Julia's Future

Julia’s
Future
a short
story

by

Linda Westphal

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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Julia’s
Future
a short
story

Copyright © 2010 Linda Westphal

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Julia’s
Future
a short
story

The room is not at all what I thought a
psychic’s office would look like. It resembles a common Southern
parlor, not an office. The rich, dark antique furniture warms the
room on this cool October day, as does the heavy rust-red paint on
the south wall.

My hands shaking, I take a slow, deep breath
in and let it out even slower to force myself to relax.

What am I doing
here?
I wonder.
Did
I really want a glimpse of my future?

*****

A Savannah Police Department detective, Rory
Cavanaugh, introduced me to Lily a year ago when she was asked to
help solve the Carie Dunne murder case. Most of the detectives
respected Lily because of her reputation for solving murder cases
in Atlanta and New York City, but Rory thought the detectives had
done sloppy work and overlooked clues that Lily easily noticed.
Nevertheless, he didn’t put up a fuss when the Captain insisted he
find out what Lily knew about the Dunne case.

Lily came to the meeting prepared. We were
surprised when she announced she had a message for Rory – from
Carie.

Lily looked intently at Rory, waiting for
him to meet her gaze. “Carie has been trying to show you clues, to
help find her killer,” she said.

“Is that so,” Rory said with no emotion.

“She is frustrated with you,” Lily
continued. “She doesn’t understand why a detective would not listen
to his inner voice or trust his instincts when they tell him to
push a clue a little harder.”

Rory snorted in response.
He shot a look at the Captain that said
Are
you kidding me?

*****

A woman enters the parlor. “Hello, Julia,”
she says, locking eyes with me for a few seconds. “I’m Lily.”

All I can do is smile. She turns and closes
the tall, wooden French doors. We are completely alone. I sense she
is a kind person, but can’t shake my fear of the unknown and what
I’m about to hear.

“Thank you for waiting,” she says, and sits
in a Queen Anne chair next to the sofa where I’m sitting.

“Hello,” I reply, softly.

“Don’t be afraid,” she assures me. “All is
well.”

I try to smile as I brush an imaginary wisp
of hair off my forehead. I tell myself to get it together. I trust
Lily. There’s no reason for me to be afraid of what she has to
say.

Lily picks up a brilliant rough-cut purple
amethyst from the table next to her chair and warms it in her hand.
She closes her eyes and appears to be using the stone to tap into
wherever she goes to hear messages from the Other Side.

A few minutes go by, she opens her eyes and
says to me, “Everyone has what I call a spirit guide. Your spirit
guide is with you from the day you are born, and his or her purpose
is to help you with your life mission and keep you on the right
track.”

I do my best to hold it together, but the
tears come anyway. I tell her I feel so alone. I say no one
understands what it’s like to lose a partner in the prime of your
life. I explain that I’m grateful for people’s kindness but their
looks of pity and relief that it’s my bad fortune and not theirs
makes it worse.

Why did this happen? It’s not normal for a
man to collapse and die at the age of 30; it’s not normal for a
woman to become a widow at 27; and, it’s not right for a
two-year-old boy to be left without a father. The more I think
about it, the more I realize my agony lingers because I desperately
need some answers. I can no longer see my future. It’s as if it
vanished when my husband died.

“I don’t understand what’s happening to me,”
I sob as I blow my nose into a tissue. “The future I thought I had
is gone. Inside it feels as if the world has stopped, yet I’m
expected to keep going—go to work, pay the mortgage, raise my
son.”

Lily lightly taps my knee. “Close your eyes,
dear, relax. Think about the happiest moment in your life.”

I force my shoulders to relax, and close my
eyes.

“How do you feel?” Lily asks. “Tell me about
your happiest moment. Who are you with?”

“I’m with Sam and Taylor, on an airplane.
It’s our first trip together. Taylor’s 13 months old.” I giggle.
“The stewardess is pinning wings on his shirt.”

“
You’re doing fine,” Lily
says in a soothing voice. “Now go back farther in time—when you
were Taylor’s age. What do you see?”

As if on command, my mind leaps back in time
until I see myself peering out a large window at hills of snow that
fell during the night. The snow blocked the front door and was
threatening to block our view out the window. “I see a lot of
snow,” I tell Lily.

“You’re doing very well. Now go back even
farther—before your birth. Tell me what you see.”

“I’m on a beach … sitting in an Adirondack
chair … looking at the ocean. Someone’s walking toward me. It’s a
woman. I don’t recognize her, but I feel as if I know her. She’s
beautiful … tall, with straight long black hair, dark eyes.”

Lily leans forward and touches my arm.
“She’s your spirit guide. Ask her to tell you her name.”

The beautiful woman sits in the sand in
front of my chair, looks at me and smiles. “What’s your name?” I
ask her.

“Sadie,” she replies with a slight Spanish
accent.

“Sadie
,” I repeat slowly, searching my mind for when we might have
met. “Are you my spirit guide?”

“Yes. We have known each other for many
lifetimes. I am here to help you in this lifetime.”

Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming rush of
warmth, like love, run through my body. “I’ve seen you in my
dreams,” I whisper.

Sadie smiles. “It’s the only place you
listen to my words. You refuse to hear me when you’re awake. Julia,
you must pay attention in this lifetime. Watch for signs of help
from the Other Side. When your instincts tell you the sign is for
you, listen. You will need to use this basic human sense to
accomplish your life’s destiny.”

I gasp and hold my breath for an
instant.

“Julia, don’t worry about your future. It
has already been decided. All you have to do is live. Take one day
at a time if it’s difficult for you right now. Just follow your
heart. And spend time alone—get to know yourself. This will bring
the peace you’re looking for.”

Sadie continues. “The sorrow you feel when
you think of Sam’s death will always be with you, but over time
your sadness will change to deep love and understanding. You will
never forget him, nor should you. One day you’ll realize why this
event was destined to change your life, and Taylor’s. You will also
see how much you’ve grown because of it. You will accomplish great
things in the years ahead, Julia, and bring happiness to many
people you don’t know.”

I begin to sob, finally
releasing all the emotions I had held inside from the moment I saw
Sam’s dying body.
There’s an important
reason for me to be alive after all
I
thought.

I feel a sudden sense of freedom and love of
life. It’s as if I can hardly wait for the future to unfold.

Sadie stands and kisses my cheek. “I’m
always with you, Julia, even when your fear is so strong it cuts
off your ability to sense me. Nothing in your life happens by
accident. Every act, meeting, argument, lucky break—everything—is
meant to help you grow to fulfill your destiny during this
lifetime.”

Sadie smiles. “All is well, dear Julia, all
is well.”

I'm alone again on the beach. I slowly open
my eyes and see Lily still sitting in the Queen Anne chair, waiting
to hear about my experience. “Was she able to help you?” Lily
asks.

“She said Sam’s death was meant to happen at
this time, just as his birth was meant to happen, our chance
meeting was meant to happen, and the birth of our son was meant to
happen.”

I thank Lily for her guidance, kiss her
goodbye, and walk into the cool October day. The world feels
different. I feel the age of the cobblestones beneath my feet. The
giant oak trees that filter the fall sun from my face feel strong,
wise. The fallen leaves remind me of the changing seasons and how
much life resembles nature. My uncertainty of the future has
vanished. My fear is gone, replaced with wonder about the tasks I’m
destined to do. And for now, today, that’s all I need.

All is well, indeed.

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About the author:

A professional writer
since 1990,
Julia's Future
is Linda Westphal's first published short
story.

Connect with me online:

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/goodredroad