Page 30 of Rekindled Prophecy

“But you had doubts?”

Nodding, Kelly eyes were downcast as she continued. “I honestly believed that my one shot at becoming a mother had been ripped away. I was depressed and angry and…a train wreck. I thought I was being punished for something, just didn’t know what. Perhaps I had sinned too much that God would refuse to bless me with a child. Considering the things I’ve done, maybe I wasn’t worthy of being a mother.”

No, no she could not believe that.

“Didn’t help when my parents threw scripture in my face when I told them about the pregnancy and then after the miscarriage. Well, that certainly did not improve my state of mind. Just reaffirmed that God was punishing me.” Kelly would no longer look Greylyn in the eyes. She stared at the floor as she hesitated to finish the story.

Oh, strict religious upbringing sometimes did more psychological harm than good when misinterpreted and misused. The knots in Greylyn’s stomach grew tighter. Kelly was still holding something back. “What happened after that?”

Kelly kept wringing the material of her pajama top with her fingers into a thin cone. The silence permeated the small room. Finally, after nearly a minute or more passed, the young woman took a long, haggard breath and stuttered hastily. “I wanted answers. Needed answers. Did God…did He hate me? Would I ever have a child? No amount of praying seemed to help, so I sought answers from another source.” Again, Kelly paused as if struggling to utter the exact words. “A psychic to be exact.”

Oh.

In her experience, a fair percentage of psychics were quacks who took people’s money while telling them what they thought the person wanted to hear. Others had the gift but were incompetent, meaning to do good things but having the opposite effect. A true medium who had firm control over his or her talents was rare.

Was this the cause of the darkness surrounding the young woman? Had the psychic done something to rain down evil on her? Or was it merely Kelly’s own limited beliefs from the way she was raised that now caused panic?

She said a quick, silent prayer that Kelly’s psychic friend was not using black magic tohelpher. If she received supernatural assistance in conceiving, that could lead to all sorts of cosmic ramifications. She had witnessed it enough over the centuries, especially with European nobility desperate for a male heir. Her stomach coiled in knots at the prospect this was what had a dark hold on Kelly. “That’s interesting,” was all Greylyn could say.

“I know. Sounds corny, but visiting this woman was such a comfort to me. She was extremely sweet and encouraging. Said I would be a mother someday, which made me incredibly happy. She even offered to say blessings over me to help ease my mind.”

Greylyn cringed inwardly, digging her nails into her palms to keep herself calm so as not to show signs of concern. No need to alarm the poor girl. Blessings? Or dark magic?

“After the blessings, I felt happy and light, as if all that despair from losing the baby was easing up. Then, a few months later, I got sick to my stomach. Couldn’t keep anything down for days. It took over a week for me to figure it out and buy a pregnancy test.” Kelly took a deep breath. “Before I even told Matthew, I booked it over to the psychic’s apartment. I thought she could tell me if I would miscarry again. The thought of losing another baby scared the hell out of me.”

“What did the woman say? Did her blessings have anything to do with the quick pregnancy?”

Kelly shook her head. “She was just as shocked as I was, so I don’t think so. She practically fell over when she let me in the apartment. I wasn’t even showing yet, just a few weeks along. But she knew as soon as she saw me.” Her knuckles were white from wringing the corner of her pajama top so tightly.

“The woman could tell you were pregnant before you told her?” Kelly nodded. “And she was surprised?” Again, an affirmative nod.

“Sofia, that’s the lady’s name, picked up on my insecurities about carrying the child to full-term after the first miscarriage, so she offered to have more blessings said over both of us to ensure a healthy pregnancy, safe birth, and strong child.” Kelly paused; her eyes rolled slightly upward. “Actually, she had saidson,which I thought was odd. Of course, I said yes. Couldn’t hurt to have blessings said over the child, could it?”

The anxious look on her face belied the truth. No, Kelly was worried about the psychic’s involvement. But why? Knowing the potential for disaster if things were not as they seemed, Greylyn was more than concerned.

“So that’s when you told Matthew?”

“Oh, he was over the moon about the prospect of becoming a father. He proposed that we move up the wedding date. We went back and forth about it. I didn’t want to wed while pregnant, afraid of jinxing the pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. Not to mention the horror of a protruding belly in my wedding photos.” Kelly patted her baby bump as her lips turned up in a sweet smile. “Matthew, however, insisted we be married before the baby’s birth. Eventually, we compromised and settled on a wedding date after the completion of the first trimester, which happened to correspond with our two-year anniversary of meeting. Romantic, huh?” An uncertain smile crossed her face briefly before her lips turned down again in worry.

“Well, that is romantic. And you make a lovely bride, baby bump or not.” Greylyn could tell Kelly needed reassurances with the big day less than twenty-four hours away. But she knew better than to believe that was the entire issue. Kelly’s frown lines deepened after admitting about the psychic – a clear sign there was more to the story. Greylyn prodded her a bit more. “But that’s not what is bothering you, is it?”

“The thing is I never told Matthew or ... anyone. About the psychic anyway, or the blessings. Don’t get me wrong. He’s very open-minded, but I am not sure how he would react to a psychic. He usually makes fun of all that hocus pocus. You should have heard all his quips during our ghost tour of Charleston. He clearly does not believe.”

Greylyn chuckled and nodded. Yes, that was a common reaction.

“But it’s not really Matthew’s reaction that concerns me.” Kelly’s words started to flow faster as the crux of her stress came pouring out. Finally, she was about to spit out the true problem.

“I grew up in a deeply religious household. Sundays were for church, as were Wednesday nights. Even taught Sunday School to the kindergarten class, as well as Vacation Bible School every summer. It’s just that … psychics are rather taboo, forbidden, and … sinful. If my family knew I consulted a psychic they’d freak even more than my obvious pre-marriage fornication.” Her half-hearted attempt at a laugh fell empty. “Now I’m afraid that by consulting one that I may have invited evil into my life, and the life of my child.” Her hand came up as if to ward off any objections. “I don’t think Sofia is evil or anything, but if I messed with God’s plans by seeking one out…” The woman was on the verge of breaking down as her voice quaked to quote a Bible verse, “Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards …”

“No, no. Kelly, no. You can’t believe that.” She had to stop the poor girl from beating herself up, particularly because of scripture that had been misconstrued so often.

“I know. It sounds ridiculous. Maybe it’s my pregnancy brain. Hormones and such making me second-guess everything. But the idea has really been bothering me lately. Guess I just needed someone to tell me that I didn’t commit an atrocious sin. Saying the words out loud makes it sound so silly!” Kelly sighed heavily as if she had just confessed to the Valentine’s Day Massacre. “Wow, I am so sorry for unloading on you like that.”

The psychic’s blessingworried Greylyn. Also, if the conception were helped along by the medium’s interventions…that could spell heartache and disaster. She needed to check into that ASAP, but she did not want to frighten the young woman by running out the door. The bride’s confession had not diminished the gray tinge around her. If it had, that would have been more reassuring.

Smiling, Greylyn held out her hand to clasp Kelly’s. A comforting squeeze and a white light surrounded the bride, obliterating the gray aura. Although Kelly did not see it, she visibly relaxed and even smiled.

The first thing Greylyn needed to do was to dissuade Kelly of her limited belief that consulting a psychic (if a true psychic) was evil and she should be punished for it. Also, she needed to reassure her that she had had not wittingly invited evil into their lives.

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