by Paula Bianchi –

Kat got up and rushed to her purse then came back with some sage, and Dobson was close floating along right beside her.

“It’s finally happening!” Dobson exclaimed, as he entered the room and floated up to join Lucy who was floating by the ceiling looking down on the scene below.

“I can’t believe it either.” Lucy sounded a bit skeptical because she was tired of getting her hopes up. “But I hope it’s true so Justin can get rid of Lori and be done with drugs.”

Suddenly, Justin’s phone chimed that he had gotten a text message, so he pulled it out of the pocket of his blue jeans to see who it was from. “It’s Cheryl. She wants to know if I’m out of jail.” He said, with a tinge of fear in his voice.

“You never answered my question, Justin. Do you want to get help for your addiction?” Michael stated again quite clearly.

Justin stared at his phone for a moment or two before he finally answered with a simple, “Yes, I do.”

Everyone’s energy in the room quickly became more positive which made the room feel much lighter.

Michael reached over and pulled his son into his embrace, and Justin welcomed it hugging him back.

“You need to block Cheryl’s calls and never talk to any of the people you were hanging out with.” Michael instructed, as they pulled away from each other. “Do you think you can do that?” He asked, staring right into Justin’s blue eyes.

Lucy could hear Lori screaming in Justin’s head to ignore his family. She was so ready to just jump into her son and drag that girl out, but she knew she couldn’t. Instead, she decided to yell louder than her. “Say yes, Justin! You can do this!”

“Yes. I want to do that. I don’t want anything to do with them anymore.” Justin sounded firm with his choice as he tapped his phone to block Cheryl and her brother from calling or texting him.

Tears began to well up in Kat’s eyes, so Lucy tuned into her thoughts, and she was hit with a wave of “if only” because she wished her brother would have accepted her help when he was alive like Justin was doing right now then she quickly pushed her tears away.

“So, what do we do now, Kat?” Emma’s voice snapped Kat out of her revere.

Kat lit the sage aflame and covered Justin with it’s smoke. Lucy listened as Kat mumbled prayers of protection and called out to Lori’s loved ones and spirit guides to come and help her cross over.

Instantly, a beam of light came shooting down through the ceiling. Lucy could see three orbs dancing around within this it’s glowing mass, and when they materialized in front of her, she recognized two of them right away.

It was Remy, and he was still wearing the same white flowing robe that danced in an unseen breeze. Standing next to him, was Lori’s mom, Ellen, but Lucy had no clue as to who the third male spirit was dressed like a farmer in coveralls and a blue plaid, long sleeved flannel shirt.

“Remy!” Lucy rushed to greet him with a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Remy smiled warmly lighting up his chiseled features. “The time has finally come for us to take Lori to heaven.” He spoke.

“I know I can convince her to go with me this time.” Ellen beamed. “This is Lori’s favorite person in the whole world; her grandfather.” She gestured to the male spirit hovering next to her. “Once she sees him, I know she’ll go with us.” Her voice was full of confidence.

“Now, Justin, I’ve called in some help, but nothing is going to happen unless you make it.” Kat looked deeply into his eyes.

“What do you mean?” Justin wasn’t clear on what Kat was trying to do, but he couldn’t help but feel drawn to her as their eye contact continued.

“I can only do so much. You’re the one who has to tell Lori to leave.” Kat instructed.

“How do I do that?” Justin was at a loss. He hadn’t a clue what he could do to get her to leave.

“You need to talk to Lori and tell her someone she loves very much has come to take her to heaven. Be stern with her and make it clear that you want her to go because you will no longer allow her to stay inside of you anymore.” Kat detailed what he needed to do, so he could be free of his spiritual attachment.

“Do I just say it out loud?” Justin inquired.

“You can say it out loud or in your head.” Kat responded. “I’ll get you started. Lori,” she addressed the spirit directly, “the time has come for you to leave now. Your mother is here and she brought someone you love very much with her.” Then she motioned for Justin to continue.

“I want you to go now and get out of me, Lori!” Justin demanded. “I’m done with doing drugs, so I’ll never listen to you again.” He said, out loud to the ceiling.

Kat surrounded Justin with more smoke from her sage then suddenly Lori’s head came popping out of his back at the base of Justin’s neck, and she was looking over his shoulder. “Mom!” She exclaimed, when she saw her mother standing there.

“Hi, Honey!” Ellen sounded so excited to see her daughter again. “Look who came with me.” She stepped aside to reveal her Grandpa who was dressed exactly how Lori remembered him.

“Grandpa!” Lori exclaimed then just like that, she popped out of Justin without any haste, and she quickly floated into her Grandfather’s waiting arms.

“Wow!” What just happened?!” Justin leaned back into the couch and put his hand over his racing heart.

“Hello, Sweetie pie.” Grandpa squeezed Lori tightly. “Your Mother and I have been patiently waiting for you to join us. Are you ready to go now?” He lifted her chin, so he could see the answer in her eyes.

Lori gazed at her grandpa with love and devotion. “Yes. I’m ready to go with you now.” Looking back at Justin, she said to Kat, “Please tell Justin that I’m very sorry for everything.”

Lucy became aware of the shame Lori felt for leading Justin into so much trouble over the past few months.

“What you felt was Lori detaching herself from you.” Kat reassured Justin. “She wants you to know that she’s very sorry for all the trouble she’s gotten you into.” She relayed the message.

