The Butterfly that learnt to fly

By Trish Mitchell

The Butterfly wings are ready to fly but Matilda Fellowes, recently divorced from her narcissistic husband, has to heal from her narcissistic marriage that has left her emotionally and mentally broken from the abuse she has endured over the last 35 years. Based on real events, follow Tilly's journey as she sets out to conquer and heal herse

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trish Mitchell
• Release date: Oct 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781916820128

Book preview

The Butterfly that learnt to fly

Trish Mitchell

Copyright © 2023 Trish Mitchell

ISBN: 9781916820128

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored, in any form or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Thank you ..Sue, for all your support. Having never written a book before Sue gave me a wonderful opportunity to write this book.  I will be forever grateful to you. X

Thank you .. To my life long friend Max, for all your help and guidance, it is so much appreciated. And for all your support when I was going through those  dark days, I never ever thought I would see lighter days again. X

‘Let yourself get introduced to your soul

  It wants to help you heal from the abuse

  And suffering you have endured’

‘Then watch the beautiful Butterfly

  Wings unfold to empowerment’

  Freedom to own who you are.

Trish Mitchell.

About the Author

Trish Mitchell was born in Bexley, Kent in 1955, and now lives in her happy place in Westgate on sea, on the South East coast.

She has been an Aromatherapist and Reiki Master for many years,  and continues to  work as a Spiritual Life Coach, Spiritual and Ascension Guide, Intuitive energy and tarot card reader and a Psychic and Clairvoyant.

TO MY GORGEOUS FAMILY:

Kerry, Steve, Son in law Michael, Daughter in law Carly 

My precious Grandchildren:

Charlotte, Holly, Sophie and Stanley

With love always

Mum & Nanna 

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 1

Matilda Fellowes sat on her bench by the sea, quietly reflecting on her journey. She had completed a full circle, back to Bamburgh in Northumberland, on the beach where she had many happy memories of a time gone by from when she was a child. Looking out at the beautiful calm sea on a warm July evening, the sun gradually going down behind the clouds, the spectacular colours of orange, purple and red all blended together to make a magnificent sunset, that last sparkle of light glistening on the sea, the sun slowly disappearing below the horizon. Tilly sighed………Oh how peaceful she felt and contented, for Tilly had not known this feeling for a while. She had always been chasing the dream of the perfect life to be loved more than anything, but now understands, if you stand still and look within yourself long enough, you start to begin to find who you are, you begin to love yourself, it's the best thing ever. If we don’t love ourselves first, then how can somebody else love us?

Tilly...... Tilly........ HELLO called a voice way down the beach,  Tilly looked round in surprise.  ‘Isla,’ she called back, seeing her best friend from her school days walking down to greet her. Tilly stood up, and walked towards her, giving each other the biggest hugs ever. ‘Oh Isla, how lovely to see you,’ Tilly said,  feeling rather emotional at seeing her childhood friend stand before her….  ‘How are you?’ ‘Yes I'm doing ok,' Isla said feeling emotional too. ‘It must be a few years since we last saw one another. You have not changed a bit Tilly, you look really good, you still have your beautiful long blonde hair, you look really well.’ ‘I knew it was you by your voice. You look good too Isla. You have not changed much either, love your pixie haircut, it really suits you.’ ‘I just fancied a change, never had my hair this short before.’Replied Isla. ‘So Tilly, how are you doing?’ continued Isla. 

    ‘Yes… I am fine Isla, a few bumps in the road, and some white knuckle rides along the way but to be honest, it has made me who I am today. I feel a lot more content  now than I have ever been in my life. Isla we must have lunch, we have so much to catch up on.’  Isla loved the idea,  ‘So how long are you up here for?’ enquired Isla….  Tilly looked at her …. ‘I’m staying up here for a while,’ Isla’s face lit up and a big smile appeared.  REALLY  ‘does that mean we can be the bestest friends, like when we were young girls, like when we started primary school together,  when we used to play tricks on your sister.’ Isla was so excited, she just kept reciting all the things they had done together. ‘So Isla, where are you living now?’ said Tilly, putting her sunglasses on, as the sun was so strong it was hurting her eyes. ‘Oh not far,’ 'I live in Alnwick. I have lived there for 2 years now. I did live abroad for a while in Italy. I wanted to come back to the UK as I found the sun was sometimes too hot for me especially in the summer months. Our children and grandchildren live here. I suppose I  am about twenty minutes from Lucy and thirty minutes away from Jane, so lovely to be able to see more of them, seeing my grandchildren grow up is such a pleasure.’ Isla continued, ‘I cannot believe how our paths have crossed again, after all these years. Shall we make a date now?’  Tilly was as excited as Isla.’ Yes let’s do that now’ said Tilly,  as they rummaged through their handbags, trying to find their diaries, they could not stop chatting to each other. ‘Have you got time now for a catch up now Isla?’  ‘Yes, I have an hour or so, I need to get back,  I am looking after my granddaughters later this evening.’ ‘That’s fine,’ said Tilly. They had both calmed down now knowing that their friendship would last forever. 

They both sat down on the bench, where Tilly was sitting. They were both playing with the smooth soft sand still warm from the Summer sunshine with their bare feet. The gentle breeze every so often would blow, each of them brushing the hair from their faces, freeing their mouths so they could each continue the never ending conversation. Isla looked wistfully at Tilly as her mind wandered….. ‘I have to say Tilly, as I looked at you earlier you seemed a million miles away, not even on the planet, are you ok?’  ‘Isla, you have not changed, you have always been very intuitive.’  ‘Tilly do you remember when I had my first kiss, then I got all silly about it, even got upset? You gave me a big hug saying  that it was normal at thirteen to feel silly when you have had your first kiss, you had already had your first kiss,’… Isla replied,’ still smiling at Tilly. ‘Of course I do, I remember all our memories,  it was so much fun. I reckon every time we meet up, something from our memory box will appear.’ replied Tilly. Isla laughing as Tilly stated exactly what Isla had thought. ‘So Tilly come on, I could tell from that distance that you had things on your mind.’….  ‘Well actually Isla, I was really thinking how is has taken me so many years to find who I am as a woman,  I know it's crazy’…  ‘certainly not’ piped up Isla, we are all on our own unique  journey sometimes it’s rough terrain, sometimes it’s a smooth pathway, some people have lots of white knuckle rides while others just have bumps in the road.’ ‘You are so right Isla’, Tilly replied. ‘Now I hope that it will only be a few bumps, and should a white knuckle ride appear,  I will now know how to stop and get off the ride.’Tilly continued, ‘for the first time in my life, I feel happy and contented, its as if I don’t need to search anymore, I have come home to myself. ‘Oh Isla, I so wished I was like that in my thirties, all the things I would and could have done, but my confidence and worrying about what I looked like I put limitations in my life. Oh on second thoughts,’ Tilly paused... ‘Maybe it's best now and not when I was in my thirties, I dread to think  where I would have ended up.’ They were both  laughing. ‘Tilly I think you could be right’  looking at her wise friend. ‘You had a very adventurous mind, and probably still do.’  ‘Yes but if I did not have those hangups, I could have had a more peaceful life,’ replied Tilly. Isla continued ‘As I said earlier, you have had to have had those experiences, it's part of your soul journey.’ ‘Yes I totally agree with you Isla, but it’s been so painful’ replied Tilly, Isla continued ‘but you know it's all part of life’s tapestry, I'm sure you must have had many fun times too.’  Tilly laughed of course, ‘I could write a book on my experiences when touring with the band.’  "WOW '' said Isla looking at Tilly in amazement. ‘You’ve been in a band, you actually got to do what you loved and wanted to do.’ Tilly explained that she became a lead singer, played piano and guitar. Isla was in awe of Tilly. ‘You see Tilly, ‘I don't feel I have ever achieved anything in my life,  I have used my creative skills as an artist, but could never do it full time, I had to work in stuffy offices to make ends meet.’  Tilly reminded her of what she had said earlier that life is a journey, a unique journey, no two souls have the same journey. ‘But Isla you have lived in Italy, a beautiful country, painted, enjoyed a peaceful life, I would have given anything to have had that, but now I fully understand my life’s path.’ said Tilly.

