The Turning Point - Part One

One foot in front of the other I walk these woods alone. The scent the new-fallen leaves, an aroma most intoxicating, is the balm my spirit needs for my scattered thoughts this day.

I carry myself, stronger with each step, forward thinking as I go, until I reach a rocky knoll.

The sun brightly shining leads me to warm, smooth rock ahead. As I seat myself comfortably there’s a feeling that this spot was made for me. Awaiting something I’m unable to identify I linger here letting the peace permeate my entire being.

Glittering, sparkling lights appear to my left. I blink repeatedly; it must be the hot sun. I take out my water bottle and as I sip slowly a voice on the breeze speaks softly, beckoning me to look up.

My eyes, drawn by the familiarity of the whispers, see a figure in white where the lights once appeared. I sense a kindredship as I recognize the golden hair, so long and wavy, from a place in my dreams.

Her name I know as Celeste and she is my Guardian Angel.

I panic a little, remembering my childhood lesson that unless called on your Guardian Angel could only appear if you were in danger. Seeing nothing lurking in the shadows I ask with trepidation, “Why are you here?”

To be continued...

Holiday Miracles VI

VI

 The road to the hospital had always seemed endless but never in the months of travelling back and forth had it been as long as it was tonight. There could only be one reason for a call in the middle of the night. The moment Wes heard the voice on the other end of the line he steeled himself for the worst.

He thought he was prepared for anything at this point, but as father and son walked the hospital halls to the chapel - he’d yet to tell Jacob – Wes knew he hadn’t prepared himself of late for this.

They were met at the chapel doors by Dr Rattan and his nurse, Margaret. It wasn’t under her usual duties as a private nurse but, as she’d been Kate’s nurse since Kate was Jacob’s age she deserved to be, and wanted to be, here.

“I need you to stay here with Nurse Margaret, Jacob, I need to speak with Dr Rattan alone,” Wes told him. Wes had to be certain there had been no mistake before he’d tell his son the news. There’d be no going back from that conversation.

“Everything is all set, we’re ready when you are,” the Intensive Care nurse informed him when, minutes later, he and Dr Rattan walked into Kate’s room.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Wes said to Dr Rattan. “What if we’re wrong?”

“We’re not,” the Dr gently replied. “We ran every test possible before I called you.”

Tears he’d held for so long ran down his face as Wes took hold of Kate’s hand with one hand and very slowly reached with his other and reluctantly unplugged the machine that had kept her breathing for so long. But his faith was sorely tested in the seconds after, when her chest showed no movement...and then he saw it...Kate truly was breathing unaided.

“Thank God,” he said, letting the breath out he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Do you believe in miracles, Doc?”

Miracles happened every day in his line of work, but never had he prayed so often for a family to be granted one than he did for this one. “I do now, but Wes? Remember she’ll have to stay here until she awakens and regains her strength.”

“I know,” Wes said, “but as you said on the phone, her brain activity was back to normal and breathing on her own was the biggest hurdle. And she’s passed that test with flying colours.”

They discussed what they’d need to watch for in the days and weeks to come and when both Dr Rattan and Wes were satisfied that they’d covered everything, the Dr offered to go to the chapel and bring Jacob up. “You’re about to see a very happy boy,” he said to Wes as he walked out of the room.

While he waited for Jacob, Wes laid his head on Kate’s stomach and prayed aloud. “Dear God, I know all of my prayers have been asking for something lately, but this time I just want to say thank you. Thank you for answering my prayers. Thank you for not taking Kate from us. Thanks...just...thanks.”

“Dad?” Jacob said as he entered the room. “Is Mom alright?”

“Come over here,” replied Wes, “and see for yourself. Mom’s coming home soon, buddy.”

Jacob threw himself onto the bed with his mother and cried, “I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t lie to me. You told me wishes on an Angel on Christmas Eve had the best chance of coming true and...Dad, why won’t Mom answer? Why won’t she wake up? I thought you said she was alright!”

“She is,” Wes explained. “It just may take time for her to wake up and laugh and talk and all those things we’re used to.”

