At the end of another Monday of disapproving looks from the ‘Bosses’ at her sales performance, Chloe was glad for 5 o’clock to come, so she could get on her bus home to Greenwich. Chloe loved seeing her road, Willow Drive, as the bus pulled up opposite it. It meant she was a couple of minutes’ walk to her serene green front door, and the happiness of home.
‘Hi!’ she called out, pulling the keys out of the lock.
‘Hi babe, in the kitchen…cooking your favourite.’
‘Lovely.’ she said, walking up behind Josh and wrapping her arms around his sturdy torso.
‘Mmmm that feels good.’ she said laying her head on his back, ‘…and that smells good.’ she added, as she manoeuvred on to her tip toes to gaze over his shoulder at the simmering bolognese on the hob.
Josh smiled and turned, holding out the wooden spoon for her to sample.
‘Here taste a bit…..my best yet I think.’ he boasted.
‘That is gorgeous!’ she praised, wiping the excess sauce from the sides of mouth before leaning in for a kiss.
‘So how was your day?’ he said, brushing his hair away from his face.
‘Oh you know…..rubbish!’
Josh frowned…. ‘Well, you know what you’ve got to do.’
‘Yes, yes, yes….leave. Anyway I’ve decided to go and see one of the mediums at the Spiritualist Church on Saturday, to see if it will give me some clues as to what to do next.’
Chloe tentatively added in the last bit as she knew Josh didn’t really believe in psychics, but he let Chloe enjoy her ‘fantasies’ as he liked to call them.
‘You know if you spent more time sorting out your Reiki business, instead of going to see mediums, you’d be up and running by now.’ Josh teased.
Chloe gave him a playful punch ‘Oi!.. don’t mock me.’
‘Ha ha …come along, let’s enjoy this.’ he grinned, leading her into the lounge…‘I’ve got a bottle of vino in the fridge, can you grab it?’
After enjoying their evening of indulgence in front of the tv, they headed up to bed. Josh was asleep within two minutes of his head hitting the pillow, whilst it always took Chloe at least an hour before she drifted off. Only five more sleeps, she thought, until she visited the Spiritualist Church. She just hoped and prayed she would find a sprinkle of light at the end of the very dark tunnel she had currently been living in.
Chapter 2
Saturday morning arrived and Chloe had mixed emotions about the day ahead. She was excited, yet nervous, about what she would discover about herself, and whether the visions and voices she had been experiencing were real.
Standing outside the Spiritualist Church, Chloe walked towards the brick building that looked more like a hall from the outside, than a church. It’s angelical shade of white, however, helped it emanate an air of calmness and purity.
There was always a warm welcome from Sandra, the event organiser, who was waiting open armed to greet Chloe. Sandra had been nagging her to come along to the Psychic Development workshop, so she was ecstatic that Chloe had finally taken her up on the offer.
‘Ah my dear Chloe, you are finally here.’ she rejoiced, rushing forwards with her vivacious bounce.
‘Yes, I’ve finally succumbed.’ Chloe smiled. ‘I feel I am ready now.’
‘Then it is definitely the right time….now come along, we have five of you on the course today. Make yourself a cup of tea, and we will start in ten minutes.’
Chloe manoeuvred herself around the chairs to get to her seat without spilling her tea, and sat down opposite a nervous blonde haired woman in her forties.
‘Hello….have you been on one of these workshops before?’ Chloe asked.
‘Oh err, no this is my first time… I am a bit nervous.’ said the woman, catching a crumb as she bit into a biscuit.
‘Don’t worry, so am I. Let’s hope it works and we open ourselves up to a whole new group of friends!’ Chloe joked, trying to ease the woman’s tension, but she just responded with a disconcerted half smile.
Oh dear, Chloe thought. The woman now considered her a lunatic, who wasn’t taking the day seriously. But nothing could be farther from the truth. She was taking it seriously…very seriously, as the dreams she had been having were taking over her life, so she was desperate to know what they meant.
