Jessica Monie

By Romina Betvardeh

A gripping story of a young girl stalked by supernatural forces.
Jessica's out-of-body experience and confrontation with extraordinary forces will have you holding on to your seat.
The horrifying tale of Jessica haunted by apparitions and unseen assailants is spine tingling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781528908368

Book preview

40

About the Author

Romina Betvardeh was born in Iran and migrated to Australia as a teenager. Although most of her education was in Australia, she fluently speaks the two ancient languages of Aramaic and Persian.

Romina has been working in accounts and Administration Management for over twenty five years but her passion was always writing, in 2012 she fulfilled her dream of being a published Author.

This particular novel is a thriller of dreams and super natural encounters.

(Jasmine the flower that never blossomed was another work of hers, this story is based on forbidden love of two young people from different cultures.)

Dedication

Jessica Monie has been dedicated to Vietnam Veterans Peacekeepers and Peacemakers Association of Australia (NSW Branch) Inc

Copyright Information ©

Romina Betvardeh (2018)

The right of Romina Betvardeh to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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 prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781786121257 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781786121264 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781786121271 (E Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Printed and bound in Great Britain

With all these rocky roads and black shadows hungry for my soul, Lord please do not let go of my hand.

Introduction

If your feelings are out of the ordinary (or if your feelings are extraordinary), you can see and hear what others can’t.

Do you go out of your way to help others? Or save their lives? If they have lost their path, do you bring them back to the right track of believing and faith?

Yet you find yourself moving backwards instead of forwards. You try to stand up, but you get pushed down. The more faith you build in other people’s lives, the more problems that occur in your own life.

Do you sometimes get close to giving up, stop believing, and losing faith because you are getting weaker? Yet your conscience prevents you from giving up because no matter how difficult things get, sometimes you can see and feel that some sort of power is with you, giving you the strength to carry on.

This is when you should stop and think. Are you a chosen one to fight the battle of goodness against bad? If you are, the devil will use all his power in attempting to convert your faith, to mislead you and get you off track. He will affect you through your loved ones until you become strong enough to rid yourself of him, or you lose your faith and convert yourself into his evil world.

Jessica was one of those people to experience this extraordinary, out-of-imagination battle.

Chapter 1

Jessica was only six years old when they moved into a three-storey house. Her parents were happy to finally find a place to move to and told Jessica and her sister how great the new house would be.

At the time, Jessica and her sisters were too young to understand things, but they were happy and excited because their parents’ excitement was so infectious. They could not wait to move and thought, ‘Wow, this new place must be great!’

A month later, Jessica and her family moved in to the new house. It was a three-storey house with a tiny hallway, which opened into a large room.

Off that room was another door leading into yet another room, leading from a walkway into a room where the windows opened into the backyard. On the left was a small attic room situated under the steps, which was covered with thick curtains.

Next to that door were even more steps. Jessica walked up the steps and came across another set of steps, which she climbed until she got to the next floor, which was similar to the first floor, and again, there were more steps to follow.

Being a very brave girl, Jessica climbed up these steps to the next level. She then realised that all three levels of the house were built the same way, same layout, same number of rooms, the only difference was that you could go into the backyard from the first floor.

The backyard was quite large, and in the middle, there was a pond, and beyond the pond, situated at the end of the yard, were three doors.

The first door opened to a very old and dated kitchen with a basin and dirty tap. Standing at the basin, behind you there was a bench and underneath, there were three holes covered with the same thick curtains that covered the opening under the stairs.

Once out of the kitchen, towards the right side there was yet another door. And inside was yet another kitchen, but smaller. Behind the third door was a shower and bathroom with a separate toilet.

Jessica and her sisters were a bit scared, feeling that the house with so many doors was just like houses in horror books they loved reading. They never imagined that their new house would look like this.

All seemed normal, but the upper two floors were still empty, and for some reason, none of the family would venture to the upper floors.

Two months after Jessica and her family had moved, another two families came to join them and moved into the second and third floors.

A husband and wife with two sons moved on to the second floor. They were a nice family, and Jessica’s family was happy to have some neighbours to talk to and spend time with.

A single person moved on to the third floor, but none of the other occupants of the house ever saw this person. But a few years later, the mystery was solved, and Jessica’s family found out just why this person was never around.

After the family on the second floor had been there for four weeks, one of their sons got sick and started to vomit. His mum tried and tested his vomit to see if he had food poisoning.

Jessica and her sisters were watching the woman try and test her son’s vomit, and they felt sick, just seeing what she was doing. They both ran to their mother and said, ‘Mum, we think that woman is crazy!’

