Winner of our Short Story Competition

The winner of our summer short story competition is Jayne Hall who lives in Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK. This is her contribution, enjoy!


Human Nature Versus The Spirit Guide


“No, no, no, don’t. Don’t meet him. He’s a terrible flirt and a womaniser. He’ll only be true to you till he gets you into bed and then you’ll just become another notch on his bed post like all the others”.

Asandra noticed that Molly was putting on her best underwear, a skimpy top and swirly skirt. Her make up was applied like a model’s, her hair groomed to perfection and she smelt divine.

“This is dangerous! She’s not listening. How do I get through?” Asandra could tell that planting that nagging doubt in Molly’s head wasn’t working. It was so frustrating at times not being able to communicate in a human conventional way. And of course it was a human’s nature not to pay attention to things they didn’t want to hear. What else could she do? Action was really limited when you didn’t have a physical body or a “speaking out” voice.

Asandra had been assigned to Molly at the moment she was conceived. Her duties to begin with had been to familiarise herself with the family and when the moment came for Molly to emerge into the world, to encourage and help to spiritually push her out into the world.

All of the time Molly was growing up, Asandra had been able to provide little nudges in beneficial directions through the little voice in Molly’s head. Several times it had been necessary to “save” her from danger. Helping cars to “breathe in” to get through gaps, distracting would be assailants with a powerful psychic scream, hiding the tickets or car keys when she was heading into danger.

Mmmm….. hide the car keys. She couldn’t physically do it of course, but for a short while she could “stand in front” of them so that they were invisible to the searcher but were then eventually found exactly where they had originally been left.

There were rules associated with being a spirit guide and Asandra felt the role was actually more difficult and frustrating than being in a physical body. Yes, she’d had lifetimes in that role too and at least as a guide you retained knowledge of these to help you manage your charge.
You had to learn subtlety as a guide, subtlety and suggestion. “Concentrate Asandra, you nearly missed your chance,” she berated herself.

Molly was emerging from her bedroom and Asandra had to scoot (well sort of float actually) down to the kitchen to “sit on” the car keys.

A frustrating 20 minutes later, having made an exhaustive search of the house, Molly found her keys on the kitchen bench just where she thought she had left them. “I swear someone moved them and then put them back,” muttered Molly.

Asandra whispered furiously “Don’t meet him, don’t meet him, don’t go.” She had the satisfaction of Molly saying, “I wonder if not being able to find my keys is a sign.” “Yes, yes,” murmured Asandra gleefully. But her joy was short lived as Molly dismissed her thought and headed out of the door, a little hot as she was now late.

Asandra attached herself to Molly’s right shoulder. She saw Molly move her hand up as if to brush cobwebs off her shoulder. This movement was another source of frustration for Asandra. Molly was obviously aware of her presence but as she didn’t believe in “unseen things” of course she thought there must be some physical reason for the sensation on her shoulder.

They arrived at the wine bar on the High Street, a mere 10 minutes past the time Molly had arranged to meet Christian. This of course involved driving at break neck speed and parking in an illegal parking space. Asandra offered up a silent prayer for the deliverance of her charge and was pleasantly surprised when their first view of Christian was wrapped around a busty blonde woman.

He’d arrived 20 minutes early for the rendezvous and of course, given half an hour, he’d virtually got the blonde’s undying love and more importantly was close to access to her bedroom.

Molly stopped dead and surveyed the scene, clearly not impressed. She hadn’t had a date in months and had really thought Christian seemed promising. It looked as if other people thought the same! Molly made an instant decision (much to Asandra’s relief) and turned on her heel and left.
Asandra got ready for the recriminations and of course they came. Molly began berating herself as soon as she got into the car (which by some miracle had escaped a parking ticket). Part of her was of course angry with Christian, but the other half began a woeful tirade. “I’m not good enough”, “I’ll never find a man”, No-one will want me.” Why do humans do this reflected Asandra, someone else acted badly and they assumed it was all their fault.

Molly drove straight to her friend Maria’s house and, snivelling over a coffee, dished the dirt on Christian and held a post mortem on all her previous relationships. When sanity began to return Molly said to Maria “You know I’ve had a little voice in my head all day telling me not to meet Christian because he was a loser. I just didn’t want to listen”. Asandra thought that if she had eyebrows they would most definitely be raised at this point.

When the subject of Molly’s love life was eventually exhausted and two cups of strong coffee had been consumed, Maria changed the subject.