‘Welcome everyone, my name is Tatiana’ a female voice called out from behind. ‘I will be taking your course today.’
Chloe looked up at the blond ethereal vision walking towards the front of the class. She was a pretty lady in her early fifties, with piercing blue eyes and a gentle mesmerising voice.
‘Today I will be teaching you some exercises to develop your psychic awareness. From speaking to Sandra, I understand that some of you have already experienced feelings or visions, but you are not quite sure what they are, whilst others are here just to develop your own psychic and intuitive qualities to help you with your everyday life. Everyone’s reason is valid, and you will all benefit greatly from what you will discover on this course, and it will equip you with techniques to practise on your own going forward. Now, firstly I would like everyone to introduce themselves to the group, and explain briefly what has brought you here today.’
Everyone turned to look at the first lady sitting immediately to the left of Tatiana.
She was clutching her handbag on her lap, looking distinctly like she was having second thoughts about being there.
‘Hello, my name is Trudy, and I want to learn how to communicate with my husband John. I lost him three years ago and I can’t seem to move on.’ she trembled, opening up her bag to retrieve a tissue.
‘That’s perfectly understandable.’ Tatiana sympathised, as the rest of the group nodded in agreement.
As Chloe watched the tearful women in her fifties describe the loss of her husband, she felt a shiver run down the back of her spine. She could hear a faint whisper in her ear…‘sorry, sorry, tell her.’ Chloe tried to shake it off, turning to look at the younger man in his thirties, sitting alongside Trudy.
‘Hi, my name is Darren. I am just curious about the Spiritual World and it’s metaphysical aspect.’
Typical man, Chloe thought, wanting to analyse the science of it all. Everyone smiled, worrying that they didn’t know what ‘metaphysical’ meant, before looking to the woman beside him.
‘Hi, my name is Sally, and I am obsessed with going to psychics, so I’d now like to learn more about how Spirits are channelled and how they know what is ahead in life.’
Chloe could immediately tell that Sally, whom she had met earlier, was very indecisive and had become so reliant on going to psychics that she had forgotten how to make any decisions herself. I’m not that bad, Chloe thought, trying to convince herself.
Tatiana grinned, which Chloe suspected was because she was thinking that exact same thing, before turning to look at the bubbly brunette in her twenties sitting alongside Chloe.
‘Hi, I’m Cara, and I have been obsessed with all things magical since an early age. I went on an Angel Workshop recently, where they told me about this course, so I thought I would give it a go.’
Chloe smiled at her exuberance and positivity.
‘So finally we have….?’ Tatiana asked, turning towards Chloe.
Chloe was so engrossed in analysing everyone else, she’d almost forgotten she had to speak herself. ‘Ah yes…hello everyone, I’m Chloe. I’ve come here today as I’ve been experiencing visions and hearing voices for years. My grandmother was a very gifted medium, so I think I am also receptive to receiving messages from ‘the other side’. My mother sadly passed away two years ago, but I feel I have been receiving messages from her in my sleep, encouraging me to develop my capabilities now.’
Chloe’s reasoning for being there was met with a group of stunned faces staring back at her. Each of them now feeling that their reasoning for being there was slightly more inadequate.
‘Well, I am very excited to see how your abilities develop Chloe.’ Tatiana said
. ‘Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and I am sure you will all benefit greatly from today.’
Tatiana walked back over to her flip chart and turned it to the overview of the day’s proceedings.
‘Now, I want to begin by letting you know that everyone is born with psychic abilities. We all have the capability to develop our psychic awareness and intuition, as we are all born with six senses. Most of, though, only use the five we are familiar with. We all have the power to use our sixth sense of intuition and psychic awareness, but for many people, this remains repressed.’
Each candidate listened with varying degrees of interest. Chloe sat enthralled, Trudy still looked traumatised from talking about her husband, Darren was transfixed as he absorbed all the facts, Sally’s eyes were lit up excitedly, whilst Cara busily delved into her bag for a sweet.
