Destiny at the Black Cat Cafe

Our meeting was in the Black Cat coffee shop at 3. I had been nervously anticipating this day, when I would finally meet the mysterious man I had been communicating with. Would he look the way I imagined? Would we be at ease together, conversation flowing? Would that magnetic connection be there? Doubts began to fill my mind. What if I liked him too much? He said he was travelling soon. Indecision weighed heavily on me as I felt the pull, and my rational mind pulling me back.

I walked slowly down the little side street, the afternoon sunlight illuminating the windows and dazzling my eyes as I entered the café. The table in the corner, he said. I sat down and made myself comfortable against the deep red cushions, as a black cat sidled up to my legs. There were only a few people sitting on the other side of the room, and the low hum of conversation filtered through the air. The tables were made of dark heavy wood, decorated with colourful Moroccan style candleholders. I reached out to pick up the menu, thinking to order a Turkish coffee.

My eye was drawn to a small black book in the middle of the table. It was in jacket of soft black leather. I opened it to look inside. It was not a menu, but appeared to be some kind of journal, handwritten in ink. As I leafed through it I saw sketches and symbols I didn’t recognise. I looked around me – there was no one nearby. The waiters were involved in a conversation behind the counter and didn’t seem to realise I was there. A languid, lazy energy filled the room, as if time was suspended, and for a moment I forgot about my meeting.

The soft pages of the book felt like handmade paper, and I had the strange sensation of looking through a window into another world. A page caught my eye, where a coloured ink drawing of the sun had some words written in curved lines underneath it:

Look into the mirror of heaven

What is within is without

The eye in your mind shines bright…

“Can I take your order please?” the waiter’s voice broke into my reverie, and I hurriedly put the book down. I hadn’t noticed him standing there.

“Oh, I’ll have a Turkish coffee please,” I smiled, and he took my order and disappeared. Why hadn’t I told him that someone had left the book on the table? I wondered. It didn’t seem right, somehow. I was intrigued by the markings and wanted to keep reading.

One of the symbols looked familiar. Wasn’t that the symbol for Venus? Come to think of it, some of them looked like planetary glyphs. Others looked bizarre and magical. I turned the pages, and saw references to metals. Copper, tin, gold. Could it be… alchemy?

Absorbed in the moment, I was unaware of time passing. I checked my phone, and realised that J was very late. I knew him as J, or Jay, I wasn’t sure. A message arrived: ‘Something came up, hope we can rearrange. Talk soon’.

I found myself wondering who J was, or if he even really existed. The strange book in my hand, I felt something stopping me from handing it in to the guy behind the counter. I needed to understand what it spoke of.

I turned another page, and saw a beautiful illustration of a ladder ascending to ethereal realms. I had the feeling I could transcend my everyday existence, and this book was somehow a portal, with a map showing the way. The only thing was, it was written in code, a language I didn’t understand. I searched the inner covers for a name, or a contact.

On the first page were the lines:

Transform the base metal of thyself

And then:

Find your inner heaven

My inner heaven would be to leave the city, and have the freedom to travel, I mused. To leave my monotonous job and go on an adventure, contemplating the mysteries of existence. “Miaow” the black cat by my table agreed. But how to get there? And how to transform the base metal of myself?

If alchemy was a spiritual discipline, would the ‘base metal’ of myself be the lower emotions? I wondered. Fear and doubt… Anger, jealousy, hatred, revenge – all the things that pull people down. When we focus on those, we feel trapped, and spiral down into yet more negative emotions. I certainly knew this from recent past events. Perhaps the ‘base metal’ could also be the raw ingredients we are born with? Its up to us to transform them, and create something beautiful with them - like creating great art out of raw talent.

As I contemplated these ideas, a strange energy began buzzing through my body.

I picked up the book, paid for the coffee and left the Black Cat café. The book wanted to stay with me. I will find its owner, I told myself.

The sun was setting at the end of the street, flooding the sky with liquid gold. I could see how they would relate the sun to gold, I mused. Perhaps there is a science of existence we know nothing about. For example, I’m trapped in a job I hate, just paying rent, not using my creative gifts. I want to move on from this city, which reminds me of my ex and ‘those’ traumatic events. There must be a way to transform my reality?

