Little
Bits of Karma
by
Laura Simmons
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
A
captivating story of reincarnation, redemption, and forgiveness. Even
though Holly O’Rourke is having problems with her longtime
significant other, James, she has never entertained thoughts of
infidelity…that is, until the day she has a chance encounter with
Charlie, a handsome coworker. James promises he will change and work
on their relationship, but Holly’s feelings for Charlie just won’t
go away. Distressed by her mixed emotions, Holly schedules an
appointment for a reading with a psychic medium, where she discovers
her adulterous past lives and their tragic consequences. Holly learns
to do her own past life regression through self-hypnosis and uncovers
not only lives that she shared with James and Charlie, but how the
other people in her present life have been with her in the past—the
threads of their lives interwoven for centuries. Holly is stunned by
recurring themes and the issues of karmic justice that need to be
addressed. Where will her karmic path ultimately lead? Find out in
Little Bits of Karma, an entertaining new book about spiritual cause
and effect.
Can
be read as a standalone.
Chapter One - The Two of Cups
Later that morning Holly woke up first and went into the kitchen to make the coffee. She looked at the clock on the wall and it was 8:15. She had her psychic reading later this morning and James had to be at work at 3:00. She felt better, although her head was still aching. She took two aspirin with her first cup of coffee and sat down at the dining-room table. She got back up and opened the curtains so she could look out onto the patio.
She thought about last night and Charlie. The song “Me and Mrs. Jones” was running through her head like a freight train. She was having mental pictures of the two of them in the coffee shop and thinking of how they held hands walking to the Metro. I guess I sort of cheated on James last night, holding hands with another man, even though it wasn’t for very long. One part of her brain was thinking . . . Don’t be so hard on yourself. James has taken you for granted for a long time. He repeatedly hurt your feelings by choosing to spend time with his guy friends over you, and you never do fun things together anymore . . . no wonder you are attracted to someone else . . . Charlie is HOT! The other part of her brain countered with . . . Stop making excuses . . . you have years invested in James and you know you still love him . . . Work it out, don’t ruin it by having an affair. Her troubling thoughts were interrupted by James coming into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he said as he poured his coffee into a bright yellow mug.
“Good morning,” she replied, feeling the unspoken coldness between them.
“So, what are your plans today?” he asked.
“I have an appointment at 11:30 downtown to see a psychic,” she replied.
James laughed out loud, and it broke the tension. She started to laugh too.
“Why the hell do you want to see a psychic?” he asked, still laughing.
“I overheard some ladies on the Metro talking about past lives and I thought it would be a fun thing to explore,” she replied.
“Past lives? I know you believe in that stuff . . . I don’t. I believe you get one chance at life, and then you turn into worm food,” he said with smug satisfaction. “Let me know what she says.”
“I will. It should be interesting,” Holly replied. She was used to James not taking any of this seriously. He sincerely believed you turn into worm food and that is the end of the road.
“I’m sorry I jumped on your case last night,” he said.
“That’s okay. I understand. It wasn’t smart, forgetting to lock the door,” she replied.
“How did you get home? You must have driven drunk,” he said, looking serious now.
“I told you last night that I got home fine. By the time I got to my car I wasn’t drunk anymore, just buzzed. I drove fine,” she replied, slightly agitated.
“How about I make a sausage, ham, and cheese omelet for us?” he asked, hoping an offer of food would calm the residual irritation between them.
“Sure. I’m extremely hungry right now,” she replied.
James cooked a delicious omelet for them. She loved that he could cook. There were advantages to living with a chef. James liked to invent new meals for the restaurant, and he often asked Holly to try them first, although it seemed like it had been months since he created a new entree. Holly scarfed down the omelet like a starving prisoner. James watched in amazement. He wasn’t used to seeing her eat like that.
“You just inhaled an omelet stuffed with meat, and it wasn’t a small one either. I’m still working on mine,” he said with a look of surprise on his face.
“The last thing I ate was a piece of chocolate cake last night and some potato skins several hours before that. No real dinner,” she replied.
“I’m surprised you aren’t sick this morning. Please be more careful in the future and never forget to lock the door behind you, especially late at night,” James said to her, trying his best to not sound scolding.
