Angels and Horses

By Kimberly Wickham

With the help of her ever-present guardian angel, Marguerite, her affectionate horse, Dancer, and a mercurial cat, Tina embarks on a metaphysical journey that takes her through time and space.

She learns valuable lessons that teach her how to cope with a variety of heart-wrenching problems, from her grandmother's inflexible personality to her mother's protracted illness.

Concepts from the fields of quantum physics and metaphysics will be explored by Tina, and as she applies them in her personal life, she experiences the emotional growth and development that enables her to take control of her seemingly out of control life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Mar 8, 2007
• ISBN: 9781426990915

Kimberly Wickham

Kimberly Wickham holds and MA in Humanities and has over twenty years experience teaching art, economics, gifted and talented programs, troubled children and theatre. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband, 5 horses, 2 dogs, and 5 cats and has an adored son attending university in England. Kimberly writes, studies Meta and Quantum physics, and practices horse whispering.

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© Copyright 2006 Kimberly Wickham.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Note for Librarians: a cataloguing record for this book that includes Dewey Decimal Classification and US Library of Congress numbers is available from the Library and Archives of Canada. The complete cataloguing record can be obtained from their online database at:

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ISBN 1-4251-0215-8

ISBN 978-1-4269-9091-5 (ebook)

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

About the Author

To:

Jason,

Kirsten, Derek, Aiden, Colin, Hanna

Alexa & Julia,

my teachers.

Many thanks for the

editorial help, support and deep conversations from Lisa Palazzolo;

technical advice on horsemanship from

Dan McCarthy and Jeanette Orr;

And continuous love, encouragement and problem solving

from my sister, Kenlin Wilder.

Chapter 1

Tina leaned against the stall door choking back a sob that was pushing its way up from her throat. At least she was here in her favorite place, the horse barn belonging to her next-door neighbor. Tina kept her little bay mare here. Dancer was the one creature Tina loved almost as much as she loved her mom. Tina had just come home from visiting her mother in the hospital. Tests were scheduled that afternoon to see how far the cancer had spread. She hated leaving her mom at the hospital. Every time she did she felt as if it would be the last time she would see her. This time was especially scary because her mom looked so weak and small even though she was trying to pretend that everything would be just fine.

Yeah right, Tina said out loud. The little mare quietly chewed on her hay while Tina moved the curry in small circles over the horse’s sides and rump. Dancer, don’t you miss your mom? she asked. The horse turned her face towards Tina and looked at her lovingly with soft brown eyes. I bet you do sometimes. Dancer had been a gift to Tina when she was just four years old and they had been inseparable for the five years since. Funny thing was, these two were exactly the same age. They were even born on the same day.

Tina continued to think about her mom and brush Dancer in silence. When she finished, she leaned on the wall and slid down, plopping herself on a tight bale of hay that was waiting to be opened up later that evening. It was cold outside but the barn was always warm with the heat from the horses. She leaned back thinking about how life would be if her mom didn’t come home this time. She wondered who would help her with everything important in life, stuff like friends and clothes and bake sales and… She slumped over her lap holding her head in her hands, letting the tears fall off of her face into the shavings on the floor. Dancer stopped eating and moved slowly over to Tina where she moved her upper lip in a back and forth motion over the top of Tina’s head, pushing her hat cockeyed.

Stop Dancer! Can’t you see I’m trying to think here? She pushed the horse’s head away quickly but Dancer pushed back, this time rubbing her head against Tina’s arm very gently.

Oh, you’re just trying to get me to cheer up, aren’t you? Tina gently placed a kiss on the horse’s cheek and brushed her hand over Dancer’s black mane. I thank my lucky stars I have you. Dancer quietly turned her body around and slowly resumed eating her hay.

As Tina sat there she became aware of the strange sensation that she and Dancer were not alone. Her eyes opened wide, and in stunned silence, she watched as a golden beam of light entered the stall through the cracks in the ceiling above her. As this beam began to take the shape of a person, Tina felt afraid momentarily, but then she realized this was something familiar. All at once the golden glow became a solid looking woman with a golden light shining around her. As she watched, the light disappeared from around the woman and Tina noticed she was wearing an old fashioned riding outfit, the kind that ladies wore a long time ago, complete with a long skirt, a velvet jacket, and a funny top hat with a veil. It was exactly what someone would wear to ride sidesaddle in a competition. Tina thought it odd that an angel, if that was what she was exactly, should come to the barn dressed like that! Tina wasn’t sure where she had seen this angel (or whatever it was), but she was sure she had been with her before. Tina then realized she felt no fear at all.

Hello Tina, remember me? the angel asked her.

I do sort of remember you, but I don’t really know how, Tina replied, hesitating a little bit.

I came to you when you were just three years old. I watch you often, but that time I let you see me, just like I am now.

Tina was not sure how much she liked this angel lady watching her when she didn’t even know it. That seemed a little odd to her but for now she thought she ought to be polite seeing how the angel lady showed up just now when she was feeling so down and sad. Thank you, she said. She wasn’t sure why she said that but there didn’t seem anything else to say.

You are very welcome. Let me remind you about the last time you saw me. You were playing in your room with a little toy pony pretending you were running along next to him as the two of you galloped across the sky. I came then to tell you that I would be watching over you, and that any time you wanted me to appear to remind you, all you needed to do was think of me, and I would come, the angel said.

Remind me? Of what? asked Tina shyly.

WICKHAM-1.tif

Remind you that you are loved and watched over. You were very young and you must have forgotten I was there. No matter, people always forget as life winds on but I thought it important that I come to you now since things have become quite difficult for you, replied the angel.

Well, thank you. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but what can you do by showing yourself to me now? Can you make my mother better? Help me with school stuff? Maybe get that boy, Chucky to leave me alone? Tina replied, feeling like crying again. You are magic, aren’t you?

Yes, and so are you Tina. The solution to all these things is within you but you are not alone in the solution. Everything a person does affects another, so sometimes it takes more than one to get to a solution. Ah, but these things seem so big right now. Everything will become clear in time. One matter at a time my dear. I will leave you for now but I will be back very soon because we have some special things to do together.

What are we going to do? asked Tina quickly.

You will see, the angel said, smiling calmly.

What shall I call you? asked Tina.

My name is Marguerite, replied the angel, who was now beginning to fade into something not quite so solid.

Wait! Tina said quickly, Can I ask you something?

The angel paused her fading away for a moment. Yes, of course, she said.

Do you always dress like that? Tina asked smiling.

No, I thought you might think it was interesting, or even funny, Marguerite said with a smile.

It is kind of funny. Well, I um, I only meant that you would sort of stick out in a crowd if you always walked around like that, Tina said, trying not to make the angel feel awkward.

Oh, only you can see me, Tina. I wouldn’t worry about it. It is quite natural for angels to appear only to the people they have come for. Yes, I would look an odd sight out in public. With a little chuckle Marguerite faded completely and the golden glow vanished into thin air.

Tina stood up and looked around, suddenly wondering if there were anyone else in the barn besides her. Dancer seemed not to notice anything out of the ordinary and had even begun to doze, relaxing her ears and letting her eyelids gently close over her sleepy eyes.

Goodnight, Dancer, Tina said as she moved around the horse and pushed her way out of the stall. She locked the stall and looked up and down the alleyway to see if any of the other horses’ owners were around. She was relieved to find herself alone, except for the horses, and she quietly walked home down the path through the little wood and through the rail fence onto her property.

Hey, Sheppi, Tina said, patting the big dog’s head that had appeared out of nowhere, it seemed. She wondered how he