Turning to his Dad Jacob asked the question that had crossed Wes’s mind on the drive over, “what if she never does?”

Wes, still holding Kate’s hand, felt the faintest of movements while trying to form an answer suitable for their five year old son. Could it possibly be? He squeezed her hand and waited. “Jacob, look,” he said, nodding his head toward their clasped hands. “Mom’s moving her fingers.”

Though spent in a hospital room, that Christmas Day was the merriest one Jacob had ever had. He hadn’t cared about presents under the tree, having his Mom come home for good three weeks later was all the present he’d asked for. And the lesson in faith that he and his father were given when Kate told them of the Angel who visited and prompted her to wake up, would last throughout his lifetime.

The End.

May you all be blessed with the peace, love and faith so abundant at this time of year for all the days that follow.

Holiday Miracles V

V

Christmas Eve afternoon and Wes was finally putting up the decorations Jacob had been pleading with him to do for weeks. After their disappointing morning visit with Kate - no change – Wes vowed to put his heart into giving Jacob the best Christmas he could. And for Jacob, though he liked getting presents, that meant sparkling lights, hot chocolate and cookies set out for Santa – carrot sticks for the reindeer were a must - and watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.

This had all been Kate’s department and boy, had she made it look easier than it was. Wes had only gotten as far as opening the boxes; he had no idea where to begin. As glittery stars and bears, lights and garland, snowmen and angels seemed to mock him from their cardboard homes, Jacob walked into the room to see his Dad staring uncomprehendingly at the decorations they’d hauled down from the attic.

“Mom puts these outside,” he said, pointing at the snowmen, “and the tree goes up last. When all the decorations are on the tree, the angel goes on top.” And with all the delicacy a young boy could muster, he reached into the box that held their angel and handed her, in all her porcelain glory, over to his Dad.

“Thanks, Champ,” he said, “what would I do without you.” He hugged Jacob tight and was happy to not see the usual eye roll from his ‘I’m too old for that’ son.

Three hours later, father and son, hot chocolate in hand, had set the stage for their holidays to come. Wes sure wished Kate were standing here with them admiring the snowmen on the front porch ready to greet passers-by, garland and bows taking their places on the porch railing and the tree alight in the living room window.

“You have to make a wish, Dad,” Jacob said. “Mom says wishes whispered to an Angel in the silence of Christmas Eve have the best chance of coming true.”

Wish it were that easy, he wanted to say, but believing it was futile didn’t stop Wes from staring into Angel eyes and silently praying that his wife would wake up, or at least that Jacob would always remember her loving words and ways in the years to come.

“What did you wish for?” Wes asked, as if he didn’t know.

“I can’t tell you. If I tell you it won’t come true,” Jacob told him.

He didn’t expect Jacob to tell him everything, so leaving it at that, Wes tucked Jacob in for the night, then settled into his chair to wait until Jacob was asleep so Santa could go about leaving presents and imbibing the sweets he’d helped his son set out for Santa. And he had to make sure the reindeer nibbled on the carrots left out for them before taking himself off to bed.

The jingle of the phone was what woke him from his chair hours later. His jumbled thoughts went from who could that be calling at this time of night to sheer panic in seconds. “Please God, no, not today. Not on Christmas,” he quickly prayed as he stumbled to find the phone in the dark. “Hello?”

to be continued...

Holiday Miracles IV

IV

          

      “It’s going to be alright.”

Holding Kate’s hand, he was praying to God for guidance and watching his sleeping son curled next to his mother; desperation, frustration, sadness and love beyond measure, the tumultuous emotions of the evening. Those uttered words from Kate the only exception - or addition in his dreams - to the events of the night before and oh, how he wished it were true.  

How happy that would make him to be planning her welcome home party rather than her funeral. But that was just the coward’s way out, he thought. It was time to face reality, and part of that reality was when and what to tell Jacob.

Was it right to expect a five year old to understand something his adult brain didn’t? A kid was only a kid once. He couldn’t, didn’t, expect his young son to have the answers to the questions or take on the responsibilities of the adults in Jacob’s life. Putting too much on Jacob was wrong to Wes’s belief.

