decide to look up the author of the book Ceri lent me, Living with Angels by Ethan Morris. I put his name into the search engine and immediately the page fills up with articles. He’s written over a dozen books on a wide range of subjects, but everything is related to angels or mediumship. There’s a contact page on his website, so I type in a short message
My name is Alex Delano. I need to talk to someone about a friend. She sees angels. I’ve read your book, Living with Angels, and I have a few questions. I’m desperate to find some answers. You can reach me on this email address. If I can book a one-to-one session that would be great, but even to chat via email would really help. Thank you.
The next thing I need to do is look for another job. Heck, how did I manage to screw everything up so badly? What hurts the most is that I don’t know where Ceri is or whether she’s safe. She will be hurting and all I can do is wait for her to get in touch with me. I think of all the desperate voicemail messages on my phone the day she left, and where was I? Pathetically prostrate in bed, full of pills and out of it. No wonder she won’t answer my calls now, she thinks I used her and then walked away.
***
“Thank you for agreeing to talk to me Mr Morris, I’ll be brief.” After speaking to his assistant and reassuring him that I wasn’t a reporter or a stalker, he agreed to pass on my message. Within three hours I receive a personal email from Ethan Morris with his phone number and a message to call him at eight o’clock. Ceri has been gone for two whole weeks.
***
“Please, call me Ethan. I’m intrigued. You say you’ve read Living with Angels because you have a friend who has experienced seeing them. Tell me more.”
He sounds ordinary, I can’t tell what age, but from the bio photo on the back of the book I’d say he was in his early forties. I run a few of Ceri’s experiences past him, trying to recall them in detail and careful not to add to what Ceri told me. I can hear her voice in my head, that night when we told each other everything. Well, almost everything.
“Have you witnessed any of this?”
I concentrate, my mind replaying conversations full of emotion. I realise the answer is that I’ve never witnessed anything paranormal. I wonder if that will put Ethan off. “No, but her brother has seen some of the weird things that have happened. They are non-identical twins: Ceri was delivered a few minutes before her brother.”
He listens and asks questions, some I can answer and some I can’t. I can only repeat what I know.
“Well, it’s not unusual, although you might find that hard to believe. The truly difficult part is getting your head around the fact that this life is only one small part of our existence.”
I don’t know what to say. I’ve read several different theories but he clearly has no doubts whatsoever. Was I expecting him to be a little less forceful, maybe?
“I’m way out of my depth here but I really need to understand a bit more about angels and why Ceri should have been singled out. Why do they present themselves to her and why is it someone different every time?”
“I doubt that what she sees is an actual angel, it’s more likely to be a spirit helper or guide who has been sent to assist. Sometimes things go a little off course, shall we say. One tiny moment can send life spinning off in the wrong direction. For instance, near-death experiences caused by a genuine mistake or when it isn’t someone’s time to pass over but an unexpected turn of events means that they touch ‘the path’ of transition. The spirits on the other side will encourage them to turn back. Occasionally it can take a little persuasion because the experience can be uplifting. They glimpse a life that exists outside of this one, which is more peaceful and comforting. Much of what happens is forgotten, wiped from the memory. In theory we are supposed to have no recollection of what occurs when our energy slips outside of our body. You might have heard about astral travelling. Only higher evolved souls will remember their journeys. Few will repeat the details, unless they have been given permission to share something for the development of another soul. Someone sent here for a specific purpose.”
“I think you need to point me in the direction of some more reading. When you talk about astral travelling, is it linked in any way to our dreams?”
“It can be. Someone with less experience might interpret an out of body experience as being merely a dream. We all visit the other side during our sleep, but it’s rare to be able to recall what happens. There is a code and the whole point is that the planes are kept separate. There would be no point in having an earthly life if it wasn’t necessary for the development of the astral plane. Does Ceri experience this type of dream?”
“I have no idea, but since I met Ceri I’ve had problems with some graphic dreams. They are always very similar and seem to be telling me that I’m endangering her in some way. What’s crazy is that I only want her to be happy and safe.”
“Look Alex, I think we should meet up. I’m back in the UK at the beginning of next week and I’m doing a talk in London. Would you be able to come along? I’ll arrange for us to have a chat in private afterwards.”
“I’d be delighted, that’s very kind of you.”
“I’ll have my assistant email you the details of the venue. I must admit I’m rather intrigued by your story. It’s unusual for one person to be affected by the sensitivity of another, when they exhibited no such traits beforehand. I doubt there’s any danger, only lower entities cause mischief and they don’t have enough power to do anything really menacing, despite popular theory. It’s more down to the mind blowing a small thing out of proportion: people have a tendency to fear the unknown, even when there isn’t really anything to fear at all.”
“Well, I’ll be interested to meet up with you and thanks for your time. I really appreciate it.”
“I thrive on the unusual, so for me something that doesn’t quite fit is a way of expanding my understanding. Gifts of insight are given for a reason. We’re either here to learn or to help. It’s been my pleasure. Before you go, can I ask you to begin making notes whenever you have a dream that you can remember afterwards. It might explain a few things.”
***
I stare up at the ceiling, thinking of Ceri. My body relaxes into the bed, the tension beginning to ease. I wonder if she can feel my thoughts. What did Ethan say? We’re either here to learn or to help. Am I here to help Ceri, or is Ceri here to teach me something? Is my path crossing hers or is it the other way around? I said that nothing strange had ever happened to me before I met Ceri, just over two years ago. Is that true? I let my mind wander. I have no recall whatsoever of having a bad dream prior to that time, of course that doesn’t mean to say I hadn’t had any, only that it wasn’t a concern. Why is it that I can remember these dreams so clearly and they keep repeating the same message—protect Ceri but don’t get too close? Watch her from a distance, but always stand back.
I pick up another of Ethan Morris’s books from the bedside table. The title is Worlds That Collide and it’s fascinating. He believes that there are multiple planes of existence and they all inter-relate. When we are here on the earthly plane, in our sleep we leave our bodies and go back to the ethereal plane to continue the work we do there. It isn’t easy reading, but I’m halfway through the book now and trying to get my head around his ideas. I’m beginning to see what he’s asking the reader to do, and that’s to stop thinking about life here on earth as being the sole purpose of our existence. Instead he’s suggesting we think of it merely as a place we come to learn lessons. We then return to the ethereal planes, where our energy will be advanced by our experiences in this life. Some ‘energies’ come back more than once. Well, I think that’s what he’s saying. It’s not easy to take in, that’s for sure.