The smell of burning was getting stronger and there were shouts and screams in the distance. She ran out of her home into the night and saw the yellow glow which meant only one thing. The rival settlement had broken through the barriers, and were on the rampage burning everything in sight. Her Husband Amandus grabbed her upper arm roughly from behind, and dragged her barefoot from the house. They had to escape …
Claudia awoke with a jump and a gasp. Light streamed in through the curtains and a gentle breeze played with them swaying them gently. The birds were singing outside in the trees in the large Garden, yet Claudia saw and heard nothing. Her mind was on the dream she’d just had. She had no idea where it had come from, she just knew it was weird. She’d never had a dream like that before. Shaking her head she got out of bed, and headed for the shower. It was time to get ready for work.
Forty five minutes later Claudia boarded the bus and took the last available seat next to an elderly lady. She hated taking the bus, but her husband Karl had taken the car in for a service. Staring into space, her mind wandered…
Armandus threw his chain mail vest at her and she let out an involuntary yelp of pain. The look of rage on his face was more than she could bear and as he strode towards her she cowered, knowing what was coming. The blow to the side of her face sent her crashing to the floor, and Armandus’s roars of anger filled her ears as everything went black…
Claudia gasped as everything came back into focus. The elderly lady at the side of her leaned over slightly and said
“Are you okay?”
Claudia stared at her, then managed a weak
“Yes, yes I’m fine…my mind wandered that’s all.”
The elderly lady looked at her for a moment longer then wordlessly turned away.
Ten minutes later, Claudia exited the bus and walked to the Store where she worked as a Saleswoman selling Designer Clothes, as she walked inside, the bell above the door jingled, and Claudia’s work collegue and friend Mandy stuck her head round the door of the Staff room.
“Morning Claudia, it’s just you and I today, the troll called in sick.” The troll was the manager of the store, a formidable woman who looked down on Claudia and Mandy. Claudia usually smiled at the name Troll, but today, all she could manage was a weak smile.
Frowning, Mandy looked closer at Claudia
“Are you okay hon, you look terrible” she said.
“I’m okay, I’ve just been having weird dreams and like visions that’s all” replied Claudia. She told Mandy about the dream she had and the vision she had on the bus.
“Wow, that’s weird” exclaimed Mandy when she’d finished,
“What does Karl say?”
“I haven’t told him yet, he was up and gone before I awoke to take my Car in for a service” said Claudia.
“I’ll tell him tonight.”
As it happened, Claudia didn’t have to wait that long. Karl strolled into the store at Lunchtime and asked Mandy if he could take his lovely wife out for lunch. Mandy was fine to look after the store, so Claudia grabbed her bag and strolled out into the bright sunshine hand in hand with her husband. As they took seats at their favourite diner, The Olive Grove, Claudia sighed.
“Whats wrong honey?” Karl asked, his face a picture of concern. Sighing again Claudia told him about her dream and vision, as he sat and held her hand across the table.
“Well thats weird, but I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything honey, I mean dreams are just that right, dreams?”
“Yeah I know, but there’s something that bugs me about it, I mean, it seemed so real, and then there’s the vision I had on the bus” she reminded him.
“Maybe your mind was just dwelling on the dream you had” replied Karl.
“Yeah, maybe” Claudia smiled at him.
“But either way, thanks for making me feel better” she added.
