I normally would not tell anyone this story, but you, you I trust with my deepest darkest secrets, so I can finally tell the truth about what I ordered. That’s not even the part that’s embarrassing, at least, not the most embarrassing.
What’s astonishing is what happened after I obtained my desired object.
I guess I’ll just dive head first into this confession. I heard through the Wicca pipeline (i.e., mostly through telepathic connections) that the old 5 & 10 on Main Street had a new owner, and that the new owner was the grandniece of the doddery Mr. Dodgery, who hadn’t restocked his shelves in 12 years.
Well, grandniece Shelley blew in with a Ph.D. in mysticism and the occult (YES, there is such a degree, from Oxford no less) and whisked away the old and brought in spanking new items like never-been-used vintage record players and albums by classic ‘60s musicians; ultramodern coffee pots that brew a cappuccino in less than seven seconds – you know, cutting edge stuff; as well as penny candy for the youngsters; and brilliant books by Indie authors for the intelligent set.
None of this interested me. But behind the counter, that was a different matter completely. After Shelley showed me the prototype of something I’ve desired since I was 6 years old, I ordered the hidden specialty – a crystal ball.
“Martha, this order could take months,” Shelley warned me. “The ones that show the past – I could have that in two weeks. But what you’re asking for… that could take a while.”
“I understand,” I nodded, not really understanding. After all of these years, and at the numbing age of …. well, a numbing age …. I needed this particular crystal ball N O W. On the other hand, the price was rather extraordinary, so I worked extra hours at the science lab. You know I have a Ph.D. in microbiology, but you probably didn’t hear that I got promoted to head lab researcher. We’re actually working on the planetary/star dust we’ve gathered from asteroids … well, that’s another story. Science is no mystery to me, but my love life is unfathomable.
Eight long months later, my crystal ball arrived. Such high hopes I had for this one, which doesn’t tell the past nor the future, but instead…
Can you guess? Should I tell you? Wait, this is a better idea. The first reader who guesses the right answer (or closest answer) will win a copy of my friend Pamela’s newest book – FLASHES OF LIFE. (Softback/or e-book – winner’s choice if he/she lives in the U.S., otherwise e-book).
Looking forward to your answers. What will my new crystal ball show me?
The secret to eternal youth. (my guess or maybe my wish). BTW your friend Pam is very creative!!
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What a wonderful guess! That would be a very special crystal ball indeed… Pam says thank you. 🙃
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love it Pam… since you have an interest in space dust perhaps you are wondering when that alien who whisked you away for a magical weekend is coming back into earth’s orbit again…. I actually do have a crystal ball, but when I look in it since coming to Ireland it has gone cloudy and it looks like it is raining!!! lol.. xx
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Thanks for matching my imagination with yours. Yours is out of this world! 😉I’m envious of your own crystal ball- at least on sunny days.
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Thanks Pam… at least I know it is accurate around 250 days of the year lol.. xx
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Laughing. But Oh. Dear. ;-0
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♥
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Well, in the cristall ball you see yourself of course.
Thanks and cheers
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Ah, a practical answer! 😏
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The crystal ball will show you your life’s purpose and what you need to do to satisfy the contract you “signed” before you were born into this life !
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As always, I enjoy your perspective on “life.” Wonderful guess, Jeanne.
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So much fun, Pam (or friend of Pam 😏)!
She said her love life was unfathomable, so perhaps that’s what the crystal ball is for.
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I think you know my friend Pam’s romantic tendencies too well!
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🤣
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I guess if it was Christmas it was the present
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That’s my guess too!
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🙂
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Ha! Great way of thinking literally, in a creative way! To the present, Derrick. 🎁
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🙂
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Oh my, all the responses are so good. My guess would be that the crystal ball shows your true love.
What a fun piece of writing this was!
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The fun was in the writing for sure. So happy that the fun is in the reading as well. True love in a crystal ball. Hmmmm…. 🧡
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i can’t wait to hear!
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The crystal ball answer will be revealed next Friday! 🤩👍
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yay!
