KIMMY'S LIST

CHAPTER 4

Molly thanked everyone and asked them to sit back down. For the next twenty to thirty minutes, Molly pranced around the stage talking about the special skills of a psychic medium. She provided several anecdotal examples from HER own experiences.

Kimmy and Boyd exchanged a brief glance. Each was clearly bored by the self - adulation of the proceedings.

Molly explained the various ways a psychic medium could help almost anyone. She cited families, law enforcement cases - cold and current and private investigators.

Boyd leaned closer to Kimmy. ‘Learning anything…?’ he whispered out the side of his mouth.

‘What do ya reckon…?’ Boyd began. ‘Give her ten more minutes and if it doesn’t get any better….we bail…?’

Kimmy nodded. ‘Deal…’

The cynical side of Kimmy started to criticize most things Molly the Medium said. She wasn’t learning anything about why these people visited her in the night.

This whole seminar was a disguised promotion for Molly’s books, or her training seminars and on-line courses. She couldn’t help but feel like they had been scammed out of R500.

That was until the direction of the evening took a turn when Molly next addressed the audience. ‘Who here tonight is new to mediumship…?’ She scanned the room. Six or so hands went up. ‘Come on. You can do better than that. Who here tonight has had encounters with people who have passed, but they don’t know, or understand why they are having these encounters…?’ More hands went up.

Kimmy’s eyebrows arched. She and Boyd exchanged a glance. This was getting closer to what she came to hear.

‘Come on…Don’t be shy. Put your hand up if you are being visited by someone you think may have passed to the other side.’

Kimmy scanned the room at all the raised hands. Boyd gently nudged Kimmy.

‘Go on… Put your hand up,’ he said. ‘This is why we came here, isn’t it…?’

‘I feel a little uncomfortable…But OK.’ Kimmy raised her hand.

Kimmy’s late hand raise caught Molly’s attention. She moved over closer to Kimmy and glanced straight down at her. Kimmy’s pulse quickened when Molly pointed to Kimmy.

‘Down here…’ Molly said as she gestured to Kimmy.

‘Would you mind standing up please…?’

Kimmy exchanged a brief, nervous glance with Boyd. Boyd nodded his reassurance. She slowly stood from her seat. A male usher edged his way along the row and handed her a microphone.

‘What is your name please?’ Molly asked.

For a brief moment it was like she was attending one of those group meetings where she felt she should stand up and say something like, Hi I’m Kimmy and I’m an alcoholic. What she did say was, ‘Kim …’ with a nervous tremor.

‘Hi Kim?’ Molly moved across the stage. ‘Come on everybody..’ she said as she gestured back towards Kim. ‘Let’s give Kim a warm welcome…’

The room burst into thunderous applause. She made her way back to Kim. ‘Tell me this, Kim…Are you a believer…? Do you believe in the afterlife…?’

Kimmy paused her answer. Should she be truthful in front of all these people, or should she play along and make out she was a believer, even though she was far from it? Her eyes dropped to a grinning Boyd. She went with the truth. ‘If I am being honest… no., I’m not…’ Kimmy said.

‘That’s OK, Kim. Thank you for your honesty. Don’t feel embarrassed. But what would you say if I told you that after tonight, you will believe in the afterlife…?’

How do I answer that…? Kimmy again looked to Boyd. He smiled up at her. She knew that smile. It was his, ‘Don’t look at me, you’re on your own,’ smile. He clearly found this quite entertaining.

Kimmy eventually said, ‘We’ll have to wait and see…’

Molly moved to the edge of the stage, closest to where Kimmy stood. ‘Have you recently had a visit from a person from the other side?’

‘I have. From several people.’

‘Wait…You have been visited by more than one person… Is that correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘How many have visited you.’

‘Four or Five….’

‘Wow…That’s fantastic,’ Molly said as she scanned the audience. ‘When was the last visit?’

‘Two days ago…’

‘That is great. What do these people say to you when they visit you?’

‘See, that’s the thing that I don’t understand. They don’t say anything. They just stare at me…’

‘I see. And this frightens you…?’ she asked knowingly.

‘Scares the hell out of me…’

Molly beckoned towards Kimmy. ‘Why don’t you come up here on stage with me and we’ll talk about this further…’

Kimmy’s eyes dropped to Boyd. He smirked at her. ‘Go on…Go and get converted,’ he whispered.

‘Come on Kim…Don’t be afraid, we’re all your friends here…’ Molly said.

Kimmy edged her way to the aisle. A waiting usher took the microphone from her and she made her way to the stage.

‘Come on everyone…Let’s give Kim a big hand for being so brave…’ Molly said.

The room erupted into applause. Molly met Kimmy as she reached the top step. In the background male roadies placed two lounge chairs, center stage.

She extended her hand to Kimmy. ‘Hi Kim, I’m Molly. Lovely to meet you.’ They shook hands.

Molly gently guided Kimmy towards the lounge chairs. She gestured for Kimmy to sit. Kimmy’s chair had a hand - held microphone on it. Kimmy lifted the microphone and sat. The two chairs were angled towards each other.

Kimmy glanced nervously back toward Boyd. The blinding lights prevented her seeing beyond the first few rows of faces staring back at her. Her mouth was dry. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was now well outside her comfort zone. All she could think of was, I hope this is worth it.

‘Now Kim, you said that these people who visit you, just stare at you… Is that correct? They don’t actually say, or do anything…’

‘That’s right.’ She could hear her voice projected over the PA system.