Molly had known Maria since they had compared the length of their gymslips at secondary school. Since then they had shared a lot of stages in their lives (and of course as is human nature the comparisons continued). They had been together through examinations, driving lessons, first boyfriends and first jobs. However, Maria had been fortunate to meet the love of her life at 24. She had married and now had a lovely lively 5 year old, who was tucked up in bed whilst this latest drama was unfolding.

She wouldn’t admit it aloud but Molly was rather jealous of Maria’s settled life. She was unaware of course that it worked both ways. Maria envied Molly’s freedom and the fact that she earned her own money and was not dependant on a man. She did intend to return to work but not until her children were less reliant on her. Yes, children not child, Maria suspected another life was at this very moment developing in her womb, although she hadn’t completely admitted it to herself let alone her husband or close friend.

Molly had been a bit concerned about her friend of late as she seemed to be, in her eyes, turning strange. Her coffee table was strewn right now with self help and positive thinking books and she was showing a great interest and trying several complementary therapies.
Maria had negotiated one night out a week with her husband and was about to embark on a new course. She chose this moment to mention it to Molly. “I’m going on a new course next week”. “Oh yes,” said Molly suspiciously. Maria took a deep breath, “Meditation and Spirituality. It sounds very interesting. Why don’t you come too?” “Hurray!” thought Asandra and immediately began drizzling subtle suggestions into Molly’s mind, “It would be good. It sounds very interesting. Go for it. Go for it.” But of course, Molly being Molly, she said, “No thank you.” Asandra was crestfallen, but then she was used to that.

Molly returned home, took off her carefully chosen, now somewhat rumpled, clothes and dived into a hot bubble bath. She lay there thinking. (It was one of the special things about being a spirit guide that you could tap into your charge’s thoughts). Molly’s went like this. “If I want the life I’ve dreamed of I need to change something, do something differently. Maybe I’m getting old and closed with my thoughts. I’m always feeling jealous of Maria’s life so she must be doing something right. Maybe I should give that course of her’s a go, after all what have I got to lose?” Molly was sure for just a split second that she could hear someone chanting “yes, yes, yes” in a jubilant voice.

A week later Molly found herself in very unfamiliar territory, she was sat on one of a collection of mismatched chairs in a room lit by candles and heady from the incense stick which was smouldering. She was aware of Maria sat next to her, but the difference was that Maria was hanging on every word the tutor uttered, whereas Molly was distracted and uncomfortable, examining the room and each of the course attendees in turn. She felt well and truly like a fish out of water, right down to what she was wearing (a grey business suit, as she’d come straight from work). Everyone else was attired in bright, ethnic style clothing with flowing skirts and baggy trousers. The majority of the participants were women, although there was a very ethnically dressed man with a balding head, who had announced in the introductions that he was a practising Pagan. Despite her initial conviction that she should be more open, Molly was feeling decidedly uncomfortable at the moment.

“Ok,” said the tutor, a mid-40s looking woman with infuriatingly long hair (Molly’s would never grow past her shoulders), “we are now going to take an inner journey to meet our spirit guides.”

“Our what?” thought Molly, but thankfully someone else in the group asked the question for her.

“Have you ever felt someone unseen was looking out for you? Providing signs and guidance, giving you an inspirational hint just when you needed it and helping you to avoid dangerous situations? Some people call this a spirit guide, some a guardian angel.”

There were various murmurings of agreement from most of the group, well actually all but Molly could think of examples of spirit guide communication or intervention. Asandra was mortified.

“Ok then,” continued the tutor, “Let’s see if we can get an insight into or even communicate with these unseen beings. If you would all like to put anything you are holding on the floor, get comfortable in your chair and close your eyes.”

“Oh well”, thought Molly, “I’ll give it a go.”

“First I would like you to check around your body for any tension, note where it is and breathe into it to release it from your muscles.” Molly found her whole body was tense - she’d hyperventilate at this rate!

“Now breathe freely and easily and concentrate all of your attention on your feet. Tense and release the muscles, now your calves…..” The relaxation continued with Molly valiantly trying to follow along with the hypnotic voice.

“I’d like you to imagine that you are walking down a staircase, a staircase with ten steps. You walk down each step on an out-breath and when you get to the bottom step you will find yourself in a favourite place of relaxation, it may be somewhere you know or somewhere you just imagine, it doesn’t really matter. Ready, 1, (pause), 2, (pause), 3, (pause), 4, (pause), 5, (pause), 6, (pause), 7, (pause), 8, (pause), 9, (pause), 10 (pause), and step off the bottom step into that place of relaxation.”