But on the other hand, if he didn’t tell him ahead of time and waited until he was old enough to understand, would Jacob hate him for not letting him be part of the decision? Were there things he’d be robbing Jacob of doing with or saying to his mother by not giving him warning?

Either way he looked at it, explaining death to his son was hard at any time of year, at any age, but at Christmas doubly so.

Holiday Miracles III

III

      “Good evening, Wes,” greeted Kate’s Dr as they entered Kate’s room. “I’m afraid there’s still no change.” As a husband Dr Rattan understood Wes’s inability to make the decision he needed to make. If roles were reversed he didn’t know if he could choose to turn off machines keeping his wife alive. But as a doctor, he believed it cruel, to Kate and her loved ones, to drag out the inevitable. “Have you made a decision?” he asked.

Wes looked pointedly at Jacob, a gentle reminder that they weren’t alone in the room, and carefully responded. “I’ve thought of not much else, Doc” Wes answered, nodding towards the door. Wes turned to Jacob and said, “Dr Rattan and I will just be out in the hall for a minute. How ‘bout you talk to your Mom while I’m gone.”

“I prayed, well maybe hoped, I’d walk into her room today and she’d be awake. That I wouldn’t have to decide on anything more than what was for dinner tomorrow,” Wes told Dr Rattan. “You know, I bought her a Christmas present – a heart locket. I had the jeweler do our pictures so that when she opens it, it looks like we’re holding hands.”

“You’re just making it harder on yourself, Wes; you know as I do what Kate wanted. You can’t put this off any longer, it’s not right.”

“Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. I won’t,” Wes paused at the look on Dr Rattan’s face, “can’t, do it until after Christmas. I won’t do that to Jacob.”

“I’m sure Kate will forgive us under the circumstances, but Wes? The day after Christmas is as long as I’ll wait.”

Wes stood in the hallway alone long after Dr Rattan went on his way praying for the help he and Jacob would need in the coming months.

Holiday Miracles II

II

What kind of man would it make him if he agreed to pull the plug on his wife’s life support? What kind of husband would he be if he didn’t?

Wes had been circling around this, running on hope and pure adrenaline for months. He’d spent what seemed like a lifetime praying and hoping for a miracle but time was running out.

Kate was his wife, his best friend, his one and only and the love of his life. They still had a lot of life ahead of them to live, many more places to go and dreams to turn into reality. It mattered not one bit to him that most of his days were all the same.

He’d wake up, get ready for work, and wake Jacob up for school. Then juggle eating breakfast with him while packing lunches and reading/signing the endless parent information forms the school sent home and after dropping Jacob off at before school care it was off to work for Wes.

After the long daily grind of traffic and the office he’d pick Jacob up from school, take him home and go over his homework with him before eating a quick bite of supper. If it was a work night at job number two, he’d wait for a neighbour's daughter to come over to sit with Jacob. If not, as was the case tonight, they’d head to the hospital to visit Kate.

Keeping up with two jobs to pay the hospital bills, taking care of Jacob, tossing and turning at night trying to get some sleep so he could get up the next morning and do it all over again had Wes on the verge of exhaustion, but he couldn’t let go. How could he?

He had another five days – the time that Kate’s Living Will would allow -- to put off what looked like the inevitable. And her wishes were very clear. If she was ever on life support she didn’t want to live long enough to be a burden to him and it was up to him to end her life with kindness.

She allowed one month’s grace from the time her Doctor advised taking her off the machines -- a concession she made after he protested that Doctors weren’t God, that God may work on his own timetable, and that he’d never be able to live with himself wondering if he’d taken away the only chance she had at life.

Kate had no way of knowing that decision would have him signing her death warrant just days before Christmas. How could he look Jacob in the eye, when he was old enough, and tell him that in the end it was he who took his Mom away from him?  And at Christmas?

Jacob would hate him, and who could blame him?

