Most of the time, Ayanna’s job thrilled her. She thought maybe it was the truest way to honor the spirit of her childhood ambitions to be an adventurer. Other people were now the universe’s biggest frontiers to her. They were filled with mysteries and surprises, and the ability to come in, to help them connect with their lost or to examine why they thought they were haunted in some way, filled her with the old rush of wanting to see a sudden river or the desire to head all the way into the silver mountains or through the golden path’s thickets. In people, there were always possibilities, if she was optimistic enough, if they were optimistic enough, for change. Anytime she felt worn down or cynical about dedicating herself to mediumship, Ayanna remembered the look on Marlie Evans’s face when she’d said goodbye. How soft her eyes had been even though she was crying. “You’ve given me a peace I never imagined I could have,” she’d said.

But this one was the kind of job Ayanna liked working the least, going to a beautiful historic home, doing some “rituals” to make a too-wealthy person feel better about the amount of money they had spent. White-saging a home felt too problematic to Ayanna, so she had created a ritual that involved what she called “sacred incense”—a scent she claimed was passed down from mother to daughter in her family but was actually an out-of-fashion designer brand’s tomato-and-earth scent. She brought in white flowers and placed them around the house as offerings and asked the future homeowner to write a letter of peace and introduction to any spirits that might already be occupying the home.

For these events, Ayanna wore a uniform. Black pants, white shirt, a black blazer with birds, ladders, doors, eyes, and celestial elements embroidered on it. By far it was the most expensive item of clothing she owned but it felt necessary. Sometimes, she wore a wig over her natural hair, put on big fake eyelashes. Ayanna felt like the rich always wanted a capital-E Experience. They longed for faith that came with glamour and exclusivity. They had accumulated so much; they often didn’t want to be in reality. Everything should feel composed and well lit, to make them feel that they were a distinguished director of living well. They should always feel a deep lie of complete and total control over their days.