The Way of the Warrior-Wizard

Hamish stared at Luanne Kingston in shock and amazement, as did the younger people who were present.

“Whit dae ye mean, Mrs. Kingston?” he asked in a rather disconcerted manner, forgetting to use Standard English when addressing Luanne and Jack, “I’m no’ deid!”

“Yes, I know you’re not dead, you big ham!” Luanne chided him, “But when you go into a deep sleep, your spirit is restless. It leaves your body, and it comes up here to bang around and no doubt frighten your poor children.”

“That would explain why the bogle that I saw back at Elder-Brother Jamie’s farmhouse looked so much like Father!” Caleb exclaimed, “And why the Bogle was able to cross the water to come to North America. Charlie was in our father all along!”

“Yes, but it’s not a separate entity inside your father,” Luanne explained, “It is his spirit that bops about at night and not a mysterious ‘Charlie’.”

“That’s why Mum told us never to awaken Father from a deep sleep!” Cara added, “It all makes sense now...but I didn’t think peoples’ spirits could haunt a place while they were still alive! I suppose that we could now say that Father is a Spirit-Walker, couldn’t we?”

“Well, your Father’s quite the Spiritual Acrobat,” Luanne replied, “But the problem is, I believe, related to the traumas that you suffered during the Wars, Hamish...the First World War in particular. When people have experienced terrible things, such as wars, the spirit may need to leave the body at times—usually during sleep. My grandfather, who came to Canada as a young child through the Underground Railroad, had many traumatic experiences as a result of his early life as an escaping slave. My father says he remembers Grandpa waking everyone up at night with terrible screams; and sometimes, he swears he saw his Daddy walking around as a ghost. That’s how I first became interested in paranormal phenomenon...and my Scottish Grandmother had the gift of the Second Sight, so she taught me a thing or two about it.”

“Aye, it is the shell shock,” Hamish explained, embarrassed, “that was why I so needed The Drink back in those days...but I hardly thought as much as I still had those troubles at my ripe old age!”

“I believe it’s now known as ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’,” Duncan interjected, feeling just as dubious about the idea of a living person’s spirit jumping around outside their body as he did about a dead person’s spirit doing the same thing.

He supposed that he should not be such a kill-joy, but if his father did indeed suffer from post-traumatic stress, the situation was too serious to simply write off as a silly ghost story.

“Perhaps, Father,” Duncan suggested, “You might see...a Doctor friend of mine who...”

“Na, Duncan,” Hamish objected before the words were out of his son’s mouth, “I will not see one of those Mind-Doctors. No damn fear! I’ve survived this long, and if my troubled spirit needs to prepare itself a wee for the day that I die, then so be it.”

“You should speak with Mum, Father,” Duncan suggested softly, “she might have something to say about it, since she’s the first to be awakened by your screams and nocturnal wanderings.”

Hamish only shook his head. He was a stubborn man, and the last thing a stubborn man wants to do, Duncan realized, is to talk to his wife about the matter-at-hand.

“I have a cousin,” Luanne said to Hamish, “who does past-life regressions. In your case, you’ve lived so long that you almost are a walking past life regression; but my cousin Yvonne could still help you re-configure your past in this life—she would bring you back to the traumatic events and help you re-live them in a way that would minimize their power over you. It is an alternative to the modern psychiatric model, and it’s not for everyone. You may decide that it’s not for you, and that’s fine. If you’re interested, I can give you Yvonne’s business number and you can talk to her to find out if you’re a possible candidate for this sort of thing.”

Hamish stood, running his hand through his long, grey beard.

“I dinna ken,” he murmured in the Scots brogue, indicating that he did not know whether he wanted to take Luanne up on the offer.

Hamish had served the armed forces for many years after he returned from the First World War, his leg injured from the terrible battle which had killed a huge number of his friends. He had served near Glasgow for many years in spite of his injury, and he was one of the senior military officers in the army by the time the Second World War came along.

“I’m not sure that this alternative therapy would be appropriate for my father, Mrs. Kingston,” Duncan told her, “with all due respect to you and your cousin Yvonne. Father might well be sleep-walking rather than walking in the spirit.”

“Duncan, you’re always trying to rationalize everything!” Cara interjected angrily, “You saw his living ghost that night with Caleb and I...stop trying to pretend you didn’t! I have no doubt that Father is a Spirit-Walker, but if it’s troubling him then maybe this regression thing could help him. Did you ever consider that?”

“Enough!” Hamish called out before Duncan could reply, “There will be no arguments between you with regard to this matter. If I decide to do it, I will discuss it only with my wife Kyra, Mrs. Kingston, and her cousin. Is that clearly understood by all of you?”

“Yes, Father!” the MacGregor children said in unison.

And with that, the case was closed.