Shadows curl around her like smoke. They are close tonight. She bats their presence away…as if they are flies that distract her from the task in hand. She cannot settle, cannot concentrate. Can’t think for their insistence. She leans back in the chair, stretching tired limbs. Resting her eyes… just for a moment.
But then they are there. All of them.
The dark screen of her eyelids peopled with presence. There would be no rest. They clamour for her attention. She sighs, beginning the slow process of teasing them apart. Most of them are no more than illusion… fragments of herself, shards of the shattered lens through which she sees the world. Memories… those she can dismiss, banishing them to the outer realms of consciousness; some with tenderness and an aching loss. Some no more than a replaying of the day, drawing from it the lessons learned. They can wait.
Fears, hopes, dreams… they mingle with the milling shades. They too can go. There is always time for those… and each one resolved brings another in its wake. They are hers. She has no place here.
But there are others. They are not seen, nor are their voices heard. They are felt, known, present. Older selves and younger, faces from the past far and recent. And the Others. The command from she knows not where… to look, to feel, to open her heart and let them in. These are the lost ones, strewn across the tapestry, a myriad blind stars.
And she must listen, hearing their tales, letting them empty themselves of their pain before they can move on… hearing with love the secrets their hearts had kept; hearing without judgement what none had cared to hear. There is only compassion. Empathy. An empty vessel waiting to be filled.
Winter rain batters the empty seafront; the shutters of the hot dog stall rattle in the wind beside the tawdry sign of the fortune teller. Behind the brocade curtain, tears roll down the faded face of the sin-eater as she opens her heart…
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Oh! I like this Sue a sin eater posing as a fortune teller 💜
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We all have to eat 😉 x
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Yes even sin eaters 💜
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What superb writing, Sue. You are a true wordsmith! (“Follow that…”) xx.
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I abree. You write most compelling pieces, Sue. This is beautiful.
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Thank you, Viv.
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Thnk you, Joy 🙂 xx
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Hear, hear!
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Thanks, Jennie.
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You’re welcome, Sue.
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Very intense piece, Sue.
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Thanks, Robbie.
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Brilliantly written, Sue but so very sad…
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We all need someone who will just listen…
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So true, Sue… and hard to find these days…
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Sadly…
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This is truly awesome Sue. I loved it, and that last sentence…………… terrific.
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Thank you, Di.
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you are very welcome.
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A powerhouse of sadness that draws us in.
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There are some dark and terrible stories being lived under our noses.
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I think you are absolutely right.
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There is a place for everything in nature. I view the sin eater as a living angel of sorts. Helping those others so they can move on…
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There are many interpretations of the role… although it was a historical ritual role in some areas.
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While perhaps not a ‘Sin Eater’ there was a series here a few years back about a woman who helped ‘Ghosts’ get relief to crossover. Mostly by solving their deaths due to murder.
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As I do not have television, that rings no bells here.
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The title came to me:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Whisperer
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Ah, I think I vaguely remember hearing about that.
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Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
Haven’t read anything from Sue for a while…
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