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The crystal ball will tell her if the dreamy scientist working with her is checking her out or trying to steal her thunder on her research. I love this story. I think most of us could use a crystal ball for so many questions. 😉 I pulled a tarot card this week to get some confirmation on direction. It was the “clean house” card. 🙂 Wouldn’t you know it.:)
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Oh my! I gasped when I read that it was the “clean house” card. I think you definitely need a crystal ball, Marlene!! I smiled at your dreamy scientist/stealing-thunder scientist guess. You know my storyline tendencies too well. 🥴
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Since you said your love life is unfathomable I think you want this crystal ball to explain that mystery to you.
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Oh don’t we wish we had a crystal ball to explain the unfathomable, Barbara – in love and life. Thank you for your terrific guess.
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How to be happy in the present and becomes gourmet cook😂
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Smiling broadly. A true cook 👩🍳 would come up with this answer! ☺️💜 To being happy in the “Now.”
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This is so much fun, Martha! I think that crystal ball is going to show you an amazing star dust discovery and along with it, an introduction to someone working on the same project in another part of the world…and maybe a love connection? Hi to Pam!
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Pam says hi back and thanks you for this twinkly Stardust answer. She loves your imagination. 😁💚
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As you gaze into its deep mysterious depths, and with the use of your telepathic abilities, you will see EXACTLY how to woo that person that you have secretly loved and desired for a lonnngg time, so that that person falls in love with you in 5 easy steps …
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5 easy steps!! Wowee. I so appreciate your specificity of the power of this crystal ball! Well done! 😛
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I think the crystal ball is really a clock inside a clear glass orb, so it tells the time.
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I agree with Ally and would add that it will tell you the future time… in Australia. ❤
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Nice touch!
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Ohhh, a clock that races ahead of time, Carol. You and Ally make a great team. 🙂
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Tick tock….tick tock. But time for WHAT? 🙂
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Engaging, captivating and now what, Pam? My answer, “the love of her life” and she has had him/her/it/oneself in front of her all along.😀
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You are up to speed with gender neutrality, Erica!! I think a crystal ball that shows us what is always in front of us – is a must have for everyone. 🤓💜
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I think the crystal ball will tell her she should have saved her money!
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Jill! Jill Jill … where is your romantic spirit as a top notch romance author? Oh dear, did Martha waste her money? Hmmmm.
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LOL! That was my thrifty side speaking. 🙂
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I must admit, you made me laugh out loud.
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Nice and interesting post, Pam. The crystal ball is quite captivating.
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Thanks for reading as my imagination runs free. 🤓
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You are most welcome Pam.❤️❤️❤️
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Fun story! I think you wanted it to have the power to whisk you away to where ever you told it to take you! 😊
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Oh my my my. How I would love (NEED) a Crystal ball 🔮 with these powers.
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Would be FUN! 😊
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Fun panty twister story Pam. I hope Martha finds self-love and self-trust or she’ll end up like me, old and lonely, with an unfathomable life. 🙂
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Brad – you used my writing words against me (or I should say, against yourself). But yes, how amazing would it be if we each had a crystal ball that showed us how to gain self-esteem- the most important ingredient in love and life. I’m waving my magic wand, and wishing you that.
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Thank you for the magic wishes and being a good sport Pam. 😀
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The crystal ball is going to show you your greatest love and worst enemy at the present moment. Whose face will appear? 🤔
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Whoa, that’s a twisty twirly fabulous answer, Nadine. And what’s the chances that the face would be the SAME??? Creepily good. (Wish I had thought of that!) 😉
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Lmao!
Chances are it will be the characters own face!
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Haha. That would be highly disappointing…. 🙂
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But what if it took them a while to figure out whose face they were actually looking at… what you see in a crystal ball isn’t always clear… 😉
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I also guess “the love of her life” even though Erica got there first. LOL. It’s the first thing that popped into my mind, so I’m sticking with it. 🙂 A fun story, Pam, as always, and what a wonderful prize!!! Who ever wins is going to love it.
