‘Find him? Nothing. Oh come on, I appreciate the gift, I really do, it’s been a great experience,’ I indicated the hotel. ‘Coming here has been fabulous – the boat ride and the car, I loved it, and meeting Saranya Ji, it’s been … er, different, if a little weird. But past lives? People called Grace and Billy. I’m sorry but I don’t believe a word she said, not for a minute. She guessed I’d known some sadness. Who hasn’t? Then she made the rest up and that’s her gift – tuning into people then spinning a yarn. Obvious really.’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Marcia. ‘You have to give it a chance and try and find him. She talked to me about destiny, it being what is fated to happen, and that free will determines how you react to that fate.’

‘She also talked about the importance of keeping an open mind,’ said Pete.

‘She said that to me too,’ I said. ‘So OK, a soulmate? In what country? In what period of my life? She said I may have already met him. We could have passed each other on the street and—’

‘You were probably looking at emails on your iPhone,’ said Pete.

‘Exactly. Missed him, darn it.’

‘It’s never too late,’ said Marcia. ‘If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.’ She glanced at Pete for support but he just shrugged. He wouldn’t take sides. He never did.

Adita appeared by our sides. ‘Your boat is ready to take you back,’ she told us.

I stood up. ‘Great,’ I said, and prayed that Marcia would drop all talk of past lives and spirits, ‘now let’s go and enjoy our last evening.’

5

The following day was an early start. A short flight to Mumbai then a two-hour delay before our flight back to London. When we’d found seats in a row in the airport lounge, I got out my laptop with a mind to google Saranya Ji and see if there was a reviews page. Although the rational part of me had intended to put the whole session to one side, another part of me kept going back to what she’d said, not just about the past lives but about my life and experience of love being painful. I couldn’t deny that had resonated. I put in the name Saranya Ji only to find there were hundreds of them on the Net. Clearly it was a popular name. I scrolled down. There were pages and pages of women with that name.

‘Anyone got any paper?’ Marcia asked.

‘Sure. What for?’ I asked.

‘I need to make a list.’

I always travelled with a notepad, so found it in my bag and tore out a sheet for her. ‘A list of what?’

‘Past lovers.’

‘Oh no, Marcia. I know exactly what you’re thinking.’