselling, she has calmed down a great deal, as she gained valuable strategies to manage her anxiety, confused visions and scary prophesied events.

Kim is a practical, middle-aged divorced fifty-something and a very hush-hush lady. She had recently decided to focus on herself and on achieving inner happiness. She has adult children and both are getting on with their lives. Kim calls a spade a spade and believes she has her feet planted firmly on the ground. Her motto in life is: what goes around comes around.

She also believes that her images are private and for no one to meddle with. Kim always made sure that her visits with Adam were about everyday issues, and that she stayed clear away from the topic of her images or other paranormal phenomena. Kim was currently heading back to the Ashram. She was staying there and doing voluntary work in their kitchen.

Adam sat back in his chair contemplating Kim’s stance on all of this and wondered if she was right. Perhaps these things should be left alone. The sound of his phone buzzing shook him out of his reveries. It was Carol.

“Adam, are you free?” She asked. “You are not going to believe this!” Carol came quickly into his office with her notepad.

“Three calls have come in already since your radio debut.” She continued, walking closer to his desk and looking frazzled. “These two are cranks, I think. They sounded like students, and I could hear laughing in the background, but I took their details anyway.” She moved closer to Adam. “Both phone numbers are just ringing out. I tried it already. But this one, well, it sounds legitimate…” She paused and looked at Adam for a reaction, before taking in a deep breath, and exhaling quite loudly.

“Did you ring the number?” Adam asked, feeling semi excited at the news and also concerned about Carol’s behaviour.

“Yes, I did,” Carol said, handing Adam the phone messages.

“And what happened?”

“Well, he answered. It was that weird old guy from before. That Garrett guy. He actually has the audacity to ring back, but this time I made him leave his phone number!” Carol said, looking more relaxed now. “And do you know what he said?” She waited for Adam to respond, but Adam just observed her, expecting that she was going to finish her sentence anyway. And she did. “He said that he needs to talk to you urgently and that you need to call him back ASAP.” Carol now looked puzzled. “Do you think he may be crazy,” she said, before standing back, breathing calmly again, looking at Adam.

Carol sometimes got like this, getting herself all worked up, then pulling herself back together. Adam was used to her little outbursts and so was she with Adam. Carol remembered one day when she brought in white lilies for the office and Adam lost his composure, causing Carol to rush out the office with lilies in hand.

Adam decided to ring Mr Garrett then and there and once again, get to the bottom of his calls. The phone rang. Adam listened in anticipation as the ringing clicked off, and a familiar male’s voice answered.

“Hello, may I speak with Thomas Garrett, please,” Adam asked.

“Thomas speaking,” the voice responded softly.

“Hello Thomas, this is Adam Green returning your call. You called earlier in regards to wanting to talk to me urgently?”

“Oh yes,” his voice sparkled into action. “Yes, yes, but call me Tom. Thank you for returning my call.” Tom spoke in a friendly manner. “Look, Adam, is it perhaps possible for us to meet, perhaps this time over a coffee or something?” But before Adam could respond, Tom continued. “And I want to apologise for our last visit. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot?” Adam heard him chuckle to himself.

“May I ask what this is all about?” Adam interceded.

“Oh yes, sorry. Don’t really like getting into these things on the phone, you know…”

There was a pause. Adam wasn’t sure if he was still continuing his conversation or if it was his turn to talk. Either way, Adam didn’t say anything. He waited for Tom to continue the conversation as he collected his thoughts, but there was silence on the other end. “Are you there?” Adam finally spoke.

“Should we say I come there or you are quite welcome to come to my place?” Tom continued, not really answering Adam’s question.

The phone rang out in reception so Carol had to leave Adam’s office as she stood listening to Adam’s call with Mr Garrett. She was expecting Adam to be firm with the man, but from the sounds of it, they were having a normal conversation. She returned after a short while with more details of people ringing through, leaving messages about the advertisement. They were reporting to Carol their personal experiences about their paranormal happenings and spoke about having spooky relatives that did spooky things. By the end of the day, Carol counted twenty-two people, excluding Tom, who had called in with various stories. Many were so-called doomsday prophets, and others reported that they were Cleopatra of ancient Egypt and other well-known personalities from the past. There were even people claiming to see dead people.

Adam’s radio debut not only advertised what he was trying to achieve, but also brought out many crazy and bizarre people, many of whom needed treatment. He also promised that he would give Carol a bonus at the end of the month, as she was now being bombarded with crank calls from radio stations and media outlets wanting to investigate Adam’s work.

Adam was going to take a well-deserved week off the following month, but because of all the activity and mayhem around his advertisement, he decided to take his leave earlier than expected, deciding to finish up at the end of the week.

Meanwhile, some disgruntled reporters remembered Adam from his NO People article from years back, and they were now looking for a quick scoop to further tarnish his reputation after hearing him on the radio. Moreover, Carol was happy to fight and go on protecting the office and its clients, but Adam thought it would be in her best interest to have some time off as well, and when she accepted, he gave the order to reschedule clients and prepare the office for a week’s closure.

Adam’s reputation and good name made him even more of a target and that is why he believed the media outlets targeted his practice. If he was just some nobody down the road, the media wouldn’t pay any attention to him. But a reputable consultant who also worked with high-profile people, politicians and celebrities was an attractive story just waiting to be exploited. Hence, any opportunity to ridicule Adam and his work.

Carol Sharp has worked for Adam for nearly five years. He was invited to her forty-ninth birthday party earlier in the year, celebrated at a local tavern. It was a small gathering consisting of her new male partner, who she says is only a friend, and her seventeen-year-old daughter and her new boyfriend. Carol was beaming and looked very happy and content at her birthday dinner. She then made an unexpected toast, saying that the most important people in her life were sitting around the table. Adam found the whole experience humbling, and he thought he had better go home when Carol started dancing, shaking her hips in a spasmodic way, while ordering even more alcohol.

Since going to her forty-ninth birthday party, Adam noticed that they had become closer in the office, with Carol seeming to take on more responsibility and a professionally protective role over him and the practice in general. It was like something happened, and her job was no longer just a job, but something more. It was like she was now involved in a family business.

That evening when Adam arrived home and told his young friend about his radio debut, Joey couldn’t resist and broke out into a loud laugh. He found the whole thing amusing. He wished he had heard Adam on the radio and wished he was there when Carol was shaken up. Joey liked Carol, but often found himself teasing her, as she always reacted to his stirring remarks. He would often play on her emotions, testing her patience, all in the name of fun. Carol was a good sport and played along because of her fondness for the young man, having watched him mature over the last five years.

Adam was undecided with regard to visiting Thomas Garrett, but took his address and made arrangements. He did tell Thomas that he would think about keeping their engagement, but couldn’t promise anything. He asked Joey for his thoughts about visiting the old man. Joey told Adam that he would probably end up visiting Tom, as he had seen that determined look in Adam’s eyes before. Adam admitted that he was curious about the man and what he had to say. Adam also sensed that there was much more to Mr Garrett than what he was letting on.

After a brief chat, the two men agreed to follow up on Tom’s request to visit him at his home. Joey wanted to tag along, and Adam was happy for him to accompany him. He thought that his young friend could scan Tom, as Joey was good with first impressions.