Molly was astounded to suddenly have a very clear image in her mind of the beach she used to go to as a child. There was a particular part of the beach, by a large rock, that had been her sanctuary from her parents’ disagreements and siblings' squabbles.

The tutor continued, “And now that you are in your favourite place, I would like you to invite your spirit guide or guardian angel to join you in this place. You can then ask them any questions you like, for example, about their role in your life, their opinion of your life at the moment and any guidance they may have to give you. Finally ask your guide to give you a gift which they can use as a sign to alert you to listen to their guidance.”

Maria was deep in relaxation, revelling in her favourite place of relaxation which was a cave high on a mountainside. She had purposely changed the tutor’s words for this occasion, asking if she could meet the guardian angel of her unborn child. She smiled as she met an ethereal grandmother-type lady who promised to shield her child throughout her lifetime and to make sure she was guided to golden opportunities. The gift she was given, in trust for her daughter, was a golden egg. Everything about the experience felt good, the bonus being she now knew the sex of her unborn child and her trance expression was serene.

Molly, on the other hand, having surprised herself by managing to reach her favourite place, had been almost petrified out of it by the sudden appearance of a dishevelled, curly red-headed, harassed looking woman on the beach near her rock. She had a beaming smile and advanced on Molly with her hand extended. She announced that her name was Asandra, her spirit guide and was so glad to be able to meet her at last. It all seemed very surreal, but Molly could hear the tutor reminding her of the questions to ask. She was aware vaguely of the room and Maria sat next to her, but somehow the beach and Asandra were ever more vivid and real.

“Ok,” thought Molly, “questions to ask Asandra.” “How long have you been with me as my guide? Are you with me all of the time? How do you communicate with me?” The questions seemed to endlessly flood out until Asandra finally held up her hand for Molly to stop and began to answer. “I’ve been with you since the moment you were conceived, which is when I was assigned to you. Yes, I am with you all of the time, even when you are asleep, as I am always on duty. How do I communicate with you? With great difficulty. I try and try but most of the time you ignore me. I tried to tell you not to meet Christian the other night. I told you this course would be good for you. I get very frustrated when I know I can help you but you don’t ask. That is one of the rules you see, your charge is supposed to ask for help before you can offer advice.”

“What other rules are there?” asked Molly, intrigued and amazed. Had she had a potential helper all these years and not used her?”

The voice of the tutor broke Molly’s train of thought, saying “Ok if you haven’t done so already ask your guide for a gift to be used as a sign.” Molly felt panicked, there was so much she wanted to know the answer to. “Don’t worry,” said Asandra, “We can speak later.” She pressed something into Molly’s hand. Molly looked down as the tutor began to count the group out of the trance and saw a white feather. It had of course gone when she awoke. The next moment Molly was drinking a rather weak cup of horrid coffee, aware of the other members of the group eager to share their experiences. Molly listened politely, but kept her own thoughts and experiences to herself. She was pleased that Maria had had a happy time and listened to her raptures on the way home.

Molly spent the rest of the evening distracting herself from any thoughts of the course and by the next morning it all seemed like an unreal dream. Molly went back to being Molly and made herself believe nothing had changed - unseen friends – what a load of rubbish. She made an excuse to Maria to avoid the next part of the course. Asandra was astounded and dismayed. She had thought they were making progress.

It wasn’t until Molly was out for a night with her girlfriends a few weeks later that she even thought about her strange evening. She had been flirting overtly with a guy sat at the bar when she looked down at her drink and found a small white feather floating in it. Despite the alcohol consumed and her dizzy mood something registered deep inside her. “Ok Asandra, what are you trying to tell me?” she thought. She almost fell off her chair when she was answered clearly and loudly. “He’s no good, he’s violent and a drunk, steer clear.” Molly was indignant but her mood was instantly dissolved and to break contact with the object of her flirtation she went to dance with the others. After calming down for a time she asked in her head, “Ok then, are there any nice men here?” “Of course there are.” replied Asandra.

Molly proceeded to have a fun time pointing out various men to Asandra and listening to her opinion of them. She made up her mind to just dance and talk to her girlfriends that evening, but the change had been made and Asandra was aware that from now on their dialogue would continue. At last she could do her job and help her charge towards the fulfilment of her soul purpose for this lifetime. And if Molly ignored her in future, she just needed to project a white feather into the situation and Molly would pay attention and ask questions. Hopefully!