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied with a laugh and glanced up at the kitchen clock. “I need to get ready for my appointment.”
She took a shower and later as she was putting on her make-up, James took one. By the time he was finished showering, she was ready to go. He was blow drying his hair in the bathroom when she went to kiss him good-bye.
“I’ll see you when I get back,” Holly said and kissed him.
“What do you want to do tomorrow?” James asked her.
“Oh, I don’t know. Let me think about it,” she replied.
“Whatever you want is fine with me.”
“See you later,” she said.
This Saturday morning was sunny and warm and Holly was feeling anxious. She hoped this woman would be able to tell her about her past lives. She arrived ten minutes early to the appointment. Martina was located within walking distance from the Metro. She lived in a small row house with a sign in the front yard indicating her services by appointment only. Holly rang the doorbell, and Martina opened the door.
“Hello. Are you Holly O’Rourke?” Martina Preston asked her.
“Yes. Are you Martina?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, I am. It’s great to meet you. Come on in,” Martina said with a smile and extended her hand. Martina’s demeanor was friendly and inviting and Holly instantly felt at ease.
Martina was a little lady, standing no more than 5 foot1. She was in her mid-30’s with a round, pretty face with crystal blue eyes, medium brown, curly hair that fell past her shoulders, and a voluptuous figure. She was wearing a red checkered sundress and matching solid red espadrille shoes. She led Holly into a small room with gleaming hardwood floors and two white leather chairs and a round wooden table. There were two windows in this room. Martina pulled down the shades to block the sun. There was a large wooden cabinet next to one of the windows. The room was practically empty.
“Have a seat Holly, and we will talk for a few minutes,” Martina said. The two women sat in the white chairs across from each other.
“So, you are here today for a past-life reading, correct?” Martina asked.
“Yes,” Holly replied.
“First, I want to tell you what will likely happen during this session. I go into a trancelike state, and my voice might change. I sometimes take on the behavior of whatever spirit guide is there to speak through me. Usually it is my spirit guide working together with your spirit guide to access your past lives. Each of us has spirit guides to help us in our earthly incarnations. Your primary spirit guide is assigned to you before reincarnating into your current body. As you go through life, the circle of your guides expands, depending on the work you need to accomplish. When you reincarnate, you go through a veil of amnesia, and as you learn and grow in this life, you wonder, what the heck am I here for?
“We come from heaven, a place of total love and happiness. Your enemies in this life are dear friends on the other side. By incarnating into physical bodies, you learn a deeper appreciation for good things and even the bad. The potential growth from experiencing the bad is tremendous. There is no ‘bad’ in heaven, and if you never reincarnate you won’t know the difference between good and bad. There are many wonderful worlds to advance to in heaven after your schooling on Earth and your incarnations are completed.
“We plan our lives before we are born, and our spirit guides are here to help us achieve what we came here to learn and do. They do this by giving us intuitive nudges in the right direction, although we don’t listen to them most of the time. They do their best to keep us on track and guide us for our own good.
“Today, we will be accessing an area of the spiritual realm called the Akashic Records. This realm contains detailed records of your past lives and the past lives for every soul who has reincarnated. Your thoughts, dreams, and actions are recorded for eternity. Do you have any questions before we start?” Martina asked.
“No, I understand. We can begin whenever you are ready,” Holly replied thinking . . . Even our thoughts are recorded for eternity? That’s embarrassing . . . Thank goodness not just anyone can access them.
“Okay. I will ask the guides to show the past lives that might resonate with you at this point in time,” Martina replied and became quiet.
It took several seconds for Martina to enter a trancelike state. She began to speak and the voice was not her own. A deep male voice was speaking with a distinct Middle-Eastern accent:
“Hello, Holly. My name is Kavi . . . I am your guide.” “You lived a life in Atlantis and fell deeply in love with your college teacher. He was married and would not leave his wife. You became pregnant with his child . . .” The voice paused for a few seconds.
“You lived a life in India in 1500 BC. You were a man in that life, and we were brothers. Your name was Sanjay. We were devout Hindus and ran a spiritual center together where we helped people better their lives . . .” Again, he paused for a few seconds before continuing.
“I see a life as a Roman Gladiator during the year of 47 BC. You were a prisoner of war and forced into fighting for the Roman’s entertainment . . .” More silence.
“You were a baby left on the doorstep of a monastery in Ireland in the year of 816 and raised by monks. You died young, as the monastery was raided and burned to the ground by Vikings. The Vikings gang raped you before cutting off your head . . .” Still more silence.
“You lived in Sweden in the 1740s during a time of war. You tended to wounded soldiers, like a nurse. You fell in love with a married soldier from an allied country and carried on an affair with him for over a year. This affair cost him his position, and he was stripped of rank and sent back home. This broke both of your hearts . . .” Again, the voice was silent.
“In another life in England in the 1850s, during the Victorian Era, I see that you and this same man were again secret lovers and married to other people. You were best friends with his wife, and your husband was often away from home due to work. You had a falling out with his wife that ended your friendship, and the two of you began having a secret affair. One day your husband came home from work and caught the two of you in bed together. He shot and killed your lover. You turned to alcohol to ease your depression and died 1 year later . . .” Moments later, the voice continued.
Tough Karma:
A
Race Against Time
From
the Author of Little Bits of Karma comes a chilling new tale of loss,
tragedy, psychic warfare, and eternal love. Amber Macklin’s world
is cruelly shattered when she loses her baby girl three months after
her husband’s sudden death. Her cousin, Bryce, comes to her rescue,
moving her into his home for fear she will kill herself from the
grief. He provides solace and a shoulder to cry on, and he has loved
her as more than a cousin for a long time. Amber and Bryce soon
discover they are not blood relatives, which opens the door for
romance as he pulls her through her darkest hours. When Mike, a
college friend of Bryce’s, stops by to visit, Amber senses a deadly
secret behind his nice guy persona. She has a frightening dream that
Mike is trying to kill her and recurring sleepwalking episodes where
she draws detailed pictures of him torturing her. Deeply troubled,
Bryce uses his ability to astral travel to investigate Mike and
uncover his terrifying past. Mike has had his eye on Amber for some
time, and when he learns that Bryce and Amber have become lovers, he
is furious. Mike abducts Amber and takes her to his rural Georgia
hideaway, and Bryce must rely on his astral abilities to track her
down. But will he be too late?
Can
be read as a standalone.
Chapter 1 - Sad September, Pages 1-4
She was too devastated to cry. The shock of losing Belle early that morning upset her beyond tears. Bryce, her sister Jenny, and Amber’s other cousin Luke, rushed to her side for support. Bryce encouraged her to stay at his home that night, and for however long it took to get her through this. He didn’t want her to be alone, fearing she might kill herself from the heartache. He would have preferred that she stay with Jenny during her time of sorrow, but knew it wouldn’t be a good environment for her or Jenny’s family. Jenny had two young children and a husband, and having a terribly distraught relative residing at their house would be stressful for everyone. He had loved Amber as more than a cousin for most of his life, and her staying under the same roof with him was going to be a challenge. Although he was an incredibly self-disciplined and confident man, he doubted his ability to hide his true feelings having her so close for an undetermined length of time. He couldn’t think of any viable alternatives. She could have stayed with Luke; however, she was closer to Bryce, and it made more sense. Luke traveled frequently, and wouldn’t have the time to spend with her.
She agreed to let them help because the thought of staying in her apartment surrounded by Belle’s baby things and an empty crib was more than she could bear. Jenny and Bryce packed her suitcases, while Luke drove her car to Bryce’s house. She let them swarm around her; she was too upset to do anything other than stand outside on the balcony and stare at the vehicles in the parking lot. The evening air was comfortable, so she pulled the screen door closed to let some air in and keep the bugs out. She was replaying the events leading up to Belle’s death over and over in her mind, trying desperately to remember if she saw something which may have prevented it.
“Bryce, check her medicine cabinet. She used to take sleep meds before she got pregnant. She’s going to need them now, or she won’t sleep for days,” Jenny said with concern while packing her sister’s underwear and lingerie. She was three years older and five inches taller. Both of them were pretty, with long blond hair and blue eyes.
“That’s true. She’s always had trouble sleeping. Won’t these drugs make her sleepwalk?” he asked seeing the bottle of prescription sleeping pills in her medicine cabinet, and taking them along with several other items.