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“The love of her life.” Jeez, Diana, either you’re getting soft and mushy on me, or my stories are “rubbing” off on you. Hmmm, does a person rub a crystal ball to get the answer? 🙂
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Yes, a person does. Sometimes that’s all it takes to open the universe… a bit of intention. 😀
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“NOW” spoke to me Pam. So my guess is Martha would get what she is yearning for, her present is more important than the past or future. What a profound message!
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BEAUTIFUL guess, Balroop. You’ve read my story and added profundity and truth to it. ❤
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The secret to happiness…
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If a crystal ball could give us the secret to happiness, millions would be knocking on grandniece Shelley’s store door and BEGGING for it. But, why not? It’s magic, right?
That said, I think both you and I (Martha) and Pam know the answer to that secret already… ❤
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Oh, what a wonderful read, this!
She will learn that to understand love is to not experience it in its fullest. It is unfathomable on purpose. She will learn to stop looking and to love herself and if it is meant to be, it will be.
You have such a grand imagination, Pam!
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Dale! Your answer gave me goosebumps. I know you have a day job, but have you considered being a therapist? Or a spiritual advisor? Those in the know, know how unfathomable love is, for sure. xo
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Aww shucks! If you only knew how often people have drifted towards me to talk about whatever… I used to joke that I was like Peanuts’ Lucy and I’d have to put a sign on my door: The Doctor is In! 5¢ 😉
Maybe I should start my Dear Dale column xoxo
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I’d read it!! (Besides, what a great alliterative column… DEAR DALE…. )
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Woot! My first reader 😉
😀
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What an intriguing story!
Let’s break it down. Since the narrator’s lovelife is ‘unfathomable’ the broad category of what it reveals is about her love life.
Then, since you probably want more specifics, she’s wanted it since she was 6 years old, has a degree in microbiology and is currently specializing in planetary/star dust.
So my guess is she is wanting to see the union of herself and an alien (interplanetary) lover.
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Donna – you get an A++ for imagination, for reading the story so carefully, and for making me laugh out loud for a long minute. 🙂 🙂 🙂 WONDERFUL guess.
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It shows where the portal is for time and dimensional travel 🙂
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You and I have such similar desires, imaginations, and expectations of what we can do (if we only try hard enough). Time travel indeed. Great answer. I wonder, do we need a portal for that? I’m thinking if you and I relax, meditate, and sink into the inner-world enough, maybe we can do it on our own. ;-0
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Yes, we do have similar wishes 🙂 I do agree we are almost there if we just try a bit harder or maybe not try at all and let it come. Although a portal would require less work on our part…lol! xo
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Not to call us lazy, but I’ll take the portal any time. 🙂
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Me too!
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I did not see fairy dust or crystal balls when I attended Oxford U. But I guess I had the wrong major. 🙂
However, I do wish for a genie attached to a crystal ball that would clean my house. Unfathomable!
The guesses are amazing. Yes, I read them through, but I won’t venture a guess because my imagination is lagging right now. Tell Pam I already have her book and loved it, so I pass my prize onto another.
One question for Pam, “What has she been drinking?”
Tee-hee!
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Thanks for smiling along with me (and Martha) as we shared her story of the crystal ball adventure. Yes, you definitely had the wrong major (as did I). No star dust in my thesis paper. But I remember hiring a genie to type the whole darn thing. 🙂
From your comment here, I can assure you that your imagination is alive and kicking. Oh, and currently the drink-of-the hour is strong (as in over-brewed) iced tea. xo
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Terrific story, Pamela. I think the ball gives insight into true happiness.
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Fascinating, John. You and one other reader guessed insight into the secret to happiness. But it’s even more interesting that you guessed “TRUE” happiness. Because you and I both know that some “act” like they’re happy, but it’s not true. Martha? She definitely is on the look out for happiness, I agree. Thanks for a great guess.
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😁 Thank you, Pamela.
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Something astrological — the alignment of the stars.
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What a starry idea, Patricia! And imaginative, and relevant to Martha’s life. Thanks for reading and thinking about this crystal ball. By the way, did I tell you how much I LOVED The Last Fallen Star?