Tatiana continued. ‘Most of us learn to use our five senses as soon as we are born from our parents. We learn the words for objects we see, we learn to recognise sounds, we learn the descriptions of taste and what we are tasting, we learn the sensation of touch and how to describe it and we learn to distinguish different smells.’
Tatiana walked around the room mimicking each sense as she spoke. ‘As children we are more receptive to feelings of intuition and psychic capabilities, as your mind is less cluttered with responsibilities and day to day worries, that block your mind as you get older. Also, as adults we are taught to rely more on facts and what is tangible, than on a ‘feeling’.
Chloe felt Tatiana directing most of the information towards her, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable at times, but she could sense Tatiana had maybe taken Chloe’s reasons for being there more seriously than the others.
‘So how do we get our sixth sense back?’ Sally asked.
Tatiana returned to her flip chart to display a picture of the human body.
‘Well, to develop our sixth sense, we must firstly raise our energy vibration. We on Earth vibrate at a much lower level than in the Spirit World. This is mainly because our energy centres, known as our chakras…..’ Tatiana explained, pointing to the coloured wheels displayed on parts of the body diagram, ‘….are usually blocked through various traumas or phobias we have developed in our lifetime. The Spirit World is able to vibrate at a much higher frequency compared to us here on the Earth plane, as those who have passed over are no longer laden with material, health or emotional problems. We all, however, have the ability to communicate with Spirit, as we are all actually souls, both on Earth and in Heaven. Our soul doesn’t die when we go to Heaven, only our body does.’
‘That makes me feel better.’ Trudy muttered, feeling comforted that she would see her beloved John again.
‘It is fascinating.’ Darren beamed, his scientific mind bubbling.
‘I am glad you think so.’ Tatiana responded. ‘It is a Universe of wonder, and your world will open up by tuning into your sixth sense. Ok, so now I will take you all through a meditation, which I would like you all to start practising daily…even if it is just for ten minutes.’
Tatiana dimmed the lights, which enhanced the flames of the candles that had been flickering in the corner. Their glorious aroma of Frankincense had worked their way around the room, and as Tatiana switched on her cd player, the soothing sounds of flutes, guitars and chimes gently caressed the room.
‘Ok, I need you all to sit upright with your spine straight. This is vital to allow the energy to move up and down the body easily. Lay with your hands on your thighs, palms facing upwards, with your thumb and forefinger pinched together, and gently close your eyes.
Now I want you to focus on your breath. With each deep breath, I want you to visualise a stream of golden light coming into your body, purifying every organ, and with every out breath, imagine all the toxins and negative energy being released out of your body.’
As Chloe focussed on her breath, she started to hear the faint voice from earlier in her ear. ‘sorry I left’, and then she was sure she could hear the word ‘kitten’.
It wasn’t the first time she had heard voices. She had been experiencing voices coming through more prominently since losing her mother, but she still found it unnerving and didn’t know who to tell.
‘Are you ok Chloe?’ Tatiana interrupted her. She could see Chloe was trying to sense something by her look of concentration.
‘Oh yes sorry ….I can hear something.’ Chloe replied, opening her eyes. ‘I have had this before …usually just mutterings and visions in my sleep, but the voice is slightly clearer today. Maybe because of the environment.’
‘What is the voice saying?’ Tatiana asked.
‘Someone is saying ‘sorry I left’…a male voice, and then something about a kitten.’ Chloe replied, embarrassed that the rest of the group were now staring at her, and probably thinking she was making it up.
Suddenly there was a gasp in the room. ‘John!…that’s my John!’ Trudy suddenly exclaimed. Chloe watched as Sally, Darren and Cara turned to look at her with a slight look of pity in their eyes. They assumed that there was no possibility that Chloe could actually receive a message after one session at the workshop, but they didn’t know the extent of her power…and neither did Chloe.
‘Trudy are you ok?…what is it that Chloe mentioned to make you think it was your John?’ Tatiana gently asked.
