I love writing paranormal romances, and while I do write a few straight contemporaries and historicals – the combination of the magical and mundane are my first love. And psychics are fascinating characters to write.
Despite being brought up in a family where Tarot readings at family gatherings were common, I tended to think that psychics were cons. Then I met Merry. I’ve known Merry for about twenty years. I met her when she hired me to do some sewing for her. We ended up sharing a love of cats and books and became friends.
I knew Merry did phone readings for people, but I didn’t think too much of it until one crazyass day. Around this same time, I was doing daycare to help make ends meet. I was about six months pregnant, had about seven kids here, including my oldest. Yeah—it was pretty much a madhouse. Now, Merry likes kids, but she prefers not to be around them in large groups. And honestly, a crabby pregnant lady stuck in a house entertaining seven kids between the ages of 2 and 6 is no one’s idea of a picnic.
I got a phone call in the middle of lunch. It was Merry, and I asked her if I could call her later. She told me that she needed to talk to me immediately—that it was life or death. I remember laughing a little, but it was sort of a strangled sound because it was quickly dawning on me that she wasn’t joking. She asked me if I had a daycare mom who was pregnant.
At first, I’d said no, but then I remembered that a lady I was filling in for was pregnant. Her regular provider had flaked out and quit, and I’d been subbing for her for a week. She asked me if the woman had two daughters. I told her she did.
Then she told me I needed to call her immediately and tell her to go to the emergency right away. She said that there was something wrong and the baby was basically suffocating. She also mentioned that he had a developmental issue, but there wasn’t anything that could be done about that. But that if she wasn’t seen soon, he wasn’t going to make it at all. I didn’t ask if she was sure. I could tell that she was.
Here’s the thing—Merry didn’t even know about this woman and her kids. It had been a new development since we’d last talked. I felt like my stomach had dropped to the floor, and I was covered with goose bumps in the middle of sweltering August heat in a house with no air conditioning.
I looked up the daycare mom’s work number and called. My hands were sweating and shaking and I felt like I was going to throw up. And for once, it had nothing to do with my own pregnancy. How do you say to a virtual stranger, “Hey, so I have a friend who’s psychic and you really need to get to the hospital right away. Your baby’s life is in danger”?
Truth be told, that’s pretty much how it came out. I called her and told her that I needed to tell her something that was going to sound more than a little crazy, but I quickly explained who Merry was and what she’d said. The daycare mom surprised the hell out of me when she said she’d felt like something had been wrong all day and she’d just made an appointment to go in to her OB. I suggested that maybe to be safe, she should go to the ER instead. I told her I’d keep her girls until we knew what was going on.
To make a long story short (too late) she went to the hospital where they did an emergency C-section. For some reason the amniotic fluid was gone and she wasn’t producing any more. The doctor said the baby had, for all intents and purposes, been suffocating and had the mother not come in when she did, he would have been stillborn. Even waiting the hour until her doctor’s office could get her in would have been too long. The baby survived, thankfully, but was also born with Down’s Syndrome – the developmental condition Merry had mentioned.
Later that night, she called to thank me and asked me to thank Merry. She told me that she believed that her regular provider flaked out so she would end up at right place at the right time with access to a woman who would be able to save her baby’s life.
To this day, fifteen years later, I still get chills. In fact, I’m covered with them while writing this post. Now, I definitely don’t think all psychics are legit—but I know Merry is. Since then, I’ve had plenty of experiences with her that have reinforced that. But this one will always be the thing that sticks out in my mind when I think of psychics.
What about you guys? Have you ever had any experiences with psychics? Please share—I love hearing about this kind thing!thing!
And to celebrate Halloween—which is by far my favorite holiday—I’m giving away three (single author) e-books to three commenters—psychic experiences not required!
Bronwyn
Website
Bronwyn’s Blog
Facebook
Twitter
WOW, Bron….I’ve got chills reading this! God (and psychics) work in mysterious ways! Several years back, I was driving to the airport to pick up my Mom. About five minutes from my exit, a car pulled out in front of me and I had to brake suddenly. My 3-yr-old, who had unbuckled herself (before booster seats were required), flew forward and slammed head first into the dashboard of my van. I pulled off at the next exit and managed to get the bleeding stopped, then continued on to the airport. My dad met us at the gate; he’d had a vision of myself in a car wreck, so left work to come get Mom. They went home and I took my baby girl to the Urgent Care two blocks away and was able to contact my husband, who was also working near the airport. He met us at the UC and was able to hold her hand while getting six stitches right at her hairline.
