The Life You Left. Carmel Harrington

‘She could be hot! Hey!’ James yelped as his sister punched him on his arm. ‘What was that for?’

      ‘We’re not here for you to get your next victim lined up!’ Sarah said with a laugh. ‘Come on, behave. I don’t care if she looks like Angelina Jolie; keep your hands to yourself!’

      ‘Hey, less of the victim, if you please. I’ll have you know that all my girlfriends are very well looked after by me. Hey!’ He yelped again. ‘Leave out the hitting. You have some right hook on you! I promise I’ll behave. There will be no chatting up of anyone. But if she’s anything like Angelina, all bets are off!’

      They rang the doorbell and waited with nervous anticipation. Sarah had no idea who or what to expect.

      With that the door opened and a tiny woman, no more than five feet peeped out. She was middle aged but hard to determine what side of fifty she was on. Her face was lined, not from frowning but with what Sarah guessed were laughter lines. She was plump and exuded warmth, and Sarah felt the urge to throw herself into her arms for a hug. Pulling herself together, she simply smiled at her. Mary smiled back, an expectant look on her face.

      ‘Hello’ Sarah stammered. ‘My name is Sarah Lawler. This is my brother, James. Are you Mary Donegan?’

      ‘Yes, I am.’ Mary replied with a friendly smile. ‘How can I help you?’

      Sarah wasn’t sure where to start. ‘Erm, it’s a bit tricky this. I’m not really sure why I’m here. I was told to come and see you.’

      ‘Who told you to come see me, pet?’ Mary answered smiling, like it was the most normal thing in the world to have such a conversation.

      ‘Edward did.’

      ‘And who is that? Is he a friend of yours?’ Mary continued.

      ‘Well this is the tricky bit. You’ll probably not believe me, not sure I would believe me either. Edward is a friend of mine. But most people can’t see him.’ Sarah blurted out quickly reddening up to her ears. She held her breath, never taking her eyes of Mary, wondering what the response was going to be. She half expected the door to be slammed in their faces.

      Mary continued smiling and then opened her door fully, ‘Oh that explains it! You should have said so sooner dear. Come on in so, both of you.’

      They walked into the apartment and Sarah was surprised at what she saw. The apartment was ultra-modern and chic. It was clutter free and was decorated in varying shades of white and cream, the only splashes of colour on the wall were the art, which were contemporary. It seemed to contradict the first impression Sarah had formed of Mary, which was a mother earth type.

      ‘What a beautiful apartment.’ Sarah complimented.

      ‘Thank you.’ Mary nodded and smiled again. ‘It suits me very well. One of the advantages of being on one’s own is that you get to decorate your home to exactly your own tastes. No need to take into account anyone else’s requirements!’

      ‘Well it’s very chic.’ Sarah replied a little in awe. Her mind flitted to her chaotic house that always looked cluttered no matter how much she tidied up.

      Mary indicated that they should sit down in the big open plan living space. ‘So, you have met your guardian angel, Edward, you said?’ Mary asked. ‘How lovely.’

      ‘You believe me? You know he’s an angel?’ Sarah asked incredulously.

      ‘Of course. Why wouldn’t I? Sure we all have a guardian angel.’

      ‘Even me?’ James said startled.

      ‘Yes, even you.’ Mary replied with a laugh. ‘Your angel is called Lorna.’

      ‘A girl! I might have known!’ Sarah said with a laugh.

      ‘What’s she look like?’ James asked Mary excitedly.

      ‘She’s very beautiful, tall with long blonde hair. All angels are beautiful. She has a message for you actually.’ Mary said dramatically, winking to Sarah as she turned to him.

      James nearly fell off the edge of the 18^th century white chaise longue he was perched on. ‘What message?’ He whispered. He was feeling excited now.

      ‘She asked would you mind changing your chat-up story, she’s getting a bit bored of the dying children in the orphanage tale.’

      James paled at this. Sarah yelped with laughter. ‘Please tell me you’re not still using that line – ‘I held a dying child in my arms as she breathed her last breath!’ story? You are unbelievable.’

      James went from white to red. ‘How on earth does she know that?’ He spluttered.

      Mary just smiled at him.

      ‘In my defence I send money to Chernobyl every month.’ James added lamely.

      ‘Shame on you.’ Sarah added, shaking her head.

      Mary smiled herself. ‘Your angel is with you whenever you need her. But angels have a good sense of humour you know. I have a feeling that Lorna is having a little joke here, teasing you about your love life!’

      ‘Well you can assure her I’ll not use that line again.’ James replied with a slight sniff. ‘I’ll come up with something new to keep her amused!’

      Making a face at James, Sarah whispered, ‘Calm down, focus on why we’re here.’

      ‘Mary, do you know why Edward sent me to see you?’ Sarah asked. ‘Have you spoken to him too?’

      ‘No. But he’s here now, alongside my own guardian angel, Diana. Look, see for yourself.’

      Sarah turned around and sure enough Edward was standing there, smiling at her.

      ‘Hi Edward,’ Sarah said with a smile. ‘How come I can see Edward but not the other two angels? Yet you can see all of them?’

      ‘Oh but you could see them if you wanted to, Sarah.’ Mary replied. ‘You just need to open your eyes and really look. All in good time.’

      Sarah looked again. No, still only Edward. Frustrated, she turned to Mary. ‘Why am I here?’

      Mary walked over and sat close beside Sarah on the couch. She took her two hands in hers. ‘Well, pet, I have a feeling that you and I are going to be great friends. You’re going to need someone to help you understand and come to terms with your gift. And as I have that gift too, I know how much of a curse and a blessing it can be.

      ‘What gift?’ Both James and Sarah said at the same time.

      ‘Why, you have the gift of being psychic, pet. You just have to believe in the power that is within you.’

       Chapter Four

      Mary felt sorry for the young woman sitting in front of her. Her revelation was clearly a big shock. For her it had been very different. There wasn’t a memory for Mary that didn’t include Diana. Every night while she slept as a child, Diana would exude a soft white glow that covered Mary in a blanket of safety and security. Her parents never questioned Mary’s relationship with Diana. In fact they welcomed it; saw it as a gift from God. It didn’t take her psychic powers to work out that it was a very different story for Sarah. She wondered what traumas Sarah had endured as a child, what lay beneath that façade she had created for herself. She’d find all that out in time she figured. For now, she needed to help Sarah understand the role of angels, help her come to terms with her revelation.

      ‘What do you know about angels?’ Mary asked. She’d made them all a pot of tea. She served it in a beautiful silver tea service, with pretty china tea cups and saucers, with such a delicate pattern of pale green and pink flowers. She also produced a cake stand filled with cupcakes with a pistachio green frosting on top.

      ‘Wowsers.’