Holiday Miracles - I

I

Jacob’s family once celebrated Christmas with all the trimmings. His Mom would have had the house decorated and the tree up by now. The smell of her Christmas baking would be wafting throughout their home from now until the big day. Presents would be wrapped and hidden in his parents’ closet ready for ‘Santa’ to put under the tree on Christmas Eve. But those days were over and he was angry.

Angry, not at his Dad for not celebrating the holidays this year, but at the driver of the car who hit his Mom in the crosswalk that day in August; angry at God for letting it happen and for not answering his many prayers.

“Jacob,” said his Dad, “We’re leaving for the hospital in a few minutes. Be ready to go in fifteen.”

Jacob wished he was old enough to stay home alone. He didn’t know why Dad kept going there. What was the point? Mom had been unable to wake up since the accident; she didn’t even know they were in the room with her. Dad tried to tell him she could hear but he didn’t believe that. She was a stranger now.

His Mom would have laughed at his stories, hugged him to say hello, goodbye and just, well, whenever he looked like he needed one. Now, he’d sit there, listening to Dad tell his Mom about his day then watch the familiar sadness come crashing in when her facial expression remained as blank as it had since August.

“Ok, Dad,” was his only reply as he put his book and toys in his backpack to take with him for the long evening ahead. 

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 8

Hand to forehead Harmony weaved white light so bright through Brick, light that only an experienced Angel, or He himself, could see. Colours once weak now shone brightly, but for the faint glimmer of pink around his heart. She’d done what she could, his battered and bruised body would heal, but she didn’t need to be an Angel to know that if his battered heart didn’t, the life he’d go forward with would be as a shell of the man he once was.

She prepared to thread off for what she hoped would be the last time. Brick was on the verge of awakening when the pink went from a glimmer to the brightest light in the room, and in walked Lisa.“Hmmm. I’d say my work here is done," Harmony said to herself. "Time to wake Serenity as I promised and leave the rest of Brick's healing in his hands...or heart as the case may be.” 

“How long was I asleep? Is Brick alright?” Serenity asked. What a remarkable Angel she was, thought Harmony, that Serenity's first thought upon waking was to give Brick a thorough inspection. 

Leaving Serenity to her fussing, she reached her hand over to smooth her daughter’s hair. She’d already broken enough rules for one day, but she couldn’t help thinking that if only she could allow Lisa to know she was there with her, that she wasn’t going through this alone, that all would be well. 

to be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 7

 ‘Ours is to unquestionably obey His rules, abide by His decisions and always show faith that He knows best’ -- the one lesson Harmony drummed into her Third-Spheres’ heads when they questioned the why’s and when’s of His plan, advice that had served her well until now.

She knew she could never go back when she was done today. Crossing the veil of another Angel’s Cloak of Healing without their permission or knowledge, or without a member of the Seraphim present, could bind an Angel for eternity in limbo, a more unappealing thought to her than not making Seraphim.

A stern reminder about the rules was all she would receive if she backed out now, but right or wrong, she’d made the decision from her heart. For Lisa’s sake, she had to halt the battle within and focus her energy on healing Brick.

To be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 6

Serenity, about to finish the Cloak of Healing she’d weaved around Brick, nodded to Harmony that she was ready to thread their glittery trail together. It was rarely necessary for an Angel to require help in making the Cloak of Healing, but weaving so soon after a case of Dullwing Flu and wanting to give Brick every chance to heal, Serenity gladly accepted Harmony’s assistance.

“I dearly hope this works,” said Serenity.

“Believe,” Harmony responded, as she tied her thread to Serenity’s to seal the bond.

In the quiet aftermath the Angels discussed, down to the last detail, Harmony’s plan to release Lisa from her promise. Harmony knew her true plan would put her at risk of demotion - a small price to pay – but she wouldn’t take Serenity down with her. As the exhausted Angel bowed her head, Harmony sprinkled her with Sleeping Dust. “Sleep my dear friend for we’ve a long road ahead. When Brick starts to stir, I will awaken you.” 

