SCATTERED ENCOUNTERS The following are three short stories that my sister, Hillary, and I, Heather, have encountered over our lives. All her life, Hillary has been very sensitive to spirits, the sixth sense, and her spirit guide. I was never as open as Hillary and only recently became more in tune with my intuitions. However, I have been astral projecting ever since I was young, except I was not aware that that was what I was doing. The first story is of Hillary, and her first encounter with her spirit guide, Andy. 1) Hillary. Now 17 years old. Story takes place in 1996, Calgary Alberta. "I was all alone in the house, and experimenting with food colouring when the lights started flickering on and off. The phone upstairs would ring and then stop. A couple seconds later the phone downstairs would ring, and then stop. My hand started to feel really cold, like someone was holding it and squeezing. It had actually started to turn white from the pressure. I remember feeling paralyzed from fear but when I managed to look down, I saw the cordless phone. The strange part of that was, I heard that phone ringing in my mother's bedroom, yet I was in the bathroom down the hall. When I reached for the phone and picked it up I could hear the phone ringing at the other end. My friend Emily, who lived across the street, had answered the phone, but I couldn't speak. All I could say was a series of little squeaky grunts followed by 'Come over quick, the door is unlocked!' It felt like it had been two hours, and the mirror had started changing colours, shifting and melting. I heard a click and Emily yelled hello, and at that point everything returned to normal and I felt at peace again, calling her upstairs. When I looked back at the mirror the name "Andy" was written in large letters using blue food colouring, but it was backwards. Ever since that day Andy has been my almost constant companion. I've had dreams, I've seen him around, he's played with my stereo and opened the door for my dog, and guided me through break-ups and hard times. One time a couple friends were over, and Ursula stopped the conversation to ask 'Who is that guy and why is he just standing over there.' It was Andy in the corner, keeping his vigil per usual. I know he's not an imaginary friend because too many people can feel him, Ursula is just one of many." 2)Heather; astral projecting- for as long as I can remember. For as long as I can remember I've been having very vivid dreams. Lucid dreams as they're known, however my descriptions always sounded different from those of lucid dreams. My dreams are usually of places that are distant, natural and calming. Everything is very clear and very bright. The air is usually warm, fresh, and gentle. The smells are rich, with either the smell of forest, water, or flowers. The sky is usually a crystal blue donned by perfect shimmering white clouds. I always dream of landscapes. Whether I'm floating above the land or walking on it, I always feel a part of it. I'm usually alone, but occasionally an animal will join me, most often a coyote or a kind of bird that I don't know the name of, (It's black with a blue sheen, blue tipped wings and has the sweetest song.) One of the most memorable and prominent of my dreams however, was one where I was with a man. There is too much to describe from this dream so I'll paraphrase it. Everything was warm and golden, furnished with dark golden wood and crystal windows. The man I'm sure was either my spirit guide or a teacher, for I felt in a way that he was superior to me and yet we were equal at the same time. He was my friend, my brother, my kindred spirit, and to be there in the quiet glass house surrounded by a golden sea with him was the most at peace I had ever been. I think it had something to do with the fact that I have that dream at very troublesome times in my life. For instance, the first time I had that particular dream was during my parent's divorce. My other dreams have consisted of rolling hills, deserts covered in wildflowers, fields of sunflowers, and birch forests. They always seem to glow with their own inner light, a perpetual shimmering light that never fades. I never realised just what these dreams were, until one day I was talking to Hillary and described the one with the man. The first thing she said was 'Why the hell didn't you tell me about this before?' When I said I thought I did already, she then told me that I was astral projecting. After several minutes of disbelief we started comparing what she knew about AP to my dreams until I believed her. Not only that, but later when I was talking to my father I found out that we have relatives that used to astral project, and that my own father has out of body experiences." 3)2002, Bragg Creek Alberta. John, Hillary, Heather. "My friend John was talking about how him and his friend had encountered a ghost in the forest in Bragg Creek. Since Hillary was so sensitive and I was trying to tune my sensitivity as well, we figured that Bragg Creek would be a good place to go. The three of us piled into John's truck and headed on the half an hour drive to the provincial park. On the way John became more and more anxious, however Hillary and I had a deep feeling of peace. We eventually parked and got out of the truck. The night was beautiful, the sky was clear and it was cool. We were far away from any city lights and the number of stars was astounding. I saw several shooting stars and the milky way, but no ghosts. John never strayed far from his truck and he never turned it off. Hillary and I ventured away and stood to stare at the sky and soak in the calmness. We decided to head back home because nothing was happening, so I started walking back to the truck, Hillary staying behind. As I walked passed a picnic bench I felt a very strong sense of presence and a mixture of emotions. I stopped dead and looked out into the woods, but my attention was drawn to the picnic bench. I asked Hillary if she felt anything but she said no, so I shrugged it off as nerves and climbed into the truck. Hillary soon followed and as she climbed into the truck she turned to me and said 'You're right Heather, there's something there. By the picnic bench.' I was surprised when she said that because I hadn't mentioned anything about the picnic bench when I asked her before. We both looked over towards the picnic bench we noticed something that we hadn't before. The headlights of the trunk were shining on the bench, which was only a couple feet away from the road with nothing between it, yet there was a shadow that didn't seem to belong. It appeared that there was a shadow of a person sitting on the bench, resting its head in its hands. You could clearly make out the arms bent, their distance from the body, and it looked like the person was wearing a hat. There was nothing around that could possibly have made a shadow like that, and there wasn't anything around the bench, not even a bush. John freaked out and started to pull away. I kept my eye on the shadow and noted that, even when the shadow moved, the shadow resembling a person remained of that likeness." All three of these stories are true, and only three of many that we have. I realise that this is long and I apologize, but we wanted to post it to let people know that yes, anybody can have these experiences, and not to be afraid if you do. Contact me here: h_hobma@hotmail.com Submitted From: Heather and Hillary Ashton, Alberta, Canada