I want a love relationship, and I’m intrigued by J. I went to meet him, and found a little black book. This day seemed full of mysteries, and unanswered questions. Somehow, though, I felt magic close at hand, as if my life could change in an instant.

I arrived home and looked around my small apartment. It felt dingy and restrictive, the grey tones leaden and suffocating. I had the urge to hand in my notice, pack my things and travel. I knew I didn’t have the money, but I felt like saying ‘what the hell’ and just doing it anyway. I kicked off my shoes, and sat down to check my email. There was a letter about inheritance. I had come into $20,000. Is this day real? I wondered in amazement. I knew of my distant relative passing away, but never imagined this would happen...

Now I could leave my job, I could get out of this town, I could find the Sun of myself! No more restrictions – this meant freedom! Magic was definitely happening…

I looked at the mysterious book, thinking to find its owner and ask about the alchemical teachings. In the back was a number. I dialled it and got through to a voicemail. I left a message:

“Hi, my name is Solange. I believe I’ve found your book.”

Too excited to sleep, I drafted an email to my work, and began planning my travels. The ethereal ladder was imprinted in my mind, what did it mean? Suddenly everything seemed more important than J. I needed to understand about my soul, and the truth of who I am. I needed time to heal from the past, and release myself from family dynamics. I knew there was more to alchemy than simply chemistry. I felt it held the answers I was seeking.

As I lay in bed, I thought about Jay’s dark eyes, and the deep timbre of his voice. Why was he so magnetic? What would happen if I went travelling, and we never met? Why did he disappear like that, when I’d already come to meet him? He seemed as elusive as the moonlight outside my window. I hadn’t replied to his message, as I was definitely not going to chase him. I don’t need you, I thought. I don’t need to meet you.

*****************************

I sipped my morning coffee and reflected on my dream. I had fallen asleep late, and dreamed of a mysterious man who was holding the black book and beckoning me. He opened it and rays of light emanated from the pages. I walked towards him, and found myself climbing a ladder to the sun, through alchemical symbols suspended in the ethers. Each one had its own coloured ray and unique musical tone.

I felt a sense of limitless possibilities. The heavy feeling of yesterday had vanished, and I now had choices. I thought about what I would do with the money. I could save it as a deposit for my own place – the only thing was, I didn’t know where I wanted to live. That didn’t seem important right now. I could invest it in a business – but what business? I didn’t know yet. I needed to clear my mind, and a sabbatical was the right thing to do. A trip. An adventure. But first – I had questions for the owner of the book. Would they mind me asking questions about it? Should I have opened it at all?

A text came in from the number I had dialled. “I’ll be at the Black Cat café in half an hour. Can you meet me there?”

With buoyant steps I entered the coffee shop, fresh in the morning light. There was a man sitting at the table in the corner. As I walked towards him I realised I knew his face. He seemed suddenly familiar and I had a flash of déjà vu, of many lifetimes going by in an instant. Those eyes – it was Jay.

“Solange! We meet at last,” he said.

“Oh, I…” I looked at the book in my hand. I looked into J’s eyes.

“Its my book,” he said laughing. “Thanks.”

I laughed and we spontaneously hugged, as lightning shot through my body. I felt like all my questions and answers were right here. We sat and talked and everything flowed. I couldn’t get over the fact that J and the book were one.

“I’m so glad we finally got to meet,” he said. “I wish I could stay longer, but I’m travelling next week to Morocco and I’ll be there for some time.”

I looked at him. Our eyes spoke a language without words.

“I would love you to come with me, I mean, if you could get some time off work…”

“I quit my job!” I said. “Love to.”

The black cat purred on the cushions next to me. His knowing green eyes said, ‘I told you so… I tried to tell you yesterday that destiny was coming to meet you.’

“I have the strangest feeling,” I said, “that when I walked into the café yesterday, I entered a doorway into another world.”

“Yes,” said Jay. “And when I left here suddenly yesterday, I wondered if you would pick up my book and keep it safe. I knew you as Sol, and now I know that you are Solange, the Sun Angel I see in my dreams. He took my hand in his, and the cosmos ignited in a shower of sparks. The alchemical symbols began to move again, and the heavens opened as a stream of light poured down, showing us the pathway to the sun, and aligning us with our destiny.

By Katy Sophia