Divine Intervention: Part 3

Guardian angels exist in all forms. But not all of them have white fluffy wings and golden auras. Sometimes they look like Kate Bush with a score to settle.

As dawn broke on my ethereal encounter with Catherine, I remembered her every word of warning concerning the boundaries and unyielding decree, preventing males of the species staying overnight in the unit. The only thing I wasn’t sure of, is what she would do if that happened.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.

But it seemed we had an invisible alliance between us, and I felt comfortable and somewhat comforted by Catherine’s presence. It was Summer I was worried about.

Seven a.m. slowly ticked over, as this overcast Saturday morning would soon see Summer blow in like an ocean gale to take up residence. I made a cup of tea, toast with Vegemite and sat quietly, watching the waves lap back and forward against the sand, somewhat like my mind churning over what was about to unfold. But now I had two new flat mates to worry about.

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I could feel Catherine’s aura around. I could almost hear her invisible pacing. Perhaps I did make the wrong decision in letting Summer into my world. Again, my intuition was nudging me against my choice. And with Catherine now permeating anxious vibes, I felt the atmosphere building.

Nine a.m. finally arrived and so did Summer and Greg. More bags in tow, smiles all ‘round and off they went to arrange her room. Summer, Greg and myself, spent the day together. I prepared our first lunch as a housewarming celebration, to welcome her into the new abode. Being by the ocean, of course it had to be seafood. I made a platter of fresh prawns, fish pieces, calamari, fruit and salad and a chilled rose’. Perfect. A great start to a new chapter, for both of us.

So far, so good. But Catherine was still rotating in my mind, and in the loungeroom.

Late afternoon, Greg had to leave to start a shift at the pub. So thankfully, he wouldn’t be staying and this would give me the chance I needed to speak to Summer about Catherine.

The evening unfolded with ease and calm relief. As Summer and I finally collapsed on the lounge to watch T.V., chatting about local restaurants, work, living in this moment, I took this opportunity as my sign to bring up Catherine, our resident revenant.

The best I could come up with was to throw Summer a few crumbs to think about. That was, don’t worry if she happens to hear creaking floorboards or the windows rattling during the night – it’s only because of the wind off the ocean and being an old place, things rattle and hum.

Summer referred to my picture over the mantlepiece of the dolphins dancing in the wake of a ship’s bow and questioned why dolphins do such things.

I guess they feel the vibration and stirring of the ship surging through the water, I replied. Perhaps they pick up some paranormal frequency below the ocean which gives them the urge to dance and elevate themselves.

Cue ‘paranormal’!

‘Paranormal!’, she exclaimed. ‘Under the water?! Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘Well, I believe there are UFO’s under the ocean, not just zooming around the Universe.’ I was pondering USO’s, Unidentified Submerged Objects all those years ago. Long before it became evident. ‘What do we really know about the whale song; the huge ocean cavities that man hasn’t dared enter yet? What about the Loch Ness monster? Atlantis? The pyramids – I could go on. There are stranger things in heaven and earth than we can even imagine or be humanly aware of. There could be ghosts in this very unit from lifetimes past. Maybe that’s what the creaking noises are. A friendly apparition pacing the boards at midnight.’

‘Stop trying to scare me. I don’t believe in such things.’ replied Summer

‘Aren’t you even open to the possibility? I think its fascinating. I could tell you many stories of my experiences, but I don’t think you’d believe me.’

Thirty years on, I bet she believes me now.

‘As a matter of fact, I saw a ‘visitor’ last night. In my bedroom, standing by the dressing table’.

The look on Summer’s face at this point, was somewhere between mild terror to humorous disbelief.

‘What do you mean?’ she said.

Taking this as my opportunity to relay Catherine’s message, I, as they say, ‘let rip’.

I told Summer exactly what happened in the early hours of the morning. Awaking to find a beautiful apparition standing at the corner of my dressing table. I told Summer her name was Catherine, and that something had happened to her whilst she once lived in this unit, or surrounding area. A moment in her life that left her tortured and trapped for all time. Because of that, she had a message for both of us.