She would never make Seraphim now, but what good was being an Angel if she couldn’t put things right for her own daughter, Harmony thought as she laid a gentle hand on Brick’s forehead and began to open the forbidden channel.

To be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 5

 “Brick, I’m here,” said Lisa as she gently took hold of Brick’s hand. “Please wake up.”

“I’ll go and find Dr Marsh,” Victoria said to Lisa, “and give you some time alone.”

It was quite a rarity to see Lisa’s take-charge-of-the-situation-attitude falter when she looked at Brick, and although her hope was renewed by the love she saw in Lisa’s eyes, Victoria would take her prayers all back in a second if it would just make Brick wake up and see again.

Victoria couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that this was her fault. Before Brick’s accident her prayers were for anything that would bring Lisa and Brick back together...seeing her son like this wasn’t what she had in mind. Fate could be cruel when she wanted to be. Just where was Brick’s guardian angel now? Was anyone up there listening to her prayers?

They could see the mantle of pink glitter wrapping around to protect Victoria, but Harmony and Serenity knew by the aura of blue for the sadness consuming her, that Tranquillity – Victoria’s Guardian Angel – had her work cut out for her.

“Oh,” said a frustrated Serenity. “We’re Angels. We should be able to tell her it will all work out.”

“Tranquillity is trying, but until Victoria calms enough to hear her the best way for us to help is to get to work here,” said Harmony.

to be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 4

 It was Serenity’s strength of will alone that had the gold sparkles glittering from her pink robe as Harmony filled her in on what had happened during her illness.

“How is it possible that Brick can see you, talk to you? I know there are some who can feel our presence, but they’re not supposed to actually see us and only in prayer can they talk to us with few listening to hear our whispered advice,” said Serenity. “Unless...”

“Unless we have a personal connection to them,” Harmony finished. “Lisa is...I mean was...my daughter. I’m here to right a mess I made the day I died. That day, I made Lisa promise to watch over and care for her father, to always obey him.” Harmony, clearly embarrassed and agitated, glittered a mixture of blue and red as she went on to explain. “I thought it would make things easier for Tom to raise a ten year old daughter alone but it’s that promise that keeps Lisa from letting go, from allowing herself to be happy.”

“And therefore the reason Brick could never do right,” Serenity nodded with complete understanding now. “So you’re here to bring Brick and Lisa back together again?”

“No, I’m here to find a way to free Lisa from her promise so she can move on and be happy...whether it’s with Brick or not has to be up to her.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

To be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 3

She was a Dominion, an Angel of the Second Sphere so it was rather a surprise for Harmony to be summoned to the quick and very capable Serenity’s aid but when He spoke, no Angel dared to argue for if He stepped in, the situation was dire and this time was no different...

Harmony hadn’t glittered herself since she was a wee Third Sphere Angel-in-training - a Guardian Angel as humans liked to call them - but she was embarrassingly doing just that as she shivered gold sparkles with her every move around Brick’s hospital room. And in front of Serenity who was a Third Sphere Angel-in-training no less...although Serenity was hardly noticing much in her condition.

Serenity had spent so much energy protecting Brick in the accident that she’d contracted the Dullwing Flu, a virus no Angel wanted for it meant days of lying around, with every cough and sneeze draining them of their precious glitter. The poor wee thing had sneezed herself down to barely enough glitter to call for help so now it was up to Harmony to convince Brick this wasn’t his time. And as if she wasn’t busy enough this time of year, He gave her another mission...a next to impossible one...but if she ever hoped to make the high level of Seraphim she had better get on it quick!

Harmony knew Brick was tracking her every move as she flit about his hospital room. Perfect!

“You’re awake!”

“Am I? Who are you? Where am I? What happened?”

“My name is Harmony. You don’t remember?”

Brick sat deep in thought and then replied, “The last thing I remember was a beautiful woman standing over me.”

“Oh, that would be Serenity.”

“Serenity? Do I know Serenity?”

“You were in an accident. Serenity tried to save you.”