‘And is that what scares you?’

‘Well, that and the fact they are there. I don’t understand why they visit me…’

‘Because you have the gift…’ Molly said.

Kimmy frowned in response. The Gift, she thought. Here we go…

‘Not everyone has the gift, but you obviously do. These people who have passed, seek out those of us still living, those of us who have this special gift that allows us to see them, to talk to them… That is why you are being visited.’

The cynic in Kimmy only heard bullshit…She decided to play along. ‘OK, then if they have sought me out, why don’t they speak to me?’ They just stare at me.’

‘That is a good question…’ Molly said. She addressed the audience. ‘Who amongst us here tonight came across a common house spider - like a huntsman, for example, when you were young and your parents told you that the spider was more scared of you than you were of it…?’

Several hands went up, accompanied by muffled giggles.

Molly continued. ‘These people who visit us from the afterlife are just like those spiders. .. Well, they’re not arachnids of course, but like those spiders, they are actually more scared of you than you are of them.’

‘I’m not sure about that…’ Kimmy said. ‘I’m pretty darn scared of these people.’

Chuckling laughter filled the room. Molly again addressed the audience.

‘Who here has seen the movie, Sixth Sense, starring Bruce Wills, Haley Joel Osman and Toni Collette…?’

Not surprisingly, almost every hand in the room went up.

‘In that movie, Haley Joel Osment’s character, Cole Sear, was visited by a number of ghosts… people who had passed on. You will all remember his well - known line, ‘I see Dead People.’

A muffled murmuring flowed up from the audience.

‘Well, he did see dead people, and they frightened him…’ she turned to Kimmy, ‘Just like they frighten you, Kimmy.’ Her focus returned to the audience. ‘But in the movie he was too frightened to tell anyone about these visits…Does everyone remember that…?’ she asked rhetorically. ‘When Haley’s character learned they were not there to hurt him, but instead, they sought his help, he relaxed. He was no longer scared of them and they started to communicate with him.’

Molly turned back to Kimmy. ‘But some of you might say, that was just a movie…right..?’ Molly said.

Kimmy nodded. That’s exactly what she thought.

‘Wrong,’ she said to the audience. ‘In this instance, it is a classic case of art imitating life.’

She returned to address Kimmy. ‘This applies to you, Kimmy. Your visitors are scared of you.

They probably also feel your disbelief in what you are experiencing. Because of this, they are too intimidated to communicate with you. This will all change once you welcome them in and believe in them. They will probably tell you why they are there… what they want from you,’ she said.

‘Easier said than Done, I think…’ Kimmy said.

‘Actually, it’s not,’ Molly said. ‘Don’t be frightened of them. The rest will fall into place, OK…?’

‘OK!,’ Kimmy said, completely devoid of conviction.

Molly stood from her chair and moved to the front of the stage. ‘Let’s give Kimmy a big hand as she returns to her seat.’

So that’s it…? We’re done here….? Kimmy thought as she stood from her chair. What the heck did that prove…?

The room burst into thunderous applause.

‘Thank you for sharing with us, Kimmy…’

As Kimmy returned to her seat, she couldn’t help but feel like she had just participated in some sort of evangelistic awakening session.

The hour long drive home from the City to Oolong was spent reviewing the Molly Williamson Medium Seminar. Both Kimmy and Boyd were equally under whelmed by the experience.

‘You know what that reminded me of, back there…’ Kimmy began.

‘A cross between an Amway convention and a religious seminar. You know, those sort of events where they whip believers into a frenzy while being sold a concept, along with overpriced merchandise on the way out.’

‘I agree,’ Boyd said.

‘That Molly Williamson was definitely a talented sales woman. She was a performer and very convincing in her delivery. Her well - rehearsed show told people what they wanted to hear.’

All Kimmy hoped for from tonight’s experience was some answers, not stories about huntsmen spiders and theories about Hollywood movies imitating life. Those were all spin and rhetoric convincingly delivered with the sincerity of a politician on the hustings.

Kimmy wasn’t interested in hearing about stories from people, who without one iota of evidence, claimed they had communicated with dead people for several years. All Kimmy could think was, ‘Show me the proof, people’.

For most of their trip home Kimmy rued the fact they were R500 lighter and none - the - wiser after the two hour, thirty minute talk fest. She still hadn’t learned why these visions of people visited her in her sleep. In fact, after tonight, she wasn’t convinced she was being visited by people and not some sort of recurring nightmare.

‘I’m really sorry to put you through that, Hun…’ Kimmy said. It took her a while to work up the courage to say that. It embarrassed her to think this event could’ve been a panacea to her problems.

‘Don’t be silly, Kim…’ Boyd said.

‘At least now you won’t be left wondering the, ’What ifs’…’

‘I just feel so stupid for even going there….’ Kimmy said.

Boyd grinned. ’It did have that…’ Boyd waved his hands in the air, ’Hallelujah’ feel about it, didn’t it….?’

‘I promise I won’t ask you to do anything like that again…’ Kimmy said.

‘Hey, I’d sit through all that bullshit again in a heartbeat, if I knew it would help you get rid of these nightmares.’

Kimmy placed her hand on his thigh. ’Thank you, Hun. That makes me feel better.’

With everything seemingly off her chest, for now, Kimmy had dozed off by the time they reached the outskirts of Oolong. She next awoke when Boyd pulled into their home drive way.