‘Kitten!…the word kitten….that is what he always called me!’ Trudy blurted out, through the tears. ‘I think he is saying sorry, as we were planning a trip of a lifetime during our retirement, but with him dying, we never were able to fulfil our dream.’
Chloe looked at Trudy in amazement. Not only that she had brought a relevant message through, but one that had brought great joy to Trudy, knowing that John was still there for her in Spirit. Tatiana turned to Chloe, ‘Well done, you have done very well.’
Trudy and the rest of the group now seemed to regard Chloe as a Messiah. A special being that had much greater power than them, which in that moment, made her feel elated. Elated that maybe this was her calling after all, and that her mission in life was to bring happiness to others.
‘Right everyone, I would like you to pair up. Chloe, you can partner up with me.’ Tatiana instructed.
Chloe sat up in her chair… ‘Oh ok…that would be great, thanks.’
‘Now, we are going to practise some Psychometry. This is where you hold an object belonging to a person, and try to pick up details about that person. Objects hold energies, so it can allow us to obtain facts about an event or person just by touching them.
So, I would like you to swap an item of jewellery or clothing with your partner and see what you can discover about them.’
Chloe looked down at the locket her mother had bought her for her twenty-first birthday. She never took it off and just by touching it, she felt closer to her.
‘Is that what you would like me to use?’ Tatiana asked.
‘Yes, I wear it all of the time so I think it would be good.’ Chloe replied, unfastening it and passing it to her.
‘And here is my watch.’ Tatiana offered, passing it to Chloe.
Tatiana sat with her eyes closed for a few moments, holding on to Chloe’s locket, before starting her evaluation.
‘I feel this was from someone special to you….your mother?’
‘Yes.’ Chloe whispered, taken aback that she got that so quickly.
‘I am sensing this was a difficult passing, so I will not discuss this with you now, but I would like you to stay back at the end of the group if you can?’
‘Yes definitely, I would like that.’
‘I am also getting you are at a crossroads in your life and you do not know which way to turn. You have already told me during the session that you feel you have inherited ‘the gift’ of being able to communicate with Spirit from your grandmother, and now your message to Trudy has just demonstrated that.’
Tatiana paused, while she concentrated further on Chloe’s locket. ‘I am getting a great warmth from this, and feel
that you have great empathy for others…do you do some kind of healing on others?’
‘Yes, I am qualified as a Reiki practitioner but I have not yet pursued it as a career.’ Chloe’s heart was now racing as she couldn’t believe how much Tatiana has picked up on.
‘Well, I think you should. I feel it is what you are supposed to do, and with further development of your psychic skills, it will help you in healing others.’ Tatiana advised, passing Chloe’s locket back to her and patting her knee. ‘Ok, now your turn.’
Chloe took a few moments to absorb what she had been told. No medium or psychic had ever been so direct with her. It was as if Tatiana knew her somehow.
‘Oh right, yes.’ Chloe replied, now slightly distracted.
Chloe held Tatiana’s watch, and closed her eyes for a few moments. She struggled at first to get anything. Her mind seemed to go blank, but after a few reassuring words from Tatiana to relax and feel the vibrations, the words just seemed to start flowing.
‘I feel a great warmth around you. I see you surrounded by a group of people…which I know could be the courses you run here. For some reason I see a shimmering light all around you, and I see you looking at lots of files. Does any of that make sense?’ Chloe asked doubtfully.
Tatiana smiled, ‘Yes, it makes perfect sense. When I am not running courses, I own a crystal shop, where I also run a Reiki business. I didn’t mention it before, but I may be able to help you. Let’s speak after the class. I also look at clients’ documents, so this maybe where they come into it.’
‘Really?…well, I have amazed myself.’ Chloe replied, with quiet satisfaction.
What Tatiana didn’t let on to Chloe, was that the shimmering background and files not only applied to her shop. In fact, her description of where she could picture Tatiana was more accurate than she realised.
‘Ok everyone let’s have a break now, and then we will have some fun with a bit of Autowriting.’
The Truth Healer: A Riveting Spiritual Psychic Thriller Page 2