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The crystal ball will reveal who her one true love is. 🙂
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Ahhhh, another romanticist in the crowd. I’ll admit, I’m one too. Her one true love…. Hmmmmm. ❤
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I think Martha wants a crystal ball that will show her the little boy she loved at the age of 6 and has been searching for ever since. Perhaps he grew up to be the astronaut who brought back the stardust Martha studies. . . Love all your cliff-hangers, Pam–oops, friend of Pam’s! 🙂
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“Friend of Pam” says – whoa, love your imagination and your twisty creativity. “childhood friend becomes astronaut and brings back stardust…” I think YOU should finish this story. I’d read it in a heartbeat. 🙂 MANY thanks for your guess!!
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You still surprise all of us Friend of Pam’s–and your endin g will be the best! 🙂
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xo
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I’m going with the classic Magic 8 Ball answer, “Ask again later.” Wait, I paid money to get that answer? 🤣🤣🤣
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Another pragmatist in the blogosphere (you and Jill Weatherholt – I thought you both had some romantic blood in you??). 🙂 Okay, I’m confessing here – I used to love that Magic 8 Ball, even though the answers were always disappointing. I hope the answer to this flash fiction is NOT disappointing next Friday, Pete.
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No, I loved your piece. I am a sappy romanticist (the kind who cries far too easily during dog food commercials🤣), but I also see humor in everything. Now, where did I put my Magic 8 Ball?—I have some important life decisions to make.
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🙂
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I’m guessing she wants the crystal ball to find the love of her life and bring him to her. I’m not sure, though, what happened after she met him. It has to be something embarrassing. Oh, dear! I’ll leave that to your imagination. It seems to be more exciting than mine.
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Oh no no no, now that I’ve read your wonderful book I am quite certain you have great imagination as well as being a good writer. Believe me, my imagination is much less exciting than some of the answers in the comment section from this flash story. Whoa. I think you’ll appreciate what Martha finds in Friday’s final edition. 🙂
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Her own true love…
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I’m so happy that so many here – including you – are romantics. I’m one of those too. Hmmm, wonder if the crystal ball believes in romance? ❤
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You bet!
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Of course, Pam, it tells you how to fix the present.
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Oh, you are a dreamer and a realist all at once, together, at the same time, Robbie. Is the present fixable? Will the crystal ball tell? Thanks for guessing. xo
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“Shelley showed me the prototype of something I’ve desired since I was 6 years old, I ordered the hidden specialty – a crystal ball.”
Hmm . . .
What did Martha desire at 6 years of age?
A pony? A puppy? A kitten? A sleep over with all her friends?
Was she already thinking of love and marriage and babies in carriages?
Nah. At 6, boys still have cooties . . . at least the ones we knew did.
Did she want to see the future? The past?
Her life’s purpose?
Prior incarnations?
BUT why would sharing the story be embarrassing to her?
A secret not to be revealed except to a trusted few?
Hmm . . .
Maybe she wants to see her guardian angel and is astonished when the crystal ball reveals that her guardian angel is a fallen angel. Beelzebub. Lucifer. Prince of Darkness. Satan.
That could prove embarrassing. 😛
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Wow. Your imagination trumps mine threefold. Wouldn’t it be AMAZING if we could see our guardian angel through a crystal ball? Well, not if that angel was fallen. I tend to write romantic suspense…. the fallen angel plot would lead to horror! ;-0
The answer will be revealed on Friday, but I’m afraid it’s much more light-hearted than your guess. 🙂 Thanks Nancy – love your comment here. xo
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I look forward to your reveal. I enjoy your imagination!
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THANK you my friend. xo
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I don’t think it will show anything. I think every time you gaze into it, the clear crystal will cloud over, and a very quiet voice will say, “Don’t look into my depths — look into the depths of the world for wisdom.”
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Your answer just gave me goosebumps (the good kind). I could actually hear that sweet soft voice urging us to look into the depths of all around us. And within us? Beautiful answer. I fear my second-parter will be a disappointment after all the mystical thoughtful lovely guesses from the insightful people in this blogosphere – like you. ❤
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‘The love of your life’?