Mum replied, ‘Do you not know? She cooks the food on Saturday and keeps on feeding the same food to her family for a few days. She doesn’t have a fridge, so during those few days the food stays on the table. Most likely, that is why she must think that her son has food poisoning.’

Jessica said, ‘But, Mum, how much food does she make each time to have so much leftover, and how come we never have any leftover even though you cook twice a day?’

The suspected food poisoning was only the beginning of the strange things that Jessica and her family would witness.

Jessica was a quiet and observant child and noticed everything that happened around her. Sam, Jessica’s sister, was very smart and loved adventures. Even Sam started observing the neighbours.

Samson, the father, was a very gentle and kind man. He treated all the children in the building the same. If his wife, Jan, was upset about something, Samson just brushed it off with a smile and carried on with what he was doing.

Jessica and Sam became very good friends with the boys, Rob and James. They were all about the same age and walked to school every day and played volleyball together in the afternoons.

When the winter snows arrived, the four of them watched the snowfall and waited quite patiently until there was enough snow to make a snowman and a sliding hill to ride their sleighs on.

Jan, the boy’s mum, was becoming more and more secretive. She kept to herself, not talking to anyone. She would get up in the middle of the night and go out to the garden.

When summer came around, Jan was still sneaking out to the garden in the middle of the night.

Sam and Jessica, being naturally curious children, decided they would play detective and find out Jan’s secret.

First, Jessica went to talk to Rob. ‘Hey, Rob, do you know why Jan gets up so early and walks around?’

Rob said, ‘I never noticed.’

Jessie replied, ‘You must be a deep sleeper, because a few times I heard footsteps in the hallway, and when I opened the door to check, it was your mum!’

Rob said, ‘Why don’t you ask her yourself?’

After thinking for a minute, Jess replied, ‘I’ll do that.’

But, Jessica and Sam would freak out every time they came face-to-face with Jan in the hallway.

Chapter 2

Matt, Jessica’s father, was a semi-trailer driver and was away from home most of the time. He only had one or two days a week at home. He was very pleased to meet Samson, and on the days he is home, he and Samson would go for a drink. For some reason, Matt was never too fond of Jan.

Jessica’s mother Sandra was a very beautiful woman and found it easy to get along with anyone. Her house was always full of people coming and going, but she always had a smile on her face.

But Sandra noticed strange things going on around them. One day she said to Jessica, ‘Have you heard anything during the night?’

‘Why, Mum, are you hearing things?’ Jessica said.

‘No’, said Sandra, ‘it’s just that I heard footsteps last night, and when I got up to check, I noticed that it was Jan trying to sneak into the backyard. When she saw me, she seemed to be uncomfortable that I noticed her and was watching her.’

‘I know, Mum, I noticed that habit of hers a few months ago, but I didn’t want to tell you, thinking you would laugh at me,’ Sam answered.

‘Well, Mum, I did ask Rob if he knows what his mum was up to, but he told me to ask her myself,’ Jessica said.

Sandra said, ‘Jessica! How could you ask him without discussing it with any of us?’

‘For the same reason that Sam gave. I didn’t want to tell you, thinking you would laugh at me,’ Jessica said.

Sam added, ‘Do you know that Jan has one of those old irons, the kind that you heat by lighting charcoal inside it? I’ve seen her ironing with it.’

Jessica replied, ‘Oh yes, the other day I saw her emptying the ashes from the iron in the side garden.’

Sandra replied, ‘Maybe that is the answer. She might be embarrassed and doesn’t want anyone to know that she still uses one of those old irons that could be a hundred years old.’

Matt walked into the room and notices the excited looks on his wife’s and daughters’ faces. ‘What are you three up to?’ he asked.

‘Nothing,’ said Sandra.

‘Come on, girls, I can see it on your faces. You are up to something,’ Matt replied back.

‘We were just talking about Jan. She is a funny character. We feel that she is up to no good, because she sneaks around all the time and she always has a sneaky look on her face,’ Jessica said.

‘So? What does her character have to do with you?’

Sam replied, ‘Nothing, but we want to know why she walks around in the middle of the night.’

‘So now you girls want to play detective. Sandra, are you helping them?’

‘No, Matt, we were only discussing what we heard,’ Sandra said.

As Jessica and her family were talking, all of a sudden, Jess noticed Jan sneaking into the backyard again. ‘Look, Dad, there she goes again!’

As soon as Jess said that, everyone stared out the window. Jan was walking around, and it looked as if she was making sure there was no one in the backyard to notice her. She opened the kitchen doors and peered inside, and then went back up to her unit.

All four of them, Matt, Sandra, and the two girls were glued to their chairs, waiting to see if Jan was going to make any other moves.

They weren’t disappointed. It did not take long before Jan came back into the yard. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and then took her metal iron and emptied the wasted Chaco into the small garden. She then buried the waste under the soil, stood up, peered around guiltily, and walked back to her unit.

Matt commented, ‘See, girls, she probably doesn’t want people to see she still uses one of those old irons. That’s why she sneaks around because she is embarrassed emptying the iron in front of other people.’

Sandra then replied, ‘See, girls, I told you the same thing. Now we all know why she sneaks around.’

Jess and Sam were still not satisfied by that answer, but they agreed anyway.

After an hour had gone by, Jan knocked on Jessica’s door and called out, ‘Sandra.’

‘Yes?’

‘I’m going to the shops. I was wondering if you needed something or if you want to go shopping with me.’

Matt was sleeping, and Sandra was a bit uneasy and hesitant to go, but Jess and Sam quickly said, ‘Go, Mum, by the time Dad wakes up, you will be back. Come on, Mum, go!’

So she decided to join Jan on her shopping trip. When she said okay, both girls cried out, ‘Yee, eh, ha.’ They were happy because this was an opportunity for them to go and check the garden, at the spot where Jan emptied her iron.

After making sure no one was around to see them, Sam and Jess locked the front door and went to the backyard. They dug where the soil was fresh and saw pieces of Chaco from the iron. While they were moving the soil around, Sam exclaimed, ‘Jess! What is that?’

Jess turned around and stared at a piece of metal shaped into a circle. It had a lot of strange writing on it. They moved the circle around and found that the strange writing appeared on both sides of the circle.

Sam quickly ran to her dad. ‘Dad, wake up!’

‘What is it, Sam? I am not ready to wake up yet.’

‘Please, Dad, you have to get up!’

Knowing that the girls never wake him unless it is an emergency, Matt reluctantly got up and followed Sam into the backyard.

‘Dad, can you read this stuff?’ Jess asked.

‘Oh my God! Where did you get that from?’ Matt said in a surprised voice.

The girls then explained how they were digging in the spot where Jan empties her iron.

Matt asked, ‘Where is your mum? I think she should see this.’

‘We talked Mum into going shopping with Jan. That gave us time to dig in this spot to see what Jan was up to,’ Sam said.

Looking worried, Matt told the girls to cover the spot and hide the metal piece they found. They were to hide it in a different spot, so they could show Sandra when she returned home.

Jess asked her father, ‘Are you okay, Dad? You look very pale.’

‘Yes, I’m fine.’ Then he asked the girls to go back inside with him. ‘We don’t want Jan to see us and get suspicious.’

An hour later, Jan and Sandra came back from shopping. After a few minutes, Matt called out, ‘Sandra, can I see you for a minute?’

Sandra was a bit worried because sometimes her husband could get very aggressive, and she thought he would be angry because she left the house while he was sleeping. Feeling fearful, she said, ‘Okay, Matt,’ and started walking slowly towards him. She finally faced him and said, ‘What is it, Matt?’

‘The girls have found something that has me worried. I couldn’t tell them what I think because I can’t explain it. I think you should have a look and see if you think what I think. I don’t want to scare the girls.’

‘Okay,’ Sandra said.

Matt then called the girls and asked them to show their mum what they found. They took Sandra to the kitchen in the backyard. When they showed their mum what they found, her eyes went wide, and when Jessica handled the metal piece, she froze for a few seconds, then exclaimed, ‘Oh my God!’

‘What’s wrong, Mum? It’s only a piece of metal,’ Jess said.

‘Yes, a piece of metal with a lot of writing on it.’

‘So what, Mum?’

All of a sudden, they heard Jan saying in a loud voice, ‘Oh no!’ Turning, they saw Jan standing next to the small garden, looking very worried.

Sandra said, ‘Jan, are you all right? What’s wrong?’

‘No, I am not all right. I dropped my ring, and I can’t find it.’

‘It’s getting dark. Maybe it will be better if you wait till daylight tomorrow and look for it then,’ Sandra replied.

‘I can’t be at peace until I find it.’

Matt was at the window, watching what was unfolding outside and noticed that something was very wrong. He called out to Sandra, ‘Isn’t it past the girls’ dinnertime? Get them inside now, please.’

Sandra said to Jan, ‘Sorry, Jan, I better go. I hope you find it.’

‘Come on, girls, you heard your father?’ Sam and Jess followed their mum inside.

Later in the evening, Sandra asked Matt, ‘Did you see what I saw? I think Jan was looking for the metal. She looked a bit suspicious. I think she knows