The Spirit Who Loved Me: Spirit Whispers Book One (7 page)

Chapter 9

At first, I
thought I was dreaming the most beautiful, vibrant dream that I’d ever had in my entire life. I was in this hall way with these super shiny linoleum floors, lit up with what seemed like the brightest florescent lights ever. I started walking, the sound of each of my footsteps echoing loudly against the walls. Double doors were on my left, double doors were on my right, and on and on they went as I continued my slow progress down the hallway. I bet I walked half a mile before I finally felt compelled to turn to a set of those double doors on my left. I placed my palms against the bar, its coolness sinking into my skin, and gave it a gentle push open.

I was blinded by a brightness that took my breath away. I was blinking and blinking stupidly until my vision finally started to clear. The light was radiating from everything, and I could hear a gentle humming. I noticed myself standing in a lush meadow, the green grass so lush and vibrant I could actually see it pulsing. A couple of little hills slopped gently downward and on the other side of them stood a towering old oak tree. I stilled. I knew that oak tree. It couldn’t be the same oak tree from Granny’s yard, could it?

And under that old oak tree was laid out a red and white checkered table cloth, and on it she sat, my granny, Abigail Lynn Haggart. Fierce joy exploded through my chest as I sprung forward in a run, and I began laughing and crying all at the same time. Granny stood to greet me, my momentum carrying me straight into her embrace, and we stumbled backwards several steps. She held me tightly for a moment before she pulled back slightly so she could look into my face. She was so beautiful, full of radiance, the picture of perfect health. Her white hair was a halo around her head, her blue eyes shining bright, a big smile lighting up her whole face.

“What are you waiting for?” she teased. “Give your granny some sugar, girl,” she said laughing. I placed my hands on the bottoms of her soft, wrinkled cheeks, kissing first one side and then the other.

“Granny, I have missed you so much! How is this possible?” Amazement was apparent in my voice while I spun around in a tiny circle. Stopping in front of her, I asked, “Am I dreaming?” Then I pinched myself, honest to God. “Ouch!”

“No, not a dream.” She tilted her face, just like I do all the time, and I knew in that instant where I inherited the mannerism. “Come sit with Granny.” She lowered herself with a gracefulness I’d never seen her possess in life and patted the checkered cloth next to her. She reached behind her back and pulled out a tan wicker basket I hadn’t noticed. She gave me that knowing look of hers, one I was all too familiar with and opened up the basket, before starting to pull out food. Of course. Of course, she would have food. She was quite the cook and somehow still apparently was.

She laid out a platter of fresh biscuits with slices of country ham tucked inside, collard greens, black eyed peas, and cucumber salad, the scent of the vinegar burning my nose. I started to wonder how much more could possibly fit in that basket, I felt like I was watching Marry Poppins pulling things out of her magic carpet bag. Mason jars filled with sweet tea, one for her, one for me, came next. And last but not least, beginning to sing Happy Birthday much to my embarrassment, she brought forth her special chocolate cake complete with rich milk chocolate icing. I could feel the chocolate butter cream melting on my tongue already.

Granny opened a cloth napkin with great flair. It billowed gracefully down, and she smoothed it out on her lap. “Here you are, dear.” She handed me a napkin of my own with a biscuit, a slice of ham heaven sitting inside. I took a bite. Delicious. I never remembered being able to taste food in a dream before.

“So, if this isn’t a dream, then where are we?”

“I was waiting for you to ask. We are In Between.”

I waited for more explanation. When she didn’t give any, I cleared my throat. “Ah, in-between where? Exactly?”

She looked at me patiently. “In Between the Planes of Existence. A meeting place of sorts.” My face was blank, and she continued, “There are Physical Planes such as Earth, where you live. And then there are Spiritual Realms.” My face was still a blank. She made a small tsking sound. “Spiritual Realms—some have called them Heaven, Hell, Limbo, Purgatory, among others, but those names you’re most familiar with,” she said it all so matter of fact.

“Sugar, if you don’t close your mouth soon, you’re gonna start catching flies in that thing,” she laughed, the sound whimsical and light.

