Part 9 (1/2)
”Today there was an incident that is causing great physical harm to a young woman.” Sophie paused, unclear how to phrase a question that required more than an answer of yes or no. Knowing there really wasn't any other way to state her question, she decided to simply ask, and hope the answer was the one she wanted.
”Karen is in the hospital.” Sophie sneaked a look at Toots, who gave her a slight nod, indicating she should continue. ”Is she going to survive?”
All eyes focused on the gla.s.s and their fingertips. A few seconds pa.s.sed. Nothing happened. Sophie waited another minute, which seemed like ten, then repeated her question. She'd learned that many times the spirit guide or guardian angel didn't always answer right away, and often one had to search for another form of communication. Repet.i.tion was supposed to work, too. She spoke out loud again. ”Is Karen going to survive?”
Again, they focused on the gla.s.s in the center of the table. Suddenly the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Unsure how to proceed, as this was a new experience for her, Sophie asked another question. ”Is there a supernatural presence in the room with us? Another presence besides my spirit guide?” Sophie had yet to learn the name of her spirit guide. This wasn't unusual, since she was just now learning ways to tune in to her spirit guide. She was unsure if her guide was male or female.
The candles flickered, then smoldered. Silvery gray wisps of smoke billowed from the extinguished wicks. Several intakes of breath, then silence. Taking a deep breath, Sophie tried again. ”If this is my spirit guide, would you please move the gla.s.s to the right?”
Straining to see in the darkness, they all focused on the gla.s.s. Still nothing.
Sophie was just about to give up when the room suddenly filled with an eerie, bluish light. ”Shhh,” she said to the others. The light swirled around; then it took the form of what appeared to be a woman dressed in clothing from another century. Glistening gold sparks shot out from the figure, allowing one to see the features of a woman. Her long hair, a golden brown, framed her face. Her eyes were an intense shade of blue, almost like a fluorescent blue that glowed as though a light shone through them. Her lips were rose red, her skin pale.
They stared at the figure, but no one spoke. Sophie focused her gaze on the woman figure, hoping to memorize every detail. As she stared at the apparition, she instantly knew who she was.
”You are my spirit guide,” Sophie said.
The woman figure smiled and nodded, then spoke. ”I am Joy.”
Feeling creeped-out, but fascinated, Sophie swallowed, her throat as dry as the desert. ”Joy. That's . . . a beautiful name.”
Again, Joy, the spirit guide, smiled at her.
Unsure how to proceed, but needing answers, Sophie spoke. Her voice was raspy; her throat was so dry. ”Will Karen survive?”
The spirit guide, Joy, smiled, and then nodded in the affirmative. Before Sophie had a chance to ask about her new abilities, the bluish haze disappeared, and Joy with it.
The candles lit up; the temperature returned to normal. No one moved or said a word. Again, they were witness to an event-and if they were to tell anyone else about it, that person would almost certainly dispute the truth of what had been described. But they knew what they had seen, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 15.
When Sophie entered the ICU, she was expecting to see an unresponsive woman hooked up to all kinds of life-support machines. Instead, she saw a smiling Karen sipping from a plastic cup, which the nurse held for her.
Shock kept her lingering in the doorway. She blinked a few times, just to make sure she was really seeing Karen. This certainly was not the girl lurking at death's door as she had been earlier, that very morning. She needed to make sure she was not experiencing another clairsentience vision.
No, this was real.
Sophie tapped on the door frame to let Karen know she had a visitor.
Karen and the nurse turned. When Karen saw her, she smiled. ”Sophie, what a surprise. I didn't think anyone would come.”
Sophie felt a rush of pity for the young woman. ”Well, think again. You've got a houseful of old women who are sending good vibes and prayers for your complete and speedy recovery. From what I can see, they're being answered.”
Several monitors were attached to various parts of Karen's body. Beeps and gushes of air from the machines provided unnatural background noises, but Sophie was used to it. When Bernice had her heart surgery, she'd been connected to all kinds of machines. The noise became secondary after the initial shock. The nurse, a pet.i.te woman in her midthirties, with friendly eyes, bustled around the room. ”Karen is our miracle patient. Dr. Waterman, her surgeon, says her case will go down in the books.”