I then relayed what Catherine had told me, that “males will not be welcome into my home. No men must stay here. Not in my room, not in my bed. You must tell her he must not stay”. I explained that ‘he’ referred to Greg. As Catherine was aware of all things within these walls. That’s when Summer began snorting and choking as she sprayed her Rose’ into the air, as she burst into hysterical laughter.

I remained straight-faced, whilst giving her a moment to gain composure.

It was then she realized that I wasn’t joking. She tried to imply that I was mildly crazy and was probably dreaming. My pathetic attempt to play a bad joke on her, her first night in the unit.

‘Ok, I said. You’ve been told.’ If anything happens, don’t come screaming to me.

She continued to laugh it off as a feeble attempt of a housewarming prank.

“Surprise! I’m not buying it, but thanks for the tip off.” she quipped.

We left it there. Indeed, ‘surprise!’ would not be far away.

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A week went by and all was well. Summer had settled in. I continued to feel Catherine’s presence. But also felt perplexed and anxious, noticing that items of clothing, accessories and makeup of mine, kept disappearing – from my room; my wardrobe and draws. Distinct items, that I would obviously notice missing. Just like my eighteenth birthday gift from my grandparents.

I didn’t like this feeling, at all. I had no hesitation confronting Summer about it. Not in an aggressive way, but calmly asking had she seen or borrowed my antique blouse, and other items from my room and forgot to return them. Remember, my clothes, jewelry and personal items are a reflection of me. They are unusual, unique and not found easily or bought in run of the mill stores. They are specific items of my character that are treasured – by me. Simply because I don’t want to be like everyone else. I like to be different, in my own weird kind of way.

But, just as before, she laughed off any suggestion that she would take anything from me, from my room and inferred I probably just forgot where I put them and put them away in the wrong drawers. Yes, that would explain the untidy mess in certain drawers that I knew I didn’t cause.

Sorry Summer, my memory’s not that bad.

But this was my antique lace blouse we’re talking about, that I stored carefully, knew where it was at all times, just like my pearl necklace. The antique blouse that she knew I adored and saved to buy. The antique blouse that she had asked to try on, ‘just to see how it looked on her’. The antique blouse that had her eyes relay, ‘I must have it’.

I questioned whether my clothing and personal items had magically transferred to Summer’s room whilst I wasn’t home. Like the particular green neck scarf I casually saw on her dresser in a plastic bag with other items of interest.

The only way she could enter my room, was when I wasn’t home. And having different jobs on different days and sometimes nights, she had plenty of opportunity to scour my bedroom at her leisure without interruption. Horrible to think, but I told myself how much longer would I give her the benefit of the doubt. I was doing my best to be respectful – of her.

I then began wondering whether my suspected fears of Summer being the person who went through my bags that night at her mother’s, were correct. I hoped I was wrong. But my intuition never lies – ever.

So, one day whilst Summer and Greg were on a day out, I couldn’t quell my curiosity and irritation any longer and went into Summer’s room to have a look around to see if there was any of my belongings in there. Feeling uneasy about entering her room, I reminded myself that I put my trust in her. I had a feeling it wasn’t being reciprocated.

I casually looked around. There were many items of clothing strewn around the room. It wasn’t long before I noticed a couple of other scarfs of mine, hidden in a basket at the side of her dressing table. I don’t know why, but I felt guilty taking them out. Why? They were my property. This peaked my curiosity and anger even further. I then noticed earrings and bangles of mine on her dressing table. So, I bit the bullet, and opened her dressing table drawers, only to find my lace antique blouse stuffed in amongst the chaos, with other things, such as various t-shirts that also belonged to me.

I was more than furious. First of all, she lied to me about taking my things. Secondly, my much-loved antique blouse was literally stuffed into a draw. I saved to buy that blouse. It was special. It was also special to someone else in another lifetime. I took on the responsibility of looking after it for them. It deserved to be hung up, treated with respect. Not shoved like a sock into a drawer. I checked to see that the lace wasn’t torn. It was a fragile item and irreplaceable. She obviously had no respect for me or this precious item.