 
I touched my mouth with my fingertips, and sure enough it was hanging wide open. I snapped it shut.

Granny chuckled lowly, “Come on now. We don’t have all night, and this food certainly isn’t going to eat itself. And we do have plenty to cover before our little visit is through.”

I felt so
full, I actually wondered it was possible for my stomach to explode. For real. I just couldn’t resist that last slice of chocolate cake. My mom and I had tried, to no avail to replicate it, but the cake just never came out as good as it did when Granny made it.

As I tried to recover, I rested my head in Granny’s lap, watching the sun shining through the oak leaves as they danced gently in the breeze. But when I started to pay attention, I realized there really wasn’t any breeze to speak of. “You know,” I paused, “that tree sure does look a lot like the one at your old place.”

She laughed. “Took you long enough. That tree has been waving its leaves at you since ya got here, girl. It is the same tree from my place.” I raised my eyebrows, scrunching up my forehead, and she swatted at me playfully. “Stop that, you’ll end up with wrinkles before you’re thirty. Now this tree, is an old friend of mine, it has witnessed all the comings and goings of my physical life.”

“I’m sorry, Granny, I feel so confused.” I still was convinced I was dreaming, like a lucid dream or something, no matter how she kept saying I was not. That was okay by me though; I was in the best, most wonderful dream ever, and I didn’t want it to end.

“Everything that has life has Spirit; goes for you, for me, the trees, the grass, animals, all that lives,” She paused. “Spirit is the energy animating us, and in a sense, what binds us together as well, for all souls are connected through this way. It’s our Godliness.” She paused as I sat silently.

“So, now for the real reason I brought you here. When I was living and breathing on your Earth, I was entrusted to help the souls in and around Chatham County. All over the world, you’ll find there is a special network of people doing this. Most of the time my job entailed helping lost souls cross over, passing messages to loved ones, and protecting these souls from parasitic entities.” She was nodding her head. “Ummhmmm. Yes ma’am, the souls near the home place have been waiting for you, Krystal. I am passing my God given gift down to you.”

“Gift? What gift?”

“You will see the world through new eyes. You’ve seen glimpses, heard glimpses before, you remember?”

“You know about that?” I felt dumbfounded as you could be, even after all the hoopla of magic picnic baskets, waving trees, and grandmothers risen from the dead. And now I’m supposed to deal with parasitic entities?

“Oh, yes, sugar. You are already more powerful than most coming into the job. It’s going to take some practice and work at first,” she tapped her finger to her lips, “to be able to shield yourself so that only what is important comes through. But you won’t be alone. Your Spirit Guides and teachers will assist you every single step of the way, as will I.”

“Why me? Why not mom?” I said with a shake of my head. I had no idea to what to think, what to feel about this turn of events.

“You have always been my successor. It was decided long ago, but that’s really a story for another time when you’ll understand it better. Besides, your natural abilities are stronger, and with your mother being married to Bobby, well, I’m sure you understand.”

And I did. “Um, okay. So, how am I supposed to find these Spirit Guide people?”

She put her arms around me, and looked down into my face, her eyes brimming with compassion. “Oh, you won’t need to find them, dear. They’re already with you.”

She began to glow brighter and brighter as each second passed. “Send my love to your mom. And don’t worry, Krystal. You’ll be amazing. Happy Birthday, sugar, time to open up.” She placed one of her thumbs on the middle of my forehead, her touch so hot it almost burned. “I love you. Now, off you go.” And she became brighter even, until I was blinded by her white light.

I began to feel a sensation of drifting, just like falling asleep, and then there was nothing but pitch blackness.

Chapter 10

I woke with
a start, my eyes darting open. My breath came in tiny gasps. What a strange dream, I thought, snuggling deep down into my warm blankets. It had been so nice to see Granny, though, even in a dream. I looked around my bedroom, my view sideways as my head lay on my pillow, the stillness of night heavy around me. My alarm clock read 2:22 AM.