Isla has a lot of wisdom about her, she is very spiritual, she has dabbled in most areas of spirituality, tarot cards, astrology, crystals, healing, she is very intuitive, and empathic. Tilly in her own way is very similar, they had just gone down different paths in life. They are  kindred spirits, who have found each other again. Isla looked at her watch, she gasped … ‘where has all the time gone it's 6.30pm, I have to go Tilly.’ They exchanged phone numbers, making that precious lunch date that was going to be important for both of them, as they began to help each other to grow and evolve together. The date is 12th August 2008, the place is the cafe they used to go to when they were teenagers which is  called Daisy’s Pantry, nestled between the beach and the castle, down a cobbled street where there were a few shops with houses and cottages in between.  Daisy had passed away, so Daisy’s granddaughter Angela now owns and runs the cafe, and it still has the same name. She still uses the recipes that her nanna  had passed down to her. The pretty curtains and nets at the window, tied back very neatly with curtain ties. The floral tablecloths, vases of fresh flowers that adorned every table, were in keeping, when her nanna  ran the cafe.  It was Angela’s pride and joy, she did not want to change the cafe, everybody loved it just as it was, she wanted to keep it like that.  The only thing that Angela updated was the coffee machine. The aroma of the coffee smelt wonderful as you entered the cafe. The cakes all displayed in order of size, and the famous bread pudding. It always felt warm and cosy once you stepped inside.

The day had arrived, both Tilly and Isla were beside themselves with excitement, although they had spoken on the phone a few times. They hugged and walked into Daisy’s Pantry,  ‘Ahhh how lovely’ said Isla it has not changed at all,’ ‘I know’ said Tilly, the smell of the coffee tingling her nostrils. ‘Oh Isla, look at those cakes we must have some after lunch.  It feels so good to be somewhere where it has not changed.’ Tilly and Isla found a quiet corner and cosied up, ready to catch up on the years they had not seen each other, with many more lunch dates at their favourite cafe. As their lives unfold together of the emotional pain and hurt, the fun times, how they survived and healed their souls. Sitting in their cosy corner of the cafe, just gazing at one another, Isla sighed….’Tilly I cannot believe we are sitting here together, never thought this would ever happen.’  ‘Ok ladies’ said the waitress, ‘who is having the chicken hotpot and fresh vegetables’ ‘me’  Tilly replied,  'thank you’…  ‘ahh that looks lovely and smells delicious.’  In no time at all, the waitress was by the table serving Isla her steak pie and vegetables. ‘Ohh that smells gorgeous,  I used to have this when I came here with my mum and dad many years ago.’ replied Isla, cutting into the Steak pie topped with a lovely golden puff pastry topping. The smell of the food was totally opening up the aromatic senses of  both Tilly and Isla. ‘So,’ Isla inquired in between mouthfuls of food, ‘where do we start?’ Tillly replied.  ‘How about us reminiscing when we were younger, the fun times, the things we got up to, I feel I just want us to share, it's so cathartic.’ Isla and Tilly both came up with the same word at the same time. They were both taking in the surroundings of the warmth and cosiness of the cafe, hearing people laugh, chattering, gossiping, and most of all enjoying the beautiful food.

‘Isla do you remember the Christmas parties at Bamburgh Castle? I think we were about five when we started going, all dressed up in our pretty dresses, my brother and sister were with us as well. I always felt on edge at the parties, I think because my dad worked at the castle,  I always felt he had his eye on me, it made me feel tense, that I could not let myself go and enjoy myself.’ said Tilly looking down at her food. ‘Funny you should say that Tilly, I actually did notice how sometimes you were a bit quiet.’ Isla looked across at Tilly, who seemed to be somewhere else, in between eating her meal, she was staring into the abyss. ‘You ok Tilly?’ asked Isla, ‘you seemed so far away then,’ ‘Yes sorry Isla, I did not realise that just by talking about the Christmas parties, what feelings and emotions had come to the surface.’ Isla looked so surprised,  she had never heard Tilly speak like that before.  ‘Oh Tilly,’ Isla broke in. ‘Whatever you are saying that for, you had a lovely childhood, seemed the perfect family’….’Well Isla,’ Tilly replied, ‘yes to the outside world, but nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors do they!’ ‘I guess not,’ Isla replied in a quiet sort of shocked voice.

She sensed that Tilly had something on her mind, but did not want to press her further, as they had only just met up again. ‘I am thoroughly enjoying  chatting  about the fun times we had.’ Isla, trying to move the conversation back to the fun times. ‘You know Till’s one thing I remember about you at school’ said Isla, Tilly let out a long’ yesss!!!!!!!’. ‘I remember your singing voice and your love of playing music, you were always asked to play in the school choir singing solo with some of the Christmas carols, in front of all the parents, while I stood on the sidelines watching everybody else, when I look back I have probably done that most of my life, lived on the planet but never really feeling I belonged anywhere.’ ‘Oh don’t say that Isla’ replied Tilly, putting her hand on Isla’s arm.  ‘You were great at school, always seemed to help the other kids in trouble, always gave a hug.  I remember in class one day a little boy who was crying because he had lost his biscuits for break time. You went straight to him and put your arms around him, you helped him to find his biscuits, they were in his coat pocket and he had forgotten to take them out. The big smile on his face said it all, we are all different Isla,’ Tilly paused….’We all have our strengths and weaknesses, the best thing to do is to build on your strengths, look at your weak areas, see how you can work on them, to utilise them to make you stronger.  We cannot clear everything in life, Isla you of all people know that with your spiritual background.’ ‘I know you are right Tilly,’ replied Isla, looking out of the window thinking about what Tilly had just said, ‘but then, Isla continued ‘you have done the things in life that have made you happy, as I have said before, I don't feel like I have achieved much in life.’

‘Isla please don’t feel like that, you have achieved many things, had a happy marriage, lived abroad, you are very creative, have managed to have a fairly balanced life, with the bumps of life that appear every so often,  I feel I have been on a white knuckle ride, with painful lessons and challenges all of them on a emotional level, mainly relationships. I clearly made one hell of a mess in a past life, obviously was  not interested in my soul growing and evolving, so they have thrown the book at me in this lifetime. ’ Tilly laughed as she was speaking.  ‘Isla your life is how it was supposed to be’ ….’mmm.’  smiled Isla. ‘Yes I suppose so.’

‘Hey!! Tilly,’ who was that lady that used to come down and visit your mum, I think she had a son, cannot  remember his name though.’ ‘Oh you mean Morag,’ replied Tilly, ‘she is still my mum's best friend. They  lived in the same street, in fact they were neighbours. They lived in Scotland when they were children, it seemed when her husband passed away, she would come and stay for a few days, Jack was her son,’ Tilly continued.  "Oh yes… , ‘ I remember now,  you seemed to get on really well with him,’ Isla said smiling as she remembered Jack coming down and taking her out in his car. ‘Yes, we did from a very young age, as you know he was the first boy I kissed, he was a few years older than me.  I remember when he learnt to drive, and the first time he came down in his car,  we went to the ice cream parlour in the next village. I felt so grown up listening to pop music on the jukebox Gene Pitney, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, The Who, to name but a few. I loved them all, music was and still is  my passion.’ ‘Yes I remember that day Tilly, you were so excited. Have to ask …. Did your mum  and dad  know where you were going?’ Tilly looking sheepish lowered her head and spoke a quiet ‘no’…. ‘I just told them we were going for a drive. My dad would have gone mad if he knew, he was quite controlling  when I was young, in fact all my life, even when I was older I always felt he was sitting on my shoulder, felt like that for years. Jack and I used to write to each other’ Tilly continued, ‘I used to have such a crush on him, I guess he was the first boy I loved, we just seemed to get each other, it was always easy and comfortable being with him,  I remember when he wrote and told me about having a girlfriend, I cried for days.’ ‘Yes I remember’ Isla replied ‘you were heartbroken.’  ‘Yes I was’ continued Tilly. 'When  I look back it made me want to see what else the world had to offer,

Then you and I planned to go to London, to get work. We ended up working in cafes, a few offices. Yes, we had a great time, London was certainly the place to be, the fashion, the monochrome look, flared trousers, shift dresses, psychedelic coloured tops and trousers. The white knee high boots, the short hairstyles. Twiggy ruled the fashion world, we all wanted to be a Twiggy’ they both laughed.  ‘What about the clubs? ' Tilly continued with excitement, ‘They were the best,’ Isla replied.  "Goodness we went to so many, my favourite has to be the Marquee club, all the groups playing live, packed every night.’ ‘Yes’ said Tilly, ‘it was my favourite club too. When I think back, life was so free and easy going. We certainly enjoyed the six months we spent in London. It was quite a shock when we came back to Bamburgh, not sure if  I ever really settled back home, probably why I left again a year later’ as Tilly was sipping her coffee, and in her head back in London, thoughts and memories came flooding back about Bob. She moved back to London to be near him. ‘I did miss you Tilly’ said Isla ‘when you went again,  I guess that’s when our paths started to  divide, you went to London to be with Bob.’ ‘I know Isla, I missed you too, but living in Bamburgh was not enough for me and besides I wanted to be with Bob,’ said Tilly. ‘I do get that Tilly, you were always the one who wanted adventure. One thing that stuck in my mind  was when you went to start singing lessons, as you felt your voice was not as good since leaving school, you were physically shaking with nerves. The tutor asked you to sing your favourite song, your voice came out all shaky and squeaky,  so high pitched,  you could not even remember the words, I was laughing standing at the back,  I know not funny for you, you sounded like a cats choir, I had to put my fingers in my ears,’  Isla still giggling as she was telling the story. ‘Your determination to show that teacher you could sing, led your voice to being pitch perfect. You said one thing that you wanted to do, was to maybe sing with a band, or just solo.’ ‘Yes I was so disappointed that did not happen up here,’ said Tilly ‘but then my path would have been completely different, a bit like that film Sliding Doors’ Tilly replied.  ‘Maybe that's why I felt the need to go back to London, I then ended up singing in Bob's band.’ ‘I remember being at school,’  Isla continued with her account of singing in the school choir, ‘I scraped through having to sing  do-ray-me to the music teacher,  but then I did not always sing in the choir, I just stood there and mimed, occasionally I would sing,’ by this time Isla was laughing so much, as she took herself back to their school days.  They were both laughing out loud,  ‘Oh Isla I am so enjoying meeting up and going over the years gone by.’

The waitress came over and interrupted them, both still giggling. ‘Have you both finished your meal?’ said the waitress, ‘empty plates, looks like you both enjoyed your meals?’ ‘Yes’ they both replied, ‘it was delicious’  The waitress added  ‘You both looked like you were so engrossed in your conversation,  I did not want to disturb you.’ ‘Oh, you should have’ Tilly replied smiling. ‘ We are just going back over  our school days.’ ‘So ladies,’ the waitress chirped up, ‘would like more coffee, and maybe some pudding?’ ‘mmmm… yes please’ both nodded  their heads in agreement.  They both decided on sticky toffee pudding with a generous amount of homemade custard, both touching their tummies as they were rather full, but knowing they each had just about enough room to squeeze in the pudding.  Any ideas of following diets, went completely out of the window that day.  The waitress was back in a flash with another two coffees. ‘It won’t be long and your puddings will be with you.’  ‘No problem’  said Tilly.  ‘We are just enjoying being here.’ Still in their cosy corner, they felt right at home, looking around the cafe, it seemed to have emptied out,  looking out of the window the sun kept making an appearance, as the clouds gently drifted over the sun with beautiful blue skies randomly appearing. ‘Shall we go down to the beach to walk off our calorific lunch?’ asked Isla, holding her full tummy. ‘Yes, that would be lovely,’ replied Tilly. You know we have not stopped talking, have we?’ ‘It’s a wonder we managed to eat at all.’ Isla laughed as she spoke.

‘Yes,  I know, but then we have not seen each other for god knows how many years and we are still at the beginning.’  ‘Yes I know,’ Tilly replied. ‘It’s been great, I am so pleased we can pick up our friendship after all these years.’  ‘I have to say Isla, I have always thought about you, but had no means of contacting you,’  Isla added, ‘me too,’ ‘here’s to many more years of our friendship, now we have found each other. Maybe we can get our families together, and meet up.  Obviously everybody leads such busy lives, but we can plan well in advance, somewhere a gap will appear, and it will fall into place,’ ‘Yes’, ‘that sounds like a good idea. Tilly’ replied  as she was gathering all the plates together for the waitress to collect. They had both finished their coffees and that delicious sticky toffee pudding. Isla and Tilly sat quietly for a few minutes both feeling quite emotional about the meet up, both realising that the friendship was as strong as ever. It felt like it was only yesterday they saw each other.  They always say that true friendship never ends in between the gaps called life. The waitress came over, and jolted them out of their daydreams,  ‘so how was the pudding’ asked the waitress, they both replied with big smiles on their faces, ‘it was so delicious, we will be back for more.’

Isla started to tell the waitress that they were both born and lived in Bamburgh and that this is the first time they had met up for over three decades. ‘Oh really?’ enquired the waitress. ‘So who are your parents’ excited to know if she knew of them,  Tilly spoke first, ‘my dads name was Wilfred Harrison and my mum's name is Edith Harrison, I have a brother Edward and a sister Adele.’ ‘Oh you know those names ring a bell in my head’ putting her hand to her head trying to find the memory link… ‘Ah ha, I know,’ the waitress said, ‘your dad worked at Bamburgh Castle.’ ‘Well..  yes he did.’ Tilly was surprised that she knew of her dad.  ‘How did you know that?’ replied Tilly, ‘Would you believe it, my grandad worked at Bamburgh Castle. As a child he used to tell me stories about the castle, how the gardens were kept so beautiful, and the haunted goings on that went on in the castle. Your dad’s name did come up a few times,  from what I can gather they were good friends at work.’ Tilly looked sad, as she said that her father had passed away five years previous. ‘Oh sorry to hear that,’ the waitress gently put her hand on Tillys shoulder to comfort her.  ‘Yes my grandfather also has passed away, sad really,’ replied the waitress.  ‘I have always lived here, never really ventured out of the village, it is in my blood,  I am well and truly rooted here’ she laughed.

‘I have just moved back from London, replied Tilly.  ‘Having  just recently got divorced, my mum  still lives here. I have come back to live with her,  so I can help her, she’s quite frail now.  I feel I need my roots back here too.’ Tilly smiled feeling lucky that she still had her mum  around. ‘How about you lass,’ looking at Isla  ‘Yes’ continued Isla, ‘I was born and bred here too. My dad was a Blacksmith, he worked in the nearby village of Shoreston Hall. Tilly and I met at school, this is our first meet up. We chose this cafe, as we used to come in here with our parents, and then when we were teenagers. We love the fact that it has not changed much.’ The waitress nodded her head in agreement. ‘Glad you enjoyed your lunch, can I get you anything else?’ asked the waitress. ‘Actually’ Isla asked, ‘could we please have the bill, we want to wander down to the beach and work off the lunch, the diet has gone completely out of the window today.’ giggling as she spoke. ‘Yes of course’ the waitress said, ‘I will go and get that done for you.’ She  turned around, smiling that she could talk about her grandfather whom she had loved very much. Tilly looked at Isla, ‘such a small world.’ ‘Yes it is’ replied Isla. ‘Well let's get the bill paid,  my treat’ said Tilly,  ‘are you sure?’ Isla enquired.  ‘Yes of course, we can take it in turns to treat each other next time we meet up.’ ‘Good idea Tilly, so lovely coming here today, let’s hope next time we can get the same cosy corner.’  Isla replied. They paid the bill and said goodbye to the waitress.  ‘Nice to have met you both, hope we see you both again?’ the waitress added. ’Yes you will definitely be seeing us again. ’  ‘Bye take care’  they both said. 