By this time, I was simmering. So, I continued to look around. There were more shirts of mine in other drawers, and yes, my special malachite green neck scarf found its way to the top of the mess as if screaming for its deliverance to return home.

So, what to do now? I was getting to the point where I didn’t care about her feelings any longer. She lied to me on several occasions. Took my things without asking, and left me feeling like a fool. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, its being used, blindsided, and having no respect for others.

Catherine and I do indeed have a lot in common. Betrayal, abuse, a moment in time waiting for karma.

Summer and Greg eventually returned from their ‘date’ and I wasn’t about to go anywhere in a hurry.

I was pleasant, courteous. Not giving anything away about what I had found. Not until Greg had left and I had Summer alone. It’s not in my nature to diminish anyone’s character with an audience. I try to maintain respect and consideration in every situation. There may be a logical reason to Summer’s habit. Maybe not. And it’s not Greg’s problem. Though I did wonder whether he noticed what Summer was collecting, especially such individual items as my antique blouse and not question it. This was between Summer and myself.

I approached the subject softly. She was on a high from her day out. We sat on the lounge and she told me about her day. She noticed I was a bit flat and asked what was wrong. So, I retrieved all the clothes of mine I had found and asked her what she was doing and why did she lie to me.

There was silence for a short time. The look on her face turned pale and I could see she was searching for an excuse to pick that was circling in her head. I told her how upset I was that she would go through my room without my knowledge and just take anything she felt like without asking, but then to keep and store them in her own drawers as if they were her property. I had been going crazy searching for my lost items. Specifically, I chastised her for taking my antique lace blouse. That she had no right to take anything of mine, let alone disrespectfully stuff it in a drawer and think I wouldn’t notice.

She couldn’t give me an answer. She tried to make light of it again. But I wasn’t laughing. I was angry and let down. I asked her if this was going to continue, because I didn’t want to wake up every day wondering if my property would go missing again. I didn’t want to distrust her, but if she was going to remain living with me, clear boundaries needed to be set. I told her I didn’t want to put locks and chains on my bedroom door, but I would if she continued to go through my things. This was not how I wanted to live. She didn’t seem to understand the gravity of it all, or why I was getting so upset. It just didn’t seem to register. Her philosophy was, if we live together, then what’s yours is mine.

I said, does that go both ways? I can go into your room and take anything I want. Use it, wear it, put it in my drawers and say, ‘oh that’s mine now, yay’.

I don’t think so.

She didn’t like that scenario, so she apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again. I said, if I have to check again and find something missing, I will.

I also put her on the spot and asked, ‘So do you know where my pearl and sapphire necklace went that night at your mother’s place? Will I find that in your drawers too? Because if I do, there will be hell to pay.’

I never really got an answer. But she wasn’t smiling any more. And hopefully left a seed of remorse in her head.

We went to bed that night on friendly terms as I didn’t want to put an ongoing sword between us. I just wanted her to realize that my property was mine and she had no right to it. If she wanted a lend of something, she would have to ask me for it. No other option. She agreed. There was a little deflation in the atmosphere as bedtime came. But at least she understood the rules. But I wasn’t convinced.

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Friday night was fast approaching. I wasn’t working and had the weekend free. Looking forward to some time out. I had plans of my own as I had promised my grandmother I would go home to spend the weekend with her. She needed some love hugs, and so did I. I missed her. It would also give Summer some time and space on her own.

Little did I know how this weekend would unfold.

Summer knew the rules. Not just about staying out of my room, but of Catherine’s warning of not having men in the unit. And again, it seems rules don’t apply to Summer.

So, having the unit to herself, and without my knowing, she invited Greg over. Not just for dinner, which was fine, but to stay the weekend.

Bad move.

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Please join me for the final Part 4 of Divine Intervention … where you will find out why “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned”. You cannot fail to heed the warnings and laugh in the face of spirt, without consequences. Summer is about to discover that karma is not a joke.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. You are appreciated. D💚🪶