Fairy Tales for Real Women

By Jessie Fielden

In this hope-filled and poignant collection of fictional stories, Jessie Fielden offers readers a fresh interpretation of angelic intervention and assistance in the lives of humanity. As you read the stories, you will find the high-spirited and sometimes serious women are surprised at wisdom from unexpected sources. They discover that angels and nature spirits do exist and show up in their lives in unusual ways, providing maps for adventures of the heart and spirit. By this interaction, their lives are touched and forever altered. As their perception changes, they realize it is basically their own thoughts and actions that create their happiness and success.

Whether you are new to esoteric philosophy or well-seasoned, you will find yourself entertained and identifying with the characters as they experience extraordinary and enlightening life challenges and rediscover the enchantment of everyday life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Oct 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452558059

Jessie Fielden

Jessie Fielden is a retired registered nurse whose interests continue in improved health and self-empowerment of women. She is an advocate of alternative medicine and metaphysical philosophy. Her goal is to help women cultivate their authenticity, inner strengths, and maximum potential. She has three children and twelve grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Southern California.

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Copyright © 2012 by Jessie Fielden.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5804-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-5805-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012919205

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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Balboa Press rev. date: 10/11/12

Contents

A Note from the Author

Seaside Angel

The Girl Most Likely

The Horse Named Betsy And The Boy Named Bertie

Rosa And The Ramshackle House

Summer Storm

Once Upon A Time

Onatah

Dear Reader,

Rocky Of Stony Glen

Erinn And The Angels

Gracie And Gloria

Writer’s Block

The Woman In The Moon

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.

A Note from the Author

THIS LITTLE GROUP OF stories addresses some of the issues of the modern day woman. Each is a journey into enchantment with a fancy to make the improbable believable. The fairy tales employ the use of the joyful magic of inter-dimensional spheres laced with a smattering of practical application.

In each one you will find adult humans relearning to communicate with angels and nature spirits, developing a loving, purposeful cooperation. Happily, children are born possessing this information and ability-until it is schooled out of them.

The main characters experience a life transformation reminding us that the world is a kind, generous, and astonishing place, proving that, in the words of George Eliot, It is never too late to become what you might have been.

I present the fables to you as rays of hope, as glimmers of how things could be with the assistance of imagination and a bit of wizardry. Myths and stories reassure and heal us, providing an enrichment and charm to our lives. From them we learn the truth of the concepts that some have proven through the ages: that compassion and courage are equally important, that forgiveness is life-regenerating, and that leadership is a different concept than dictatorship. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.

Mark Twain

Seaside Angel

I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY what I was looking for that sunny day when I waded into the waves washing up onto the beach. Peace? Maybe. Relief from pain? Certainly. I know I was seeking the solace that only the sea could provide. I was angry. Unreasonably so. And getting into ocean water always seemed to soothe me. Sunshine, salt air, and gentle breezes surely couldn’t hurt either. After wading aimlessly for a while, I lay down in the sand to soak up the sun and fell fast asleep. In my angst, I had failed to notice that a storm was brewing. It blew in quickly at high tide. The towering waves became intimidating, almost menacing. They crashed onto the shore with a deafening roar. Prior to the wind and waves, I had heard only the raging sounds in my head.

The fast-moving storm matched my mood and the heart-pounding blood racing through my veins. After all, I had come to soothe my savage soul! I moved back from the shoreline a short distance to avoid being washed away by rip currents. I knew the ocean could be a devious mistress when she decided, and I was already wet from head to toe. I gloried in the feeling of the wind blowing my hair straight back away from my face. The day darkened further with deep, heavy clouds yet I stayed on, anticipating the thunder and lightning with the torrential rains I hoped would follow. Eventually, I moved away from the beach to a nearby cove of rocks for safety. In its frenzy, the storm carried me to deeper despair; nothing eased me. I screamed and yelled with the roar of the howling wind and crashing waves. I was unaware of time. Aware only of the searing, crushing burning in my chest. Once or twice, when lightning flashed, I thought I saw someone standing nearby, a tall woman. It seemed like I stayed there for hours, drenched and shivering with cold, yet burning with the unleashing anger, unaware of anything but the desire for release from that which held me in its sway.

Anger. And grief. I had been betrayed. Rather than seeking retaliation and creating an uproar that would allow others to know how deeply I felt and suffered, I continued to bear it in silence. Never did I use that old axiom, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, at least not until now when I could not stop screaming. And here, no one would ever know.

