Page:The strange experiences of Tina Malone.djvu/42

42 prayers and brