A short story…

It had been another excellent meeting, Wendy thought, as she tidied her props away into her handbag and picked up her phone. Her back was killing her from sitting on a hard seat all night, but she resolved to take some extra pain relief when she got home. Realisation dawned on her that her car was in for repairs, so she’d have to get a taxi home tonight. Damn it, she’d forgotten to pre-book it. No matter, it was only 9 p.m., so still early enough to get home and watch the soaps before bed. 

The last few stragglers were leaving the little café where she had been hired to hold one of her famous spiritualist meetings. Well, famous locally, she mused, and that was good enough for her. She wasn’t as popular as she once was, but competition was fierce these days. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry was claiming they had a ‘gift’, and besides, you needed to be on TikTok, and she wasn’t into all of that. Few were as good as she was, she reasoned, and that was a fact. 

‘Great meeting tonight, Wendy,’ the café owner, Pam, said, as she came over to say goodbye. ‘I’m so sorry, I’ve got to dash off, but young Poppy here will lock up.’

‘Oh, thank you, pet,’ Wendy replied, placing her other hand earnestly over the handshake. ‘I just hope I’ve helped some of your lovely people find spiritual peace. That’s what I’m all about. It’s not the money for me.’

‘Eeh, my God, I forgot to transfer your fee,’ Pam exclaimed. ‘I’ll do it when I get home, Wendy.’

‘I wasn’t…’ Wendy’s words trailed off as Pam hurried out of the door. 

Wendy had wanted to stress that it wasn’t about the money, though she could do with her transferring it pretty quickly as it happened. The bill for her car repairs was not going to be cheap. 

A few more stragglers came over to shake her hand and bid her goodnight. Yes, it had been a great meeting, she thought to herself. But weren’t they all? Whatever the cynics thought about spiritualists, she could certainly claim one thing: people in her audiences got value for money. She was good at what she did. She didn’t make stuff up, or research people on Facebook beforehand like some did. She had a genuine gift. She ‘saw’ spirits. She could feel their auras, sense their presence, just as surely as if they were in the room. It had always been this way, ever since she was a little girl, and at sixty-seven years old, her gifts had only multiplied. People wanted reassurance from her. They wanted contact with their loved ones. To know they were at peace on the other side. To be able to give that level of comfort was something she never tired of. But, like everyone, she needed to pay the bills, and mechanics don’t come cheap. 

That young girl was staring at her again. What did Pam call her? Poppy? What sort of name was that? It’s a bloody flower, not a woman. God, she looked like she was still at school. 

‘Are you alright there, Wendy?’ Poppy asked as she took off her apron and straightened the last few chairs. ‘You look a bit lost there.’

Poppy’s directness caught Wendy off guard. ‘Cheeky little madam,’ she thought to herself. ‘Who does she think she’s talking to?’

‘Yes, I’m fine, pet. I’m just going to ring a taxi.’

‘That’s ok, Wendy, I’ll give you a lift. I’m going that way.’

‘What? Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.’ 

What Wendy was really thinking was how on earth could a slip of a girl have passed her driving test, let alone afford a car like this. 

Poppy laughed. ‘It’s no trouble, Wendy. Come on.’

‘They’re so bloody confident kids these days,’ Wendy thought to herself as Poppy helped her out of the chair and through the café doors. ‘I wish I was as confident as that when I was that young. Mind, they all come across as cocky and arrogant to me.’

Poppy locked up, then held Wendy’s arm as they made their way to the car park. They got into a gleaming white Mercedes which looked very new and very expensive. Way too expensive for a waitress in a café to afford.

‘Wow, this is quite a motor, pet. Is it yours?’ Wendy sneered jealously, as she put on her seat belt. What she really thought was that it was probably ‘Mummy’s’ car. 

‘You don’t even look old enough to drive.’

Poppy laughed. ‘Yes, it’s mine and yes, I’m old enough to drive. Don’t worry, Wendy, I’ll get you home safely. You just sit back and enjoy the luxurious free ride home.’

‘Is waitressing your main job, or a sideline, Poppy?’ Wendy asked, as they set off.

‘I’m studying biosciences. Waitressing just helps out with things. And yes, the car is paid for, before you ask. I’m lucky. Luckier than most, but I appreciate it and I give back. Volunteering, all of that sort of stuff.’

‘Oh, I dunno where you find the time, love. I don’t get any free time with all my spiritualist meetings.’

‘How many gigs do you get, Wendy, one or two a week?’

‘Er, yeah. Usually. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but there’s lots of preparation, and besides, there’s loads doing it now. More competition means less and less meetings.’

‘Do you mind if I ask you about your seances, Wendy?’

‘Not seances, spiritualist meetings. There’s a difference. But no, not at all. Fire away. I’m bloody good at what I do. I’m not a fraud like some of these young ‘uns on TikTok are. Charlatans. Bring the profession into disrepute.’

‘So, you really think you really do communicate with the dead then?’

‘Why yes, of course, pet. The dead are desperate to get messages over to their loved ones. I just help them do that. I’m a conduit.’

‘What do you think a spirit is, Wendy? I mean really.’

‘What kind of question is that? A spirit is the essence of a person. The stuff that’s left after the body dies.’

‘But if the body has died, how can they speak, or see, or hear anything? They don’t have a body to do that with.’

‘Well, they sense us. They know when they are close to a loved one. And they channel their message through me.’

‘I see. Without you then, they can’t communicate?’

‘Well, no. They can, but it’s not easy. They can send messages, move objects, even appear to us if we’re lucky.’

‘Sorry, I’m just trying to get a handle on this. You agreed they don’t have a body, but now you’re saying they can move stuff and communicate?’

‘Yes, well I wouldn’t expect you to understand. It’s not your thing is it?’ Being a scientist and everything. Well, some things aren’t scientific.’

Poppy laughed, which irritated Wendy even further.

‘Here’s what I think Wendy, though it’s not a scientific opinion. When we die, our ability to sense things in the way we used to dies too. We exist in an alternate dimension, as pure awareness, free from emotions, suffering, desires and attachments, in a pure, blissful state of happiness.’

Wendy was a little taken aback but said nothing, her mind whirring at the sheer audacity of the girl to try to tell her about the spiritual world. 

‘In this pure awareness state, we don’t need to communicate with our loved ones back on earth because we know that all the struggles of life are superfluous and meaningless. We aren’t waiting for our loved ones because time doesn’t exist. We know that one day, our loved ones will transcend too, and become pure, just as we are now. Death then, is complete freedom from suffering. If you knew that, and you knew it was your loved one’s destiny, why would you need to worry about them?’

‘Well, that’s your opinion of course,’ Wendy said, recovering herself. ‘I’m not sure where you’ve got your information from, but…’

‘It’s ancient knowledge Wendy. It’s been known for thousands of years.’

‘Look lady. Don’t try to lecture me about the afterlife. I know a lot more about it than you do. I’ve been doing this job all my life. I know spirits.’

‘I’m not sure you do Wendy. With the greatest respect, I don’t think you know the first thing about them..’

‘How dare you…’

‘It’s ok Wendy, honestly it is. I’m here for you. I didn’t mean to offend you. Everything’s going to be ok now.’

‘You’ve just completely patronised me. Spoken to me like I don’t know the first thing about something I’ve spent my whole life doing. Well I may not have read the books you have, but I know what I know…’

‘Ok, Wendy. Look, I’m sorry. Really I am. But if you know so much, tell me, where you are right now?’

‘What? I’m in your car. I’m being taken home…’ Suddenly, Wendy looked out of the windows and she couldn’t quite make out the streets and roads she had just been on. When she looked out of the windows, everything seemed hazy. Soft lights and colours drifted across her view and surrounded her peripheral vision. 

‘Oh.’

‘Sorry Wendy my love, but you passed away back there in the cafe. Not long after your meeting. Heart attack. You never did make it home to watch them soaps, but at least you don’t have to worry about your car repairs. In fact, you don’t have to worry about anything any more. Everything will just slowly drift away and you will be finally be free. Now, isn’t that lovely?”

“Yes, yes, pet. It is.’

‘Now do you understand what spirits are?’

‘Yes I do Poppy. I get it now.’

All of Wendy’s struggles evaporated. Her worries about the car. Her frustrations at not being successful. Her jealousies. Her petty anxieties. Her aches and pains. All of them simply dissipated and she was free at last. Free from suffering. It felt so liberating. So peaceful and tranquil.

Her family and friends came to meet her. They embraced and led her by the hand into a beautiful bright light. ‘Welcome to the spirit world Wendy,’ they said. And Wendy knew. She finally knew what the spirit world was all about and it was not at all what she had believed her whole life it to be.