He, who had betrayed me, was tucked away in the soft, warm, loving arms of his little Beauty Queen, the woman he had chosen over me. It irritated unceasingly even after six months.

In the darkened gloom of the thunderous clouds and pelting rain, lightning struck again and crackled across the sky. Once more, I thought I saw someone standing on the rocks beside me. When I looked again, nothing was there. It must have been a trick of the light.

If I had been honest with myself, I would not have been able to say which bothered me more-the betrayal itself, or others’ knowledge of it. They were tied in together. I had done all the usual things to mend the hole in my heart but to no avail. Today had been the final straw; it was so much worse. I was telling my long time friend and counselor, Dr. Seymour, how provoked I continue to be about my ex-husband and his girlfriend. And it seemed to me that my co-workers at the hospital were looking at me more strangely than ever and whispering behind my back. Recently, I was forced to work with my husband’s lover; she is a nurse and was transferred to the Fifth Floor Nursing Station where I work. I think she requested the move! I could only suppose it was just to show me up even more. She acted so superior. It was humiliating and extremely irritating!

Dr. Seymour responded with, according to Carl Jung, ‘everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.’

And I answered back, Carl Jung irritates the hell out of me!

Dr. Seymour stiffened and stood up. Yes, well, the way you continue with your blaming and sanctimonious complaining is irritating as well. You continue wallowing in self-pity far beyond what is conventional or healthy. I can be of no further assistance to you. Why don’t you get your head out of your derriere and go find another job? Then he stalked out of the room.

After sitting there a few minutes in astonishment, I paid my bill and left. I thought he was my counselor, but he seemed to think I was the one at fault! So that’s when I had headed for the beach.

The storm continued without abatement. The lightning sizzled even more. I saw that someone, indeed, was standing beside me. She was closer than before, a woman in a London Fog raincoat and hat. What are you doing here? I asked her, embarrassed. I wasn’t sure I saw you at first. I couldn’t see through all the rain. The woman appeared almost ghostly. I thought that if I reached out to touch her, my hand would go right through. Yet she had intense, burning blue eyes, and a kind smile. I thought I was all alone except during the lightning flashes. Have you been there all along? I asked her again.

For as long as you needed me.

Needed you for what? I was sitting in the rocks until the storm passed, alternately hoping it would wash me out to sea and hoping it wouldn’t.

Ah, yes, we saw that. That is why we came.

We?

Homer and me. I am Raylene, one of your guardian angels. Homer is another." She motioned to the seagull beside her that I had failed to notice.

The seagull is a guardian angel?

Yes, he often comes around when you are sad and lonely and trying to make sense of your world.

I could only stare at her. I didn’t have any idea of what a guardian angel was supposed to look like. Or if there really was such a thing. Oh, I believed in God, all right, or a Creator of some kind. But these ‘angels’ looked like a woman in a raincoat and a seagull.

Why are you here? She asked.

Her question startled me, and I answered churlishly. If you are a guardian angel, then you should know, shouldn’t you?

She answered back mildly, I do know. My question is, do you?

Well, of course I knew. When I related my story to her, the betrayal, the problem at work, people looking at me in a peculiar manner and talking behind my back, she said, Is that all?

All? Isn’t that enough? If you must know, there’s a lot more! The whole thing has caused me to develop an eating disorder. I alternately eat too much or nothing at all. And I can’t stop gaining weight; my clothes don’t fit anymore. My friends don’t call me. They all took Marty’s side after the divorce! And he and that woman were sleeping together in our bed while I was at work! I’ve started having anxiety attacks, and sometimes my joints hurt so much I can barely walk. It’s beginning to affect my work. And then Marty had the nerve to ask me to sell the house and give him half or buy him out. Or let him buy me out and he would live there with her! She’s such a user. If only he could see through her! He’s absolutely bewitched by her. Is that enough for you?

Why do you need all this punishment? She asked.

What? I don’t need punishment. If anyone needs it, they do! If you’re going to talk about forgiveness, then forget it. I’ve tried. My counselor, or at least, he’s now my former counselor, tried to get me to do that. It didn’t work. I’m a nurse, for God’s sake. I know it’s eating away at me, but forgiving can’t stop my feelings. I laughed bitterly then. I’m a healer, and I can’t even heal myself.