“Well, happy birthday to me,” I whispered. I had been born at 2:20 in the morning. I sat up, rubbing my forehead, which felt weird and tingly. I was now seventeen. I glanced up and froze, too afraid to move a muscle. A boy stood on the other side of my bedroom, looking out my window. I watched him as I debated what to do. I could scream and hope Bobby or Mom heard me, or I could call 911. I slowly reached out to my bedside table where my new cell phone lay, quietly tip toeing my fingers over the cheap particle wood and clutter until it was in my grasp.

“You don’t need to do that.”

His voice should have come from the other side of the room, instead, it was right in my ear. My muscles bunched under me as I rose to take flight, but all of a sudden he was in front of me, gently pushing me to sit back down on my bed, then he raised his fingers to my lips in a shhhhing motion. His face was amused.

“They won’t see me,”
he added. I studied him more closely. He looked like he was about my age, maybe a little older, like eighteen or nineteen. His hair was a sandy brown color like a beach. I couldn’t quite figure out the color of his eyes, but hazel was my closest guess. He had a handsome face, actually, and his lips were rather full for a boy. His face lit up in a smile that made his eyes twinkle, almost as if he had heard my thoughts. He didn’t seem tall either, but it was hard to tell since I was sitting down.

“Why don’t I know you? Do you go to the community college or something?” I asked, ignoring his earlier comment. He shook his head no.

“Well, who are you then? And why are you in my room?”

He gave a little bow at the waist.
“Abel, at your service.”

Rationally, I knew I should have been screaming my head off or something akin to that, instead my heart was doing little flips inside my chest. “Abel?” I had never heard of that name anywhere other than the Bible. “And you are in my room because?”

“I’m your Guide. I’m here to help you in any way I can.”

That sounded familiar. I tried to clear my foggy brain. Granny had said something about Spirit Guides in my crazy dream.

“You’re right,”
he said. I noticed then his lips didn’t move when he answered.

I let out a groan and plopped backwards onto my bed. “Okay, still dreaming.” I lay still a few seconds before looking back up at him. “At least, I have good taste in my dreams.”

He roared with laughter.

“Hey, take it easy, you’re going to wake everybody up.”

“They can’t hear me, Krystal. Or see me. Only you can. But, for future reference, they can hear you talking to me. To them, it would seem like you’re talking to yourself.”

“Great. I already have such a wonderful reputation,” I mused.

No worries. You will become comfortable talking with me like this
. His voice echoed inside my head.

“Oh,” I breathed, “that was so creepy.”

You’ll get used to it.

“I doubt it, I shivered. “Are you, um, like a ghost?”

“No, a ghost is a spirit that has not crossed over to the other side. I have crossed over.”

“Why aren’t you in Heaven, then?”

“We come and go when you need us. I will teach you about it in time.”

“Okay,” I drew the word out slowly, trying to wrap my mind around his words. I gave up. “So, is this your first day on the job?”

“No, I’ve been with you since you were born. You used to be able to see me when you were smaller. I think that stopped around the time you were going on four.”

My mouth hung open. I tried to speak, but nothing would come out. I could vaguely remember having an imaginary friend my mother had tried to get me to give up way back when.

“You had many imaginary friends then. You gave up interacting with us to be socially acceptable at the time. We understood the reasons. But we have still been watching you and helping you at times, even though you weren’t aware of us most of the time.”

“Okay. So why can I see you now?”

“You were blessed with the gift to do this when you were born. It’s always been available if you chose to use it. Your grandmother just helped you to release the blocks you had in place and get your “gears moving again,” so to speak.”

“That’s why she touched my head?” I touched the middle of my forehead with my fingers.

“Exactly. That’s where your third eye chakra is located.”
Just when I was wondering what the hell a chakra was, Abel spoke again.
“Don’t worry. I will teach you about them later. You should rest now. School’s tomorrow, you know.”

“You sound like my mom,” I groaned.

He smiled at me, and I slid back under the covers. It may have been going on three AM, but for some reason, I didn’t want him to leave yet.

Good night, Krystal. Happy Birthday. May you wake refreshed and rejuvenated in the morning.

My eyes were heavy, and I quickly fell into a deep restful sleep.