Other than some mild ESP, that’s been my only true psychic experience.
I’ve never had an experience with one, but I believe there are many out there who aren’t frauds and those who are. That would freak me out. Thank goodness the mother listened to you.
Wow, that story sent chills down my back.
I went to a psychic years ago on my birthday. He used a regular deck of cards and everything he told me spanned from 6 months prior to 2 years in the future. He wrote everything down on paper. I kept it for 2 years and checked it every couple of months. Not everything came true, but some did; I thought that was pretty neat.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Most of the women in my family have some psychic ability, although it’s something we only share amongst ourselves. My BFF has some as well, and he ca’ll call when he senses something is going wrong (he has the best timing!). Mostly we have the joy of being able to continue to communicate with our family members who’ve passed on, as well as some (if we’re paying attention) precognitive abilities.
I’ve refused to get on a few planes before because something didn’t “feel” right, and I’ve avoided being involved in several crashes simply because I could “see” them coming and get out of the way. But it’s not something I can call up on a whim. If it was I’d be in Hollywood reading charts for the celebrities.
Your story brought tears to my eyes. So fortunate that the woman listened to you.
I have an odd connection to babies. I dream about them when they’re conceived, often times before the moms know they’re pregnant. Every once in awhile I’ll know when a stranger is pregnant. It’s odd, but cool.
My best friend’s mom used to read tea leaves that were wicked accurate, but I’ve never been around anyone who was psychic.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
WOW..What an amazing story.
I have not had any dealing with a psychic..Well if you consider a psychic from a fair..which she told me nothing I already didn’t know and a couple of things that never came true.like how many kids and work..the basic BS the fakes tell you.
That’s a really awesome story! I agree that all are not legit, but that it doesn’t mean we should rule all psychics out as phonies. And I definitely believe that we all have intuition, we just don’t use it often. I don’t have any stories that profound, but I have found that I’m often thinking the same thing as my husband at the same time– and it will be a random subject that has nothing to do with what we’re doing or where we are. I have the same thing with my sister. Telepathy? Maybe! Thanks for sharing Bronwyn!
Wow – that is an amazing story. Brought tears to my eyes. I am so glad both you and the mom believed in Merry. What a lovely story.
I had my cards read once, and it was amazingly accurate. But other than that, I haven’t had experiences. I am too chicken to hear what a psychic will tell me to go to one!
@ Eliza – Thank you so much for having me here! I really appreciate it!
@ Molly – OMG – that would have been so scary! I’m so glad your daughter was okay!!!
@ Amber – I’m just grateful Merry called me. That whole situation freaked me out.
@ Tracey D – I really enjoy getting my cards read and checking in later to see what’s actually occurred.
@ JC – I would love to be able to communicate with my loved ones. That would be amazing.
@ Nina – I’m just glad she didn’t think I was a total nutbar. That’s SO cool about the pregnancies! There must be something about the baby energy that you’re able to sense. I usually know what gender the baby is, but that’s about it. Since I’ve been keeping track, I’ve been 44 and 1.
@ Cathy M – I’ve always wanted to have my tea leaves read!
@ Elaing8 – I’ve had a few readings like that. They blew – lol.
@ TL – I totally agree. There are so many areas of our brain that are full of untapped potential. I think it’s all about learning to use it.
@ Susan – I’ve sent plenty of people to Merry over the years, but I rarely ever have her read for me. I think I’m a little afraid, too – lol!
@
Wow! That story gave me chills too! I haven’t encountered anything supernatural in real life but I love reading about psychics and glom onto any book with one it it
Thanks for sharing!
smaccall AT comcast.net
I love hearing stories about intuition and psychic readings but have not had any personal experiences.
As much as I am intrigued about psychics, I am kind of scared to visit one for what I will learn. That is a cool but kind of freaky story.
@ Sarah M – glom onto is a great description – I’m the same way about books with psychics!
@ Lindsey – thanks so much for stopping by and entering!
@ Anne R – Yeah, it’s definitely freaky, but I’m so glad she told me!
I’m actually scared of what a psychic might say. I already think bad luck runs in our family and would hate for that to be verified.