“What? I don’t...oh wait,” Brick said, “I was driving. I remember a snow plow coming right for me. I...what happened? Did he hit me? Did I hit him? Is he alright?”

“His name is Ronald Jackson. He’s badly shaken up; something went wrong with the mechanism and his left blade wing dropped and seized in place pulling him into your lane. As soon as he could he ran to pull you out of your car. He's is still here waiting for word on how you’re doing.”

Brick's mother had been seated in his room, whispering prayers and words of encouragement from the moment she’d been called to his bedside. When Brick opened his eyes and rapidly looked around his room, flicking from one thing after another, only to stare sightlessly Victoria’s way, she worriedly called for the Doctor, who arrived in time to witness the one-sided conversation Brick was having.

“Brick, Dr Marsh is here with you now. You’re going to be alright,” Victoria said to her unresponsive son.

“He's getting some colour back and is otherwise stable," said Dr Marsh after examining Brick. "We have him under close observation but we may need to go in and relieve the pressure on his brain."

"You mean surgery?"

"We may have to, Victoria. You may want to get Lisa here as soon as possible.”

Harmony shivered more glitter as she watched a distraught Victoria leave her son's room, before bringing her focus back to the task of preparing Brick for what was to come.

To be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony Part 2

Where was he?

Daddy wouldn’t have been late for something this important, but then Daddy cared about her happiness as Brick never had. Lisa would deny it now if anyone were to remind her that Brick’s appeal in the first place had been that he was so much like Daddy...but that was then and this was now.

Being late to sign their divorce papers was just another fine example of how Brick didn’t hold dear that which was special to Lisa. Maybe one day she’d find that one-of-a-kind love but until snowballs no longer melted here on earth she’d just have to be happy taking care of Daddy, just the two of them as it always was. Him, she could count on.

“I need to speak to Lisa Madison, it’s urgent”, she heard through the closed door. She’d recognize the voice of Victoria Madison anywhere, even after two years of separation. Hearing the unusual near-panic in that voice had Lisa opening the door and responding with the kindness she’d always been dealt at Victoria’s hands. The fragile look was a new one for the strong, silent Victoria.

“Victoria, what’s wrong?”

“Lisa, its Brick...there’s been an accident. Brick needs you.”

“Surely you as his mother can see to his care, Victoria,” Lisa gently challenged even as her heart did flip-flops.

“I tried explaining about the divorce, but while Brick is still married to you the Doctor needs your consent.”

“Consent? Consent for what?”

“Please, Lisa. You have to trust me! I’ll tell you more on the way to the hospital,” Victoria said as she urged Lisa on with her coat and out the door to the awaiting taxi. 

to be continued...

Angels Among Us - Harmony

He was about to become the jolliest of elves.

Brick Madison’s holiday season was about to get as bright as the snow-covered countryside surrounding him on his late afternoon drive to town. A little ink on some documents, a small price to pay, and he’d once again have control over his own life, his freedom, after spending the five longest years of his thirty-five year life married to Lisa.

Marrying Lisa Madison – nee Bonham, the woman he thought he would love and grow old with - had turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he’d made. Had anyone told him, and some had tried, that marrying her meant marrying her Daddy he may have saved himself years of ‘but Daddy says’ and ‘but Daddy did’.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like his father-in-law, in fact Brick had enormous respect for Tom Bonham, but a marriage of two was tough enough, a marriage of three next to impossible, at least for him. Well, no point reopening wounds long healed, he thought as he rounded the last bend before town straight into the path of a wayward snow plow.

  It took probably seconds to swerve, go over the guard rail and flip to land wheels first over the embankment surrounded by pines, but to him living it felt like hours. His last coherent thought was of the brilliant, pink-robed angel atop the nearest tree enveloping him in sparkly golden light from her gentle, loving hands as her smile lit the ever-darkening skies.

to be continued...

Here In Spirit - conclusion

The vacant eyes stared out amidst glass jars of what she could only believe were once herbs. Admiring the workmanship of such a beautiful antique, Maggie lifted the doll from its shroud of white cloth. As its eyes blinked open to stare unseeingly, Maggie was swamped by the vision of a young, rash-covered, feverish girl hugging her doll tight as she lay delirious and swaddled in soft linens.

