Help from the other side

I was laying in my bathtub, relaxing when suddenly my phone began to ring. “Who is trying to disturb me at this time?” I thought that to myself as I reached for the phone. From my periphery view I saw who was ringing me and I knew it was a phone call I had to accept. Without a second thought I picked it up. On the other line I heard a jingly and familiar voice, one I always liked hearing from. It was my dear friend Erika, someone close to my heart and soul. “Hello my dear, how are you?” - I asked.

(Around the same time, Erika had been going through a rough and painful time in her life stemming from the loss of her parents. They had both departed from the earth a few months prior. The feeling of disappointment from the way she was treated by her one and only brother after the division of property from their late parents lingered. Erika had been promised the family house and subsequently, her brother Richard was also given their grandfather’s house years before the death of their parents. This was however only a word of promise, not an actual contractual agreement. During the successions of inheritance, the family home was divided equally between Erika and her brother. This is precisely when all the problems began. Erika’s brother Richard had come to the conclusion that it would be best to write his half of the house off to his son, who was eventually planning to buy off Erika’s half of the house, renovate it and move in along with his wife. This decision was heart wrenching to Erika because her family home and the place where she grew up was very close to her heart and to her, it came as another slap in the face and act of injustice in their family affairs. This was only one in a handful of injustices done to her during her parent lives. Her dream was always to keep the family home exactly what it was - a family home. She wanted to keep it for her kids and maybe later for her grandkids. They would use it during the weekends to get away from the fast-paced life in the city, take care of it and do the upkeep in the yard. At that moment however, her plans seemed to be fading away. After Erika’s nephew refused to sell his half of the house, a battle began in the family. Her brother and his family turned their backs on her and neither side would let up, until it would possibly lead to court.)

“Hi Andrea, I’m doing fine, my grandkids are growing and they make me so happy!” She happily said. “My job is also going fine, and the rest; well I would rather not speak of.it”……. In that moment I felt my breathing become heavy and I was having trouble grasping my breath, I had felt a pressure and pain in my chest and I had to interrupt Erika mid –sentence. “Dear I’m sorry to interrupt you, but someone is trying to contact me from the other side. I need to get out from the bathtub; can you wait a few moments please?” - The other side of the phone had become quiet because Erika knew what was coming next. “Erika, who was nicknamed ‘Apik’ in your family?” – I asked curiously “I feel the presence of an older man, and he is showing me your mom” –I continued to say. After a few pauses Erika said “My mom used to call her father Apik”. I felt the man smile and knew that we were talking about the same person. “Your grandfather used to call you ‘Erička’?” (pet name) His tone seems very kind and warm towards you. In an emotional voice she spoke: “yes he used to call me by that nick-name, he loved me very much”. Immediately, I got the feeling that someone else was trying to communicate through me. “Erika, I think your mom is here too, and I feel your grandfather is arguing with her. Actually, he is mostly arguing with himself and your mom is standing quietly and submissively. Erika began laughing “My mom was always very quiet when her father got angry with her and tried to reprimand her.” “Your grandfather is telling your mom that she spent all her life reprimanding her husband for not getting his fair share of the family inheritance and then she did the same thing to her own daughter; you” Erika confirmed that and I continued talking. “Your grandfather is somewhat angry and is telling your mom that she couldn’t fix things while she was alive, and she sure won’t be able to fix them now!” Erika’s mother still remained silent, listening to her angered father. “Dear, I’m not really sure what will happen in the future or what kinds of rights or competence souls can have from the other side, but your grandfather is showing me a contract or some sort of agreement and I see how your nephew is humbly walking towards you saying: ‘We found another place to live and I agree with your offer to buy off our half of the house.’” “Wow, wow!” Erika exclaimed in shock. “We will see what happens…”

After about two weeks from our conversation, I had the feeling that I should contact Erika and ask how she is doing. After the fifth ring, I intuitively got that she is busy and cannot talk now and that she will call me later. I then focused my energy onto something else and when my phone rang one hour later, I knew exactly who the call would be from. On the other line I heard the same kind voice that I always enjoyed hearing from my dear friend Erika. “Hi Andrejka, I’m sorry I couldn’t answer the phone sooner. I just came back from my family home and my phone was in my purse. My husband and I went there with our kids and grandkids for the weekend. And now, for the best part, please make sure you are sitting down.” -Erika said. “Can you take a guess what happened there today?” I listened quite anxiously, when suddenly something heavy wafted through the air. It felt somewhat magical but mostly other-worldly. “So don’t keep me waiting and just tell me!” I said impatiently. Erika took a deep breath and poured it all out: “Today, my nephew came to visit us at the house and you wouldn’t believe that exactly what you said over one week ago actually happened. He came with a very humble approach, without any arrogance or superiority like he used to have before., when he told me that we would meet in court one day. Instead, his face said a different story. He seemed reconciled with the situation and calmly said to me: “Aunt Erika, I want you to know that my wife and I solved our living situation, we found another home and we would like to take you up on the offer of selling you our half of the house.” “Wow, I can’t believe it!” I yelled excitedly as we both began to happily laugh.

So, do you still believe that we are alone in our problems? That our loved ones do not see how we live our lives, what sources our happiness and oppositely what troubles us? That a higher power does not exist and help cannot be received by our loved ones from the other side? Everything is possible and it happens quite often, which some of my other stories will uncover – stories from the other side.

Source cover photo: pinterest.com