‘Why are you here?’ she asked.

‘We’re on holiday—’

‘No, I mean here today, with me.’

‘My friend Marcia, the gift, I couldn’t refuse. I … there’s nothing I want to know specifically.’

Saranya Ji sighed and then nodded to herself, as if accepting that I wasn’t going to blurt out my whole life. ‘OK. Give me your hands,’ she instructed. I held my hands out and she took them in hers, turned them palm upwards and studied them. She closed her eyes as if tuning in to me, then opened her eyes and let go of my hands.

‘You have known pain with love in this lifetime, no?’ she asked.

‘I … I …’ I blustered. ‘I’ve had good relationships and some not so good, probably like everyone my age.’ I was about to tell her more, then remembered that I’d resolved not to give anything away.

‘I mean the joy of love and contentment that comes from meeting your equal and soulmate,’ said Saranya Ji. She looked at me with such compassion that I felt my eyes well with tears. It was as if she knew, she understood how empty my life felt, but that couldn’t be. I’d known her five minutes and some people I’d spent a lifetime with had no idea about what went on in my head and my heart. I had a good public mask of being cheerful, positive, not needing anyone. Only friends like Marcia, Pete, Heather and Stuart knew what went on behind the act. I blinked the tears away. Ridiculous. What was wrong with me? And what was happening here? Maybe Marcia had been filling her in on my past, or Pete? I’ll kill them when I get out of here, I thought. Marcia saw my present lack of love life as her private mission, and was forever trying to pair me off with inappropriate single men.

‘You have travelled far through time to be here,’ said Saranya Ji.

‘True,’ I said again. ‘It was a long flight from England and we go back tomorrow.’

‘No. Not in India, I mean in this body you call Bea. What I want to talk to you about is your life as Bea.’

‘OK.’

‘What you must understand, Bea, is that in life, first comes destiny, next comes free will. Understand? How you react to what happens to you.’

I nodded. ‘I understand.’

‘Our soul has many lessons to learn on this journey. You have had many lives, many incarnations, gathering knowledge and experience to bring you here today in this lifetime as Bea. So far this time, you have not found lasting love, but it is there as your destiny, you could know the joy of finding your true companion.’

Me and a thousand others, I thought, and wondered how many people she’d fed the same lines.