Page 66 of Alice Carver Manifests Her Perfect Life
‘Ow,’ said Matthew, suddenly standing up and stretching. ‘I’ve got cramp in my leg.’ He looked down at me, still sitting crossed-legged. ‘How come you’re so comfortable sitting on the floor?’
‘I guess I’m just naturally quite good at physical stuff,’ I said, deciding that as he’d failed first, it was fine for me to stand and move to the sofa. But as I tried to get up, I found my foot had gone to sleep, and stumbled and banged into the coffee table, knocking the candle; I just managed to save it, before my foot went numb again and I collapsed back on the floor.
‘Gosh, yeah,’ said Matthew. ‘And so graceful. Probably the dancer in you.’
‘It’s actually recommended to lie on your back like this,’ I said casually. ‘Helps to connect with the ground.’
Matthew didn’t answer. He was still stretching his leg, but facing away from me, so I could have a quick stare unwatched. I swear, even in the dark, I could see the muscles on his back and shoulders ripple as he moved. No wonder Ebba had that irritatingly gratified look on her face.
‘Stop staring at me,’ said Matthew.
‘I’m not. I’m focusing on the candle. Like you should be.’
‘I’m not sure I should be,’ said Matthew. ‘I can see green flame imprints everywhere.’
He turned round to face me.
‘You have a green flame instead of a face.’
‘That’s probably your third eye. It just means you’re connecting well,’ I said.
‘No, it probably means I’ve given myself retinal fatigue,’ said Matthew.
I remembered that woman from YouTube who claimed to have permanent eye damage. I hoped I hadn’t burned Matthew’s retinas. I felt pretty sure Astrid would be really pissed off with me if I had. And Mum would go mental. I sat up quickly, and blew out the candle.
‘There we go then. Problem solved. Can you see properly now?’
‘No,’ said Matthew. ‘Maybe turn some lights on?’
We both blinked in the soft glow of the side lamp, our eyes adjusting. Matthew picked up the candle and looked at the label. I felt oddly disappointed that the manifesting was done.
‘Alice, why were we calling this candle Capricorn? It says Baobab on the side.’
‘Because it’s raining,’ I explained.
‘Yeah,’ said Matthew. ‘I still don’t understand. And how is the candle granting wishes? Is it like a candle on a kid’s birthday cake?’
‘The candle doesn’t grant wishes. We were meant to be using Capricorn to manifest and so the candle served as a representation.’
‘Sorry, who is Capricorn?’
‘It’s the new moon tonight – it’s called the Capricorn moon.’
‘Why didn’t we just use the moon then?’ asked Matthew.
‘Because it’sraining!’ For someone with two masters and his own successful business he seemed pretty slow to me.
‘I reckon it would feel marginally less ridiculous to speak to the actual moon,’ said Matthew. ‘As opposed to Astrid’s bathroom candle.’
‘Well, yes,’ I said authoritatively. ‘Manifesting works much better outdoors. Effectively it’s tapping into our longstanding relationship with nature, to ancient ways. That’s why I have an affinity with nature. Something I have in common with Romantic poets and ancient philosophers. And, of course, you’ll find they truly understood manifesting. Aristotle, Descartes. Big fans.’
Matthew gave me a puzzled look and opened his mouth to speak, then paused. ‘Aristotle?’
‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit,’ I quoted fromThe Guide, which was proving to be educational as well as helpful. ‘Arguably he was talking about moon manifesting.’
‘Arguably.’ Matthew seemed to grapple with something for a moment. Probably how impressed he was by my philosophical awareness. He walked over to the glass doors and rakedhis eyes over the garden. ‘It’s a shame. So much light pollution here. You struggle to see the night sky properly.’
‘The weather’s terrible anyway,’ I sighed. ‘You wouldn’t be able to see the Capricorn moon even if we weren’t in London.’