When Claudia walked back into the store forty five minutes later, Mandy was deep in conversation with a woman who was fussing over two different coloured tops. Claudia decided to have a last smoke before starting work for the afternoon, so dumped her bag on the table and got out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter. Lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply she thought back to the lunch she’d just shared with her Husband. Karl adored her, he always had, and he told everyone he met that the happiest day of his life was the day he and Claudia got married. Karl was ultra conservative and traditional, he didn’t smoke, he never had more than 2 drinks if they went out, and always liked things neat and tidy. He was a straight and narrow guy, and Claudia adored him for sticking to his principles and beliefs. Karl too was aware that his wife smoked and enjoyed a drink, but never tried to change her. He loved her just the way she was…
She was walking down the street to the market with a woven basket over her arm. She kept her head firmly down so her hair fell over her cheeks, but she knew other women could see the bruises and were whispering behind their hands as she walked by. She felt a flush creeping up her face but was determined to keep going. Suddenly from out of nowhere a hand snaked around her waist and she spun around. She was face to face with Faustus, a friend of her Husband. Faustus was extremely drunk, she could smell the alcohol on his breath and he was leering at her in a way he’d never done before. She struggled to get away from him, but he was too strong for her. With one arm tightly around her waist, he brought up his free hand and tangled his fingers in her hair holding her head still, then brought his head down and began kissing her roughly, forcing her lips open with his tongue and sliding it around inside her mouth. Her muffled protests went unheard and she continued to struggle against him. Suddenly he went rigid against her, then went limp and slowly slid to the ground. She saw blood begin to seep into the back of his tunic, and slowly looked up to see her husband Armando with his bloodied sword in his hand, and rage etched in every line on his face. Slowly she backed away, but it was no use. Armando grabbed his wife’s arm and started dragging her back up the street. The familiar fear crept into her as she became aware of the beating that was surely awaiting when he got her home…
“Claudia!!”
She heard someone call her name as though from very far away, and she jumped as a hand grabbed her arm. Mandy was stood in front of her looking very concerned.
“Claudia?” she asked.
“Oh I’m sorry Mandy” she replied weakly.
“You just had another vision didn’t you?” asked Mandy
“How did you guess?” Claudia replied
“I could tell, your eyes were wide open, and there was such fear in them, Claudia, Are you sure these are just dreams and visions?” asked Mandy.
“I mean, what if they’re something more?” she added.
Claudia frowned
“Like what?” she asked.
“I don’t know, maybe a past life or something” replied Mandy.
Claudia looked thoughtful.
“I don’t know Mandy, I’m not sure I believe in that kind of thing.” she replied.
“Well, there are people that you can go to who can help you find out Claudia, it’s not like you have anything to lose is it?” asked Mandy
“I could even go with you if you like” she offered helpfully.
I need to think about it some more Mandy, but thanks for the advice and offer” replied Claudia.
“Not a problem” replied Mandy smiling.
At that moment the bell over the door rang, signalling a customer, and both of them got up and walked back out onto the store floor.
That evening, Claudia told Karl about the latest vision she’d had, and also about Mandy’s advice. He seemed unsure but said he’d go along with whatever she decided to do. Just out of interest Claudia had a look on the internet for people who did Past life Regressions and found a whole lot of interesting information. She went to bed at 12am with her head swimming with information.
The next morning Claudia got out of bed and headed straight for the phone. She looked up the number she’d written down last night and called up a Lady who did Past Life Regressions. Telling the lady, Anya, what she’d been experiencing, Anya told her to be at her office in an hour. Claudia called Mandy at work and asked her if she could cope for the day without her. Mandy said there’d be no problems. As Claudia put the phone down, Karl came down the stairs fastening his tie getting ready for work.
“Karl honey, I think you’d better call the Office and tell them you need the day off” she said nervously.
“Why baby, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“I booked an appointment to go see the Lady I told you about last night, you know, the one who does Past Life Regressions?”
Karl looked confused.
“What made you decide this?” he asked.
“I had another dream last night honey, it was so horrible, I dreamed that this man called Armando killed me, he killed me with his sword because I forgot to buy a Rabbit from the market” whispered Claudia as a single tear trickled down her cheek.
“All this is happening in my dreams and in visions, and I don’t even know what my name is supposed to be in the dreams. I don’t know whether I’m Claudia or someone else” she finished, openly sobbing.
Karl hurried to wrap his arms around her.
“I’m here for you honey, Let me go call the office and then we’ll go and see this lady. Hopefully she can shed some light on this for us.” he replied.