The surgery was textbook, according to Phil, who'd been notified by Dr. Waterman as soon as Karen was in the recovery room. They were able to make a small incision above her eyebrow and clamp off the offending blood vessel in order to do the coiling procedure. Phil was told she would make a full recovery. As soon as they heard the news, Sophie insisted Goebel take her to the hospital, once Karen was out of recovery and allowed to receive visitors.
Sophie grinned, knowing this to be a fact, but she was not going to say so in front of the nurse. ”That's the best news I've heard all day.”
”I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes,” the nurse said, then hustled out of the room.
As soon as she left, Sophie moved to stand by Karen's bedside. Taking her hand, she said, ”There is something I need to share with you. I don't want to upset you, but given that you're in the kind of business that you're in, I hope you're open to what I have to tell you.”
Karen closed her eyes, then opened them. ”After what I've been through today, it would have to be catastrophic to upset me.”
Sophie couldn't imagine anything more ”catastrophic” than a brain aneurysm. ”I think there was a reason you were sent to Charleston to film me and Goebel.” There, it was out; now she would give Karen a minute to absorb her words.
Karen gave up a halfhearted laugh. ”And what would that be?”
”I know reality shows are all the rage these days. Add the psychic element, you're sure to gain an audience.” She held up her hand. ”Of course, you know this, or you wouldn't be here.” Sophie took a deep breath. She didn't want to just spit out what she'd experienced, but really, she thought, there wasn't any other way. ”After you were brought to the hospital, I had a seance of sorts.” She paused, waiting for Karen's reaction. When she saw she had Karen's undivided attention, she continued to speak. ”I wasn't completely honest with you this morning. I really don't have Ida do my makeup every day. All morning I had an odd feeling, unlike any I'd experienced. I couldn't place what it was, but I felt as though something bad was about to happen.”
”You're psychic. Isn't this normal?”
Sophie took Karen's hand. ”Not this. This was different. It frightened me because I couldn't chalk it up to a psychic prediction.”
”So what do you think you were experiencing?” Karen asked her.
”This sounds strange, but I believe my spirit guide was trying to warn me.” That sparked her attention.
”About?”
”You. This,” Sophie said, nodding at the bandage on Karen's head.
”Nonsense. You couldn't have prevented this, Sophie. I've been suffering with terrible headaches for weeks. I should've gone to the doctor, but I was too busy working. The doctor told me I was lucky. I realize that now. My health has to come first.”
”I'm glad you feel this way. I felt I needed to try to make contact with this guardian angel or spirit guide. Personally, I believe them to be one and the same. I held a seance, not the traditional speaking-to-the-dead kind, but I knew I had to try to make a connection to the negative feelings I'd had since your arrival. This is going to sound insane to you, but it is what it is. My spirit guide told me you would be just fine.” There, she'd said it! Suddenly she felt light and joyful.
Joyful!
Sophie had to acknowledge the connection to her spirit guide's name and the feeling attached to it just now.
It dawned on her that this was her spirit guide at work. Though Sophie herself was never in danger, she had unknowingly been given the responsibility of protecting Karen. It wasn't coincidence that she'd traveled all the way to Charleston to film a reality show. Nor was it coincidence that Dr. Phil Becker had been there. Sophie didn't recall Toots's mentioning anything to her about inviting Phil over while they were filming. No, this was divine intervention. Just to make sure, she planned to question Toots as soon as she returned.
Karen didn't say anything; she just nodded.
”You think this is a crock, right?” Sophie asked.
”No. I think you're one hundred percent right.”
Surprised, Sophie had expected Karen to laugh at her spirit guide theory. ”Why?” she had to ask.
Karen took a deep breath. ”I probably shouldn't tell you this, but since I'm crediting you for saving my life, I'm going to anyway. When the network called and asked if you and Mr. Blevins wanted to film a reality special, they only called because their first choice, John Edward, had to cancel.”
”See? Then that proves I'm right about all of this,” Sophie said. Then she asked, ”So, were you really going to air this special with me and Goebel?”