Maggie had forgotten that she wasn’t alone until her daughter’s scream brought her back to the moment, but in those moments when she was focussed on the scene unfolding on the edge of her consciousness, the idea behind Here In Spirit was born.

Try as she might, she couldn’t let go of the haunting feeling she had, prompting her and Thomas to research the history of the house and its former occupants and in so doing had unearthed the existence of six-year old Abigail, daughter of Agatha and Benjamin Harrison.

The hand-written notes - that only to the eye of the ignorant could be mistaken for spells - entombed with the doll and the jars of herbs they’d proven had once belonged to Agatha Harrison.

Agatha Harrison was a woman - a healer in the time of a scarlet fever outbreak, an illness she hadn’t figured a cure for before it struck the only child of the town magistrate – tried, convicted and hanged without ever having had the chance to explain or defend against the accusation of witchcraft, as was the practice in some small towns where, in 1861, such atrocities had not yet been put to an end.

Hanged just days before the disease had ravaged Abigail’s body and had her crying out for her mother to no avail. Death came for Abigail without even the comfort of her mother’s loving arms around her and the loss haunted Agatha’s every ghostly step, as the loss of his wife and his only child had haunted Benjamin’s. He’d buried his reminders of them deep in the recesses of the attic floor, sold the house, never to be heard from in these parts again.

Maggie and Thomas, realizing that Blayne was their connection to the other side, worked many a night to right a wrong committed over a century ago, to bring the Harrison family back together.

Finally free from the chains a frightened society had wrapped her in, Agatha was last seen standing on that Halloween night ten years ago, her husband at her side, happily waving goodbye as they held their golden-haired daughter safely between them. And that made spending every Halloween since sending up prayers for the Harrison’s, and the many other families they’d freed over the last decade, worthwhile for the Bardsell’s.

Every so often Blayne wished for a normal Halloween - like her friends had - but then she remembered the history she’d learned and how good it was to live in a time where people may think her odd, and yes, probably judge her, but she’d never be subject to such persecution as her spirit friends had known in their time...and for that she was truly thankful.

The End.

Happy Halloween! 

Here In Spirit

Heads bowed, they murmured in unison.

How praying one night a year was truly honouring him – or her – was one of the many questions sixteen year old Blayne would like to ask, but as dusk was quickly approaching she also knew the value of the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality.

Halloween night was a unique experience in the Bardsell house. Maggie and Thomas Bardsell – owners of Here In Spirit, and Blayne’s parents – made freeing Spirits their life's work and Halloween was their busiest time of year. Trick or Treat - words Blayne had never uttered as her friends did, as her little brother did – was over for Blayne before it ever really got started.

She’d been six years old the day her mother searched high and low, only to find Blayne standing in the attic as if in a trance, pointing at the floorboards. “She said she wasn’t a witch,” Blayne said to her mother, “and her name is Agatha.”

Maggie could only call it trusting an instinct she’d been born with as, using herself as a human shield to protect her daughter from the unknown, she began tapping at the floor with an old tire iron lying nearby, prying loose the floorboards to expose the hollowed out compartment below. Uncertain just what she was seeing, all she could do for a moment was stare...until the scream let loose by her daughter had her shaking herself back into action. 

To be continued...

Wish It of the Moonlight

Wishes whispered in the night will hold

Gods captured in their thrall,

For in the silence of the moon

your voice and thoughts more clear,

than the loudest cry in light of day

Spoken above the roar.

A Case of Greed - Part Seven

The ensuing hysterics and finger pointing alone made for a better soundtrack than any drama Job could’ve hoped to hear on whatever that show was called...the one about age and restlessness that his mother watched. 

            Job would remember for years to come how Alec had proven to be an invaluable and mutual ally in their quest for justice for Philomena. It was Alec’s charade that had Holly placing the call a short while ago that brought Judge Wright, Kenneth Platz and Dr Price running like trained dogs to Alec’s office in record time; Alec’s insistence that they tap into the building security system that had the cast of characters unknowingly put on the audio-and-visually-recorded show that would be their downfall.