That’s a good sign. You understand that you are the one who needs to heal. And forgiveness is the first step. It’s also the last step.

You know, you’re a strange kind of guardian angel. About the last thing on my mind is forgiveness. It’s not like I’m planning revenge on them. But I certainly wouldn’t mind if someone else paid them back! It would serve them right! All I want at this point, is to do my work and be left alone.

Hmm, we touch upon it at last. You want peace. Have you thought about why you created this situation?

I created it? I asked, astonished.

Aren’t you getting tired of holding up that defensive façade? When we hold onto blame, we are saying that we know better than someone else. Do you need to keep defending your position?

What do you mean?

Well, think about it for a minute. There may be a deeper reason why you brought on a situation where you would be ‘betrayed’. Did you set yourself up so that you would have a ‘fall’ that would force you to get in touch with some other, higher part of you? Is it possible you have been overcompensating and justifying yourself as an irreplaceable person through your hard work and hiding behind that? Justifying your existence rather than doing the real work you came to Earth for? Even perhaps feeling that you were not worthy of that higher purpose? Maybe that’s why the doctor said what he did today. Possibly he thought the drama had gone on long enough, that you had carried your burden overlong. You see, every time, you tell your story, you relive it. You keep it in the forefront of your mind, and the drama never ends. You punish yourself every time you tell it, and you feel the pain over and over again. It stops you from going forward and delays introspection which is the very reason for the ‘fall’. Just because hard conditions have appeared on your horizon, does that mean you curl up in defeat? Self pity often becomes a habit. What about trying to make a change?

But that is exactly what I have been saying. I want a change!

How much do you want it? Enough to make a fresh start? Enough to take some risks? Enough to forgive and move on? What about garnering a ‘second wind’ and trying again? Do you have the courage to forgive yourself?

Courage? You mean like, forgive and forget? I thought angels were supposed to help make you feel better, not tell you to get blundered with a club.

I am helping you. Some of the Self-Help books you have read tell you it only takes twenty-one days to create a habit. What about trying a new habit of forgiveness everyday for a few weeks and see what happens? It could liberate you in a way nothing else can.

Maybe. The subject of forgiveness was getting a little boring.

One of your well-known spiritual books suggests that you are forgiven as you forgive others.

I’m not the one who needs forgiving, I’m telling you. I didn’t do anything wrong. They did. The storm raged stronger. The woman’s hat blew off, and we were both doused anew with bullet-like rain. I cowered down more into the rocks. She did not leave.

There is only one way for you to be free of this pain, She insisted. Release it. Not only him and the other woman, but yourself. You are keeping the three of you imprisoned.

I’m keeping us imprisoned? That’s ridiculous. Go away.

The society we live in makes judgments as to how one should live, and we buy into a belief system without consideration of the possibility of something else being true, she went on ignoring my admonition. Could it be that these two and this situation have been created by you so that you would plumb the depths of your soul to clear out the clutter and debris that lie there, unwanted, ignored, and yet festering and increasing? Could it be that you created this so you would consider another way to live?

Why would I create something so unfair to myself?

Why indeed? Is life really unfair? Or do humans play a role for each other, providing an opportunity for growth? Life is gloriously full of challenges that make us better, kinder people. You are being offered an opportunity for a new view of yourself if you dare to look. Is this not an opportunity to clear the old, the past? You are seeing into yourself more deeply than ever before but running from it, scared.

I listened silently thinking that here was one more judgment. And bullsh… Hogwash.

You are carrying this burden of hostility because you are suffering from resentment. Stop trying to figure out the problem. Forgiving does not mean you bow and scrape to those you feel have wronged you. It means becoming neutral. When you decide on a conscious level to release this, your subconscious which has been in control, has to follow through. If you dare to practice forgiveness daily, you will create a new momentum. And once you get that going, you will be unstoppable. All the forces of heaven and earth will begin to work for you to help you see a new way of living. This whole thing could have been created by you to get you to see new methods of work and of relating to the world. Perhaps you have become bored with this job and need to change. Perhaps it is mediocre compared with what you can do. Maybe there is another job waiting for you that would more fully use your talents and abilities. There’s all kinds of possibilities. Is the Universe trying to tell you that you are ready to expand?

I’m expanding, all right, I thought, right in my waistline.