Thirty minutes later, they were driving into London. Claudia spent the trip staring unseeingly out of the window silently. Karl parked the car and they headed for Anya’s office.
Anya greeted them warmly and proceeded to explain what would happen.
“You’ll feel like you’re sleeping, but you’ll be able to answer my questions and describe what you see and feel. Nothing can hurt you and you’re perfectly safe. When I bring you back, you’ll remember what you’ve seen and you’ll understand that nothing can hurt you anymore. The dreams and visions you’ve been having will also stop.” she told Claudia.
“However, I do need to ask that your husband wait outside in the waiting area, would you like me to tape the session?” she asked Karl.
“Yes please” answered Karl standing up. He leaned down and gently kissed Claudia’s forehead.
“I’ll just be outside baby” he said softly.
Claudia smiled nervously up at him, and he left the room.
Anya placed a tape into her recorder and turned it on.
“Okay Claudia, we can proceed when you’re comfortable and ready” she said smiling gently.
Claudia settled back on the sofa, and said
“Okay, I’m ready”
Anya gently began to speak, playing soft music in the background, and leading Claudia into a meditative state. She led her across fields, meadows, and past oceans until Claudia was totally relaxed and in a semi comatose state.
“What do you see ?” she asked.
Claudia began to speak.
“I see a long winding street, with cobblestones”
“Can you look down and tell me what’s on your feet?” asked Anya.
“I’m wearing Sandals” replied Claudia.
“Sandals, thats good, okay, on the count of three, the year will pop into your head … one, two…three…”
“It’s 400AD”
“Okay, and what is your name?”
“Aurelia”
“Very good Aurelia, thanks for being here. How old are you Aurelia?”
“I’m 32″
“Are you married?”
“Yes” Claudia began to breathe heavily, as though in fear of something.
“What is your husbands name?”
“Armando”
“Is your marriage a happy one Aurelia?”
Claudia began to speak, it was as though the floodgates opened.
“No! He is ashamed of me. I didn’t live up to his expectations of me. He feels as though I tricked him into marrying me so I would have someone to support me. If I do something wrong, I have to be punished so I won’t do it again. He beats me so I know not to do the same thing again. He killed a friend of his because he caught him trying to kiss me. Then he dragged me home and beat me badly because I didn’t try hard enough to escape” Claudia sobbed as she saw the angry face of Armando flash by her face.
Okay, lets move on” came Anya’s voice.
“How old were you when you died?”
“I was 32″
“Okay, and how did you die Aurelia?”
“Armando killed me.” She sobbed harder
“I went to Market and forgot to bring a Rabbit home for dinner. Armando was furious because he was entertaining friends that night. He and his friends got drunk, and he beat me when I accidentally spilled a bit of wine. He wouldn’t stop beating me, and he left me unconcious while he left with his friends. I died on the kitchen floor in a pool of my own blood”
“Did you see yourself leaving your body?”
“Yes, I was alone”
Anya ended the session and slowly brought Claudia back. She felt refreshed despite the emotional trauma of the session.
“I think you have the answers that you were seeking Claudia” said Anya smiling.
“Shall we bring your Husband in now?”
Yes, please do” replied Claudia, smiling in relief.
She wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
Karl rushed into the room, full of worry and concern. He stopped short as Claudia’s face turned white and she stared thunderstruck at him.
“Claudia?” questioned Anya who had also noted Claudia’s reaction.
“It’s you” whispered Claudia horrostruck, staring at Karl.
“Oh My God, it was you!”
“What was me Claudia?” asked Karl
Claudia couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized it before. The hooked nose, high brow, and full lips. Her ultra conservative husband was the one who killed her in a past life.
He was Armando.
I hope you enjoyed reading this. It’s different from anything I’ve done before, and I did it because Jeffers set me a challenge. Hopefully it’ll be what he was hoping for. If not tough, it took me a while to come up with the ideas for this, and I’ve done it to the best of my ability.
Feedback in the comments please.
