Fairytales appeal to us as children because our imaginations are open to believing anything is possible: The prince will come; we’ll wear beautiful gowns and live happily ever after in a castle.

By the end of the story, after outrunning the wicked witch and emerging on the other side of the deep dark wood, we want, desperately, to once again believe, in anything. One last fairytale, please.   

The bulletin board at our “over 55” community contained the usual 3×5 index card offerings; furniture, cars, massage. Standing out in rainbow colors was a flyer for a “Metaphysical Expo”. Too tempting an invitation for a 1960s flower child to resist.

The day of the event, the parking lot of the community center was packed…not a space to be had. Row after row of golf carts and four-door sedans stood as a testament to the lure of the unknown.

Whatever needs your heart and soul might have, and looking at the crowd, those needs were many, a solution was only a tarot card, palm reading, or psychic interpretation away. Should words be too transient, take comfort home with you by purchasing angels in all shapes and sizes, crystals in specific colors to open and balance your chakras…the seven places in your body where energy flows in and out.  Your meditations or lamentations could be guided by mantras printed on parchment. For every wound life could inflict, healing was only a few dollars away.

Chandra, a psychic reader, was particularly popular with a long waiting line. The whiteboard described her skills as “a true messenger of the Spirit for those seeking to connect to loved ones who have crossed over to the other side”. Her other talents included Balancing Chakras, Shamanism, and Manifestation of our Desires. I admit, that the “manifestation of my desire” thing sounded appealing.

Feeling I should contribute in some way to the general welfare since admission was free, I purchased lavender-scented, holistically made, goat’s milk soap.  I stopped to talk to a smiling Asian woman who was doing Acupuncture. She offered to give me a quick demonstration. The incense in the air must have gotten to me because I allowed this perfect stranger, sitting on a stool beside a card table, to insert two steel needles into my ears.

The power of the mind is a wonderful thing: Five minutes later the needles were removed and I swear I felt better…lighter, almost like my head was floating. Luckily it was still attached as were my ears. It occurred to me that I might be about to faint so I sat down. I didn’t faint, but I did feel “different”.

My needle-induced euphoria was short-lived. I was nearly knocked down by a woman who was sobbing uncontrollably as she walked away from a reading with Chandra, mumbling, “I knew he would wait for me”. 

Comfort comes in many forms, in promises from beyond, in rainbow colors, and in fairytales. It sees you through the dark woods. It moves you forward into the light.