On the way down to the beach both taking in the warm sunshine, walking on the side of the street where it was sunny, stopping to look at the quaint shops that they remembered as girls. Now owned by different people, with various types of retail.  As they walked down, they came across a complementary health clinic, where they did aromatherapy massage, reiki, counselling, reflexology, and  crystal healing.  ‘Oh look’ Isla squealed in delight. ‘Never thought I would see one of these shops here in Bamburgh, how lovely I will be booking an Aromatherapy massage soon, I could do with a good massage Tilly. I used  to have regular treatments, the massage worked wonders for my back.’ Isla checked on the opening times and made a note so she could book asap.  ‘Tilly, have you ever had an aromatherapy massage?’  ‘Er, no Isla, never really thought of ever having a massage.’  ‘The aroma  of the oils are to die for’ added Isla, in a dreamy voice.  ‘I do have trouble with my neck and shoulders,’ said Tilly,  touching her neck and feeling her tense muscles. ‘So let's book one together’ replied Isla. ‘You will love it Tilly.  ‘Sounds good,’ she replied..  ‘I will ring tomorrow and get it booked’. Isla said eagerly, ‘I have got the number now. As  they continued to walk to the beach,  Tilly just stopped….  ‘Isla, how lucky are we to have been born here and have the beach a five minute walk away.’ Taking in the sea air, the gentle breeze was blowing the tiny granules of sand into their faces, the sea was glistening, the sun beating down on them, the sun still high in the sky with a few white fluffy cotton clouds drifting over the bright blue sky, they found a bench to sit on. Isla started to feel all the tension in her body disappear,  ‘This is lovely Tilly my body does not feel so tense how amazing and healing the sea is.’  Isla sighing as she was talking.  Tilly on the other hand was trying her hardest to relax. She had found the breakup of her marriage very distressing. It had not been the happiest of marriages, but Tilly had loved and adored him. They had two children, a boy and a girl, both of whom have grown up and have their own families. Tilly felt very discombobulated when she first split from Bob, he was really all she had ever known, she had a best friend Peter who was in the band, but they had lost contact with each other. Peter had always held a candle for Tilly, but she only ever had eyes for Bob. Bob was the lead singer. Tilly played guitar alongside Peter who was lead guitarist, and Dave who was the drummer. The band was called Blue Fairground. Tilly loved the band days, always hoping  that Bob would change, but he never did.  Gradually Tilly found her body relaxing and taking deep breaths in, and breathing out the stress she felt in her body,  like Isla was doing. It seemed that both women needed today, both women in their early sixties, and dealing with the change of lifestyle, but in different ways. Tilly had lived in London for 40 years and not long been divorced.  Isla was still  adjusting to not living in Italy, and the problems it had brought with it.

They both opened their eyes and let out a big sigh, it seemed quite a time since they had felt the energy of the sea.  All around them, children playing, laughing splashing in the water. ‘Do you remember those times Tilly when we were young,’ seeing herself as a little girl building sandcastles with her dad.  ‘Yes of course,’ replied Tilly. ‘Those were the best days of my life.’  ‘Tilly, how on earth did you survive living down in London for all  those years.’ ‘Isla you know, when I look back I really don't know how I survived.’  ‘I did long to be back to my roots, but my situation and all that went with it, meant I did not have much of a choice in the matter.  I did come back to visit Mum and Dad, Eddy and Adele, but just for holidays. ‘Everyone thought I had this fabulous life, but actually it was far from that, anyway,’ Tilly, putting on a positive voice, that is behind me now,  I need to move forward to a more positive future.’ Isla smiled,  ‘Here’s to your new chapter Tilly’ Isla knew there was more to the divorce then Tilly was letting on.  She knew her friend well enough to sense those things.  Tilly was not someone who openly shared her private life, she had to process the emotions.  Isla respects Tilly and the way she deals with her feelings, for they run very deep. ‘Isla,  I had better get back to mum,’ ‘Yes’ replied Isla ‘Brian will be wondering where I have got to. ‘It's just been brilliant with us meeting up, let's hope we can meet up as much as time allows us,’replied Tilly. 'I don't see why not, I think booking the massage is first on the agenda’ Isla continued, thinking about the massage.  ‘I can’t wait for one of those soothing massages too,’ said Tilly.  ‘Ok I will book a massage for us both tomorrow, once it's booked I will ring you and give you the date and the time’ Isla replied. They gave each other a hug.‘Thanks for today Isla, it was so good to catch up,’ ‘Same here’ Isla replied. ‘Bye Isla,’ ‘Bye Tilly’ They both went their separate ways, back into the here and now.

  ‘Tilly Tilly’ called her mum. ‘Yes Mum,’ said Tilly, ‘what can I get you?’ ‘ Could you bring my blanket down, pet, it is on my bed. I am feeling a bit cold, while you are upstairs, it would take me  ages to get up those stairs.’‘No problem I will be down in a minute,’ ‘ok,’ no problem pet, when you are ready’.  Tilly came down the stairs. ‘Oh it does feel a bit chilly, here you go Mum,