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You know me (or Martha) too well, my friend….. 🙂 Hmmm, is that what the crystal ball will show? And if so, WHO will it be??? Stay “tuned” for Friday’s reveal. xoxox
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-grin- Roll on Friday. 😀
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An intriguing post! Okay let me think.. could it be that it shows some sort of a riddle and doesn’t directly show you anything
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Now that would be so much fun! A riddle that leads you to ….another crystal ball? 🙂 Many thanks for your guess.
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Well written
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
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Another lovely write, Pam. Very sharply written and with a lot of intent. I am guessing the crystal ball will show her the path to happiness, or transport her to another realm 😊 It is interesting to read how quite a few have mentioned it will show her the love of her life 💕
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I think Martha would like to explore another realm. That said, many of the comments here seemed to suggest that there’s one thing more important than anything else. Hmmmm, let’s see what happens in Friday’s ending. 🙂 Many thanks for joining in, Mabel.
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My first guess was “the present,” but that’s taken, so I’ll say, the crystal ball shows whoever peers into it that they are enough.
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How I love your crystal ball, Arlene. If this was so, my wish would be that EVERYONE in the world had their own crystal ball that showed them the truth. We each are e n o u g h. ❤
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Indeed. I think the world would be a happier place.
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The simple pleasures that comprise my life today. That’s my answer.
Ben
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Beautiful answer, Ben. But considering the “contest” you and Peta just won, I have a feeling things might not be so simple soon. I can’t wait to follow your adventures….
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Fun story Pam. You have me stumped for sure. Guess I’ll just have to wait for the reveal 🙂 xx
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I hope you won’t be disappointed in what is revealed to Martha on Friday’s blog post. But you know I have no control of the story – the story always controls ME. :-0
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Absolutely. Hence, we no not what to expect, lol. I’ll be back for sure. ❤
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I guessed that too!!✨✨
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This contain secret to eternal youth. And great imagination. Great job dear.
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Thanks crystal balls given good idea
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I love it !! It’s gorgeous 😍 ❤ 💕
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Does the crystal ball show one’s true love? ❤
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Great guess – another reader guessed first, so they get a free copy of Flashes of Life. But I hope you’ll read the follow-up story. 🙂
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OMG!! Creativity 💕🖤
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Thank you. Creativity is so much FUN.
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I love the intrigue and guessing in your story Pam.. Ooo TBC 👏👏
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You noticed I love writing with “hooks”? 🙂
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I’m late to the party so I’m sure the answer’s out there already. In ye olden days, fair maidens would use all sorts of witchery to get a glimpse of their future husbands. Anyway, your image of the bubble gum machine brought back fond memories – an instant pleasure rush for a penny, if you had one. Then suddenly they were taken away, and I could never understand why.
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So, as a feminist I wonder, didn’t guys want to look into a crystal ball as well?? :-0 🙂 And secondly, YES, those bubble gum machines were colorful and delightful. Good question – why did they disappear? Well, I just looked it up, and they’re ours for the taking (or buying…) https://reviews.chicagotribune.com/reviews/best-gumball-machines
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I suppose I’d like a crystal ball to check where I am when it comes to being accepted into Heaven or packed off to Hell, so I could make adjustments 🙂 The gum machines were deemed unhygienic I think. Not surprised when I remember our sticky, dirty fingers.
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Ha! No gum machines during a pandemic for sure. No crystal ball needed- I’m quite sure you’ll be “heaven sent.” 😌
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The magic is inside you. The Crystal ball gives only hope !!!
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Oh, yes. I like this thought. To the magic inside us all.
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It tells you what you want to know and do in the “Here and Now!”
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That would be a wise crystal ball and a wise person who lives in the here and now. That’s what I’m trying to do. I imagine you are also!
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Yes living in the here and now is what we should all do while looking at our future. As you head into your twilight years you sometimes enjoy the here and now more than when you are young and have many years to look forward to.
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