If you stay in your present position, do you see yourself happily expanding or contracting and losing more of your life force energy?

I don’t know. I think I’m just burned out. I’ve always thought I would like to be a travel nurse, but with the marriage, I couldn’t.

Now, you can. Perhaps you have the desire for something else because you have abilities that want to express through you and that you are capable of that are not being satisfied. Otherwise, do you think you would have the desire to do something more? You are free now to move forward. Is it necessary to keep your husband and his friend trapped with your anger? Turn the tables around. If you were the hurtful one, how would it feel to have someone never forgive you? It would bear down on you, and you would feel their energy on some level every day. Would you want that for yourself? To remain a hostage to their feelings?

I began to be suspicious. Did Dr. Seymour send you after me? Are you really a psychiatrist instead of an angel?

Raylene laughed. You are a stubborn one! No, I truly am your guardian angel, and you keep me plenty busy! How long do you plan to keep your life on hold for those two? You do great work, you know. You are such a giver, always helping and giving to others, even to your detriment. It’s one of the hazards of your profession.

I know I work way too many hours. Someone’s always calling in sick. What’re you gonna do?

And did you do that before your husband found someone else to play with? Were you gone too often or too tired to play?

That hurt. I sat on it for a while. Was it too close to the truth? Well, say I was willing to try forgiveness. Doesn’t that let them off the hook? I mean, I forgive and they’re home free. It doesn’t seem fair.

This is about you, not them. Life will take care of them as it does all of us. They have their own lessons to learn, different from yours. What about the pain in your joints that slows you down? You no longer have the ability to run or even walk much beyond your work hours. Could that be related to your feeling stuck? Also, your heart is carrying a heavy burden. How long until you move from joint pain to circulatory problems because of your refusal to flow with life rather than fight against it? I saw you reading an article in a medical journal about the connection between joint pain and holding resentment in your feelings. As a nurse, what do you think of the possibilities of self-healing with releasing and forgiving those in life whom you feel have harmed you in some manner? A lot of research is being conducted on the link between different kinds of pain and resentment and anger. It may be something for you to consider.

Dear God, I guess she is an angel. I don’t know if forgiveness works; it hasn’t so far. It’s probably just some ‘New Age’ idea to fool people into thinking they are creating their own stiff and painful joints.

You are not that unaware of Energy Medicine and other methods of Alternative Medicine. Have you tried any of those methods?

No.

Silence.

I don’t know how to begin.

Give something away.

I just gave away a husband.

No, he chose to leave. That is a different energy.

How is giving something away going to help my joints? And give what? More time? I already work too many hours. Four to five days a week at twelve hours a day is all I can humanly stand, literally.

When you give, Raylene went on as though I had not spoken, you start the universal cycle of receiving and giving. Perhaps you can start with giving away things, like the clothes that don’t fit anymore. And plan to add new ones later. That will give you a feeling of release and you might be surprised at how your life begins to change. It makes room for you to start receiving if you allow it. It is universally known that when you give, you receive. The Universe always rushes to fill a vacuum created by release.

I’m going to lose weight. I may fit back into my clothes. Anyway, since the storm hasn’t drowned me, I can go on a diet and fit into them again. I’m not very hungry these days.

Raylene persisted. If you gave away some of the clothes you no longer wear, it might make it easier to lose the weight. You wouldn’t have the ‘weight’ of the clothes in your closet. That would be a form of ‘losing’ that could put you on the road to releasing people from your resentment. I know it’s metaphorical, but it may help lead to the next step of weight management and produce less stress on your joints and fewer anxiety attacks. Giving is a way to gain some control over your life. You are making the decision to let something go. Simple, but effective.

I had spent a lot of money on my clothes. There were some stylish ones I didn’t want to give up. Raylene didn’t miss my mulish face.

What about giving something else away? Old appliances, money, anything that no longer serves you. It doesn’t matter whether you need it anymore or not. It is the releasing that changes the vibrational level in your heart and opens you up to life and loving yourself again. Because the person you are really angry with is you. You must begin to face this with dauntless courage and daring. Try. Start by giving something, anything, away. An old shoe, a stack of old magazines you are never going to read, a recipe, a smile. It doesn’t matter. Just begin. Persevere until you get a second wind. You will find more and more things to clear the clutter in your life that you were unaware of.