“I’m not sure. She used to sleepwalk a lot when we were growing up. I don’t know if she still does. You need to be on the lookout for that. I think severe stress triggers it,” she replied.
“I remember you telling funny stories about her nighttime adventures. I’ve got to hide stuff from her. Car keys, knives, pills, anything she can hang herself with. God forbid she decides to take a joyride on one of her sleepwalking strolls. I better go check on her,” he said, handing the sleeping pills and other items from the cabinet to Jenny and walking into the living room.
Amber was still standing on the balcony staring at the parking lot, trying to process the day’s tragic event. Sliding the screen door to his right and walking up behind her, Bryce wrapped his arms around her asking, “Are you hanging in there, sweetheart?” and kissed her cheek. He was a little over a foot taller than her.
She leaned into him tilting her head back into his chest, placing her arms over his and replied, “I feel numb. I want to cry but I can’t. I’m frozen. I’m sorry I’m not helping.”
“You don’t have to do anything right now. We’re going to take care of you,” he said hugging her closer. “We’ve almost got your things packed.”
“Thank you,” she replied softly, appreciating the comfort his arms provided and knowing she could always count on him.
He walked back into the bedroom and helped Jenny finish packing. Amber snuck into the kitchen and quietly opened up the cutlery drawer. The butcher knife will fit nicely into my huge purse . . . she thought discreetly slipping it into her oversized handbag . . . I know he’s going to be watching me like a hawk. He’s going to lock up all the knives and pills. He’s an angel, but I don’t know if I can get through this. She closed the door to the balcony, locked it and took a seat on the sofa. A few minutes later they were ready to go.
They loaded her suitcases and other items into his black H3. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jenny said sweetly to her sister.
“Thank you so much,” Amber replied hugging her.
“You know you can call me anytime day or night,” she said. “Don’t worry about waking up Zac. You know my husband sleeps like a log!”
“I know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jenny got into her car and drove away. Bryce opened the door for Amber, and she stepped inside. It was dark now, and the sky was cloudy with no moon or stars in sight. He got in and started the engine. Pulling onto the highway for the ride to his house in Vienna, Virginia, he reached for her hand. She took hold of it with a death grip and closed her eyes. They rode to his house in silence except for the radio which was tuned to a classical music station. He hoped that type of music would be soothing to her, and she didn’t complain. She was so shattered and lost in thought that she didn’t even hear it.
When they arrived, he put her in the room next to his, a second master suite with its own bathroom. He lived in an enormous, five bed, four and a half bath home, with 5,000 square feet of living space on a half-acre lot. His home was valued somewhere around $2.5 million and looked like it should be in the pages of a magazine, with its soaring ceilings, light-filled rooms and mostly hardwood floors, except for the gourmet kitchen and large sunroom which displayed beautiful porcelain tile in a sandy beige color. He’d hired an interior decorator when he first bought the place, as his taste was masculine and industrial. The decorator brought his home to life and added warmth without seeming too masculine or feminine.
He was a wealthy man, and his accommodations were lovely and luxurious. He owned ten martial arts studios in the Washington, D.C., area, teaching some of the classes himself in the evenings and Saturday mornings. He was an expert in Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do, although his company taught other forms of martial arts too. He had quit Luke’s underground gambling club shortly after Amber married James. He wanted to spend more time teaching classes, instead of being a bill collector for gambling debts and bouncing people out of the club. He was tired of playing a badass. His portrayal was convincing, and his physical stature helped it along. Standing 6 foot 3 with a hard, muscular body and shaved head, no one wanted trouble with him. Besides, his own legitimate business was thriving, and he had to stay on top of it. He was smart with money, and had made excellent investments in his younger years which had paid off handsomely. He could sell his company tomorrow and retire early - if he so desired. The Decker Martial Arts Company was having another record year – so much so that it was necessary to hire several new people to run the day-to-day operations.
I
enjoy reading books on psychic phenomena and all things metaphysical.
Most of my life I've been fascinated with astral travel, dreams, the
ability to see the future, and reincarnation.
I've
wanted to write a book since I was a child, it was the first thing I
can ever remember saying I wanted to do when I grow up. I love
creating worlds in my mind and writing about them. My best days are
when my characters decide to have lively conversations and I type
them fast and furious.
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