 “Smile for the cameras boys,” Job whispered. “Alec, are you sure you want to continue on with this? It’s not too late to back out; they don’t know they’ve been set up.” Alec’s response was what Job could only believe was a difficult choice since said bastards were some of Alec’s closest friends and colleagues.

 “Oh no, I want these bastards to pay almost as much as you do.”  It almost made Alec feel guilty that Holly believed she had poison streaking like lightning through her veins...until he remembered who gave those chocolates to Philomena.

“What kind of game are you playing now?” Ahh, the smarmy voice of Senator Platz was easy enough for Job to recognize even if they weren’t watching the ferret-faced man on screen. “Your need for attention is quickly growing stale, Holly,” Kenneth replied using his could-care-less tone that he reserved for idiots who opposed him and street urchins.

 “I need the antidote,” Holly said, “and don’t dare pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about Kenneth or so help me, I’ll ruin you!”

 “You’re losing it Holly, pull yourself together,” Kenneth said. Fondling the small vial he kept on him at all times, his mind started working overtime. He’d been looking for a way to dump Holly - she knew too much - without having her turn on him. “I don’t have the antidote; it’s not likely to be something I’d carry around, now is it?” He was elated. Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly if he’d planned it this way.

 “You...you have to have it...you always carry it!”

 “If you think you can call me away from my nice warm brandy just to -- wait, what did you just say?” Judge Wright turned and pointed at Holly. “Why would you need the antidote?”

“The question should be why would she expect us to believe that she’d be dumb enough to have eaten chocolates we’d laced with belladonna?”

 “That’s right Kenneth, keep talking,” Job and Alec whispered in unison. “Little does he know how much I want to see him hang himself,” Alec said to Job. 

Job felt more than heard the sighs of relief coming from the first floor security station where John and Jerry, who’d had serious doubts about where Alec’s loyalties lie, sat bearing witness to the scene unfolding in Alec’s office.

“Hold it,” Judge Wright held up a hand to stop Kenneth. “Let’s get something straight. There was no we who laced those chocolates, the two of you acted alone there.”

 “I didn’t know Philomena gave the rest of her chocolates to Alec until after I’d eaten a few!”

 “For God’s sake, Kenneth, first Philomena, now Holly?” exclaimed Judge Wright. “Where do you draw the line?” If there was an end in sight he certainly couldn’t see it.

 “There’s no one outside this room who knows your secret. Once it gets out there won’t be a soul around who’d believe you weren’t in on the plan...Judge,” Kenneth said. “That’s right; no one else has been smart enough to figure out why you really let the drug dealers off with a slap on the wrist. By the way, how is your son? Is he keeping himself out of trouble these days?”

Judge Wright had never regretted more than he did at this moment that he hadn’t been there to watch his son grow up, to teach him right from wrong. His wife tended to look the other way on his liaisons as long as he was discreet, but it didn’t bear thinking if she ever found out that a mistress from his past had bore him the son she couldn’t give him.  

“Give her the antidote so we can all go home! I’ll not stand by again and witness what Ms Townsend went through. I won’t do it,” said a very agitated Dr Price, who had been the only silent one in the room until now.

“I wouldn’t be so brave if I were you, Doctor,” Senator Platz responded. “You wouldn’t want the Judge here to have an accident before your case has its final hearing, would you?” Kenneth knew his threat hit its mark when the white pallor of Dr Price’s complexion went even paler.

Dr Price regretted more every minute this went on that he hadn’t trusted his lawyer when she’d told him he stood a good chance of winning the malpractice suit...the one Kenneth had convinced him would be his ruin. He was a doctor, a damn good one at one time, but he could see his life falling apart in front of him. It was long past time to find a way to bring this to an end.

Stay tuned for Part Eight (Final) of A Case of Greed

Peace

'You have achieved peace when amongst the chaos you can still find serenity in your heart.'