I guess I still didn’t understand her point. I don’t have a lot of clutter. My house is fairly clean and straight.

What are you trying to hold onto that keeps you from healing? Are you afraid of success? Don’t curl up in defeat and anger. It is not serving you. Fight for some air-breathe and release.

It sort of made me laugh when she mentioned giving away an old shoe. I collect shoes. I have some I wore when I was fifteen. I hate to get rid of them. They’re so pretty. And I have good memories from wearing them. She was some kind of kick-ass angel.

A laugh at last. Laughing is another great way to release blocks in your body. Watch some comedy movies. Read a book on forgiveness techniques. Take a yoga or dance class just for the fun of it. Change your furniture around-it starts energy moving instead of remaining stagnant and stuck. And one last thing. Forgiveness is a process, not an act. Let this be the last time you tell your story. You have felt your feelings and expressed them. It does hurt. Accept that your husband and his girlfriend did this to you. Stop the self-pitying game. It’s over. Focus on what you want in your life rather than what others have done to you. Create a new story, one of your own making. She smiled gently at me.

One more last thing, ask the angels for help. They wait, as I have, to serve humanity in loving ways. That is why we have been created. Ask us to help you.

Suddenly she was gone. Homer was still there. He pecked around in the sand keeping close to me until he unearthed a beautiful orange conch shell. He stood back from it and looked at me with his beady eyes. I bent over and picked it up. Thank you, Homer. Tell Raylene thank you, too, I guess. He flew away. I haven’t seen either of them since though I sometimes wonder if I feel them around me. Occasionally I wonder about some of the friendlier seagulls on the beach, but I think they’re just looking for food.

One of the most surprising things about that day was when I came out of the cove of rocks, there was no storm. It was the calm, clear day I had come to the beach to see. Had it all been a dream? Surely not! The orange conch was in my hand. I looked up and down the coast. The same people were at the beach as when I lay down to sunbathe. Common sense told me it must have been a dream but I could not account for the shell. I tucked it in my bag and walked the shoreline. The waves were receding as I prepared to leave; the tide was going out.

When I got home, I cleaned out my refrigerator. Then I packed up my shoes, all except for the ten pair that I still wear. I took them down to the local theater to use for props. It was a beginning. It felt good.

That was a year ago. I sold my house and moved to a condo. I am a travelling nurse now. I’ve just returned from a job in Alaska where I learned to cross-country ski. I’ve dropped thirty pounds and my joints don’t ache anymore. It’s good to be back to the warm California beaches though.

Recently I stopped at the grocery store and ran into Marty and his girlfriend. He didn’t recognize me at first. When he did, he began flirting and coming on to me, making little innuendoes, such that his girlfriend, now wife, could hardly fail to hear and understand. In the past I might have enjoyed that. Now I found that I was immune. I looked at him pitifully. Before, I would have fallen back into his arms in a heartbeat. This time he was almost laughable so I ignored him. His wife, the former beauty queen of Fifth Floor, had gained weight; her hair was stringy, and she was looking stressed. She looked away from me after first glance, her body language telling me a lot. Embarrassed, I thought. And overwhelmed. She had my old job and my former husband. She reminded me of the former me. The last vestige of anger left me; I found I no longer held a grudge. All I could do was to be grateful to be me and to bless her. And him. Suddenly I felt a shift inside; something was leaving me. A sense of freedom began to emerge within. I found compassion at last. Compassion for both of them. Him, for being so needy that he must drain the life force out of a woman. Her, because she still held the need to be superwoman and finding it difficult. With this realization, I also recognized what they required from me truly was, as Raylene said, release and forgiveness, and also my prayer and blessing. That would be the final act in this little play of ours. I silently prayed for them and wished them well. I left with a spring in my step.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

Mae West

The Girl Most Likely

THE GIRL MOST LIKELY to succeed. That’s what they dubbed me in High School. Fifteen years later, I definitely was not on the ‘corporate fast track’ as my friend, Jean Ann said. I guess I blew that title. It was a small school anyway; there were five girls in my class. The other title handed to me, right at my birth, was Our Little Suzie. That one was doomed to disappoint as well. I’m six feet tall and weigh 180 pounds. It’s not all muscle, but I’m strong. I came into the world some time after the Baby Boomer years. And I’m holding my age pretty well, but I would like to figure out a way to sign up early for Medicare.

You see, I recently lost my job. And I