“I could feel her leaving me.” Justin said, with wonder. “Tell her I’m not mad at her.”

Lori bounced with relief then floated over to give Justin a hug. “Thank you. I’ll never forget you.” She said, before she rejoined her family in the white light.

“What was that?” Justin squirmed in his seat as his goosebumps made the hair on the back of his neck and arms stand straight up.

“Lori just gave you a hug and thanked you for forgiving her.” Kat shared. “Now they’ve changed into orbs, and she’s leaving with her Mom, and Grandfather up into the light.” She commented on what she was seeing.

“Were they standing right there?” Emma asked, pointing to the middle of the living room. “Because I think I can see a beam of white light there.” She shared.

“Yes. They were standing right there in the light.” Kat confirmed, as a feeling of satisfaction swept over her regarding Emma’s abilities.

Suddenly, Hawk, Justin’s spirit guide, materialized next to Remy.

“We are not finished yet.” Hawk informed them. “There is another spirit attached to Justin, and he has conveyed his desire to also leave now.” He added.

“Who else is attached to him, Hawk?” Lucy’s brow creased with concern as she floated closer to this impressive man. “I could only hear Lori inside of Justin’s head.”

“A spirit named Wing has been attached to Justin since the day he was born.” Hawk began. “They have shared many lifetimes on this Earth, and he agreed to help your son throughout his life, but Justin stopped listening to him once Lori entered his body.” He explained.

 “You’re saying this is a good spirit?” Lucy asked, hoping that was the truth.

“Yes. Very good.” Hawk smiled. “Even if Wing is ready to go now, Justin needs to release him from their agreement in order for him to leave with us.” He schooled her.

 “What’s going on?” Michael asked, with concern after seeing an odd expression on Kat’s face from the ghostly conversation that only she was hearing.

“It seems there’s one more spirit attached to you, Justin.” Kat shared. “Your spirit guide, Hawk, is telling your mom that when you were born, a male spirit called Wing attached himself to you because you both agreed that he would.” She informed him.

“There’s another spirit in me?” Justin sank back into his seat again as the color drained from his face.

“Yes, but he’s ready to go.” Kat answered. “He just needs your permission to leave.” She reassured him with a gentle pat on his knee. “Relax and thank him for helping you then tell him you’re okay with him leaving.” She instructed.

As soon as Justin closed his eyes and gave his permission, a short man of Asian descent popped out of his chest. He was dressed in a red silk shirt and matching pants with thongs on his feet. “Tell Justin he’s a good boy, and I’m very proud of him for agreeing to get the help he so desperately needs.” Wing said, as he floated over to join Hawk and Remy in the beam of light.

“Wing just told me to tell you how proud he is of you, Justin, for wanting to get help.” Kat grinned from ear to ear.

“Time for us to leave now.” Remy declared. “Do you want to come with us, Lucy?” He asked, putting the invitation out there yet again.

Lucy was tempted to go out of curiousity, but when she looked back at her family, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving. “No. I don’t want to go yet.” She answered, feeling quite secure in her choice because she knew she could leave at any time.

“How about you?” Remy turned to Dobson. “Do you want to come with us?” He asked, as he gazed at the child with his piercing blue eyes.

Dobson was taken aback by Remy’s question. A part of him wanted to go too. Lucy could feel it.

“No. I’m not ready yet either.” Dobson answered, with determination then he looked at Lucy and smiled. “I want to stay here and help you.” He blushed.

Lucy was hit with a surge of relief. In that moment, she had the realization of how much she had come to depend on Dobson’s company and help.

Michael couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Is everything alright?” He asked.

“Yes. It’s all good. The spirit guide, Remy, who came to help cross Lori over is asking Lucy and Dobson if they would like to go with them to heaven.” Kat shared.

“Is Lucy going to leave now?” Michael sounded a bit panicked. The thought of his wife leaving made him turn pale as a ghost.

“No. She has chosen to stay, and Dobson wants to stay with her.” Kat revealed what was happening in the afterlife.

Lucy could feel a sense of calmness washing over Michael’s entire body pushing all of his worries away.

“Where are Ava and Ben? Maybe they would like to come.” Remy wanted to extend the invitation to all who remained there.

“We don’t know where they are. They disappeared before the investigation.” Lucy suddenly felt a deep concern for her ghostly roommates.

“They will come back.” Remy assured her. “Let them know I will come when they are ready.”

“Tell Justin whenever he needs me I will be there.” Hawk said.

Kat nodded with a sparkle in her green eyes.

With that being said, they all instantly shrunk into golden orbs as they were sucked up within the retreating beam of white light until they were out of sight.

“Everyone is gone now.” Kat informed the living.

“There’s no more spirits in me?” Justin was almost afraid to ask.

“Nope. You’re clean as a whistle.” Kat chuckled, and Emma giggled with her.

“Good.” Michael spoke. “Now it’s time for you to shower and pack a bag because your rehab counselor will be here in about an hour.” He put his arm around Justin and gave his son a squeeze to remind him that he wasn’t alone.

Come back next week to hear Ava and Ben’s story and see if they’ll decide if it’s time for them to move on. Thanks for the visit. Bye for now.

Email: Remyel@hotmail.com

Picture courtesy of: Pexels

If you’d like to read Lucy’s story from the beginning, click this link: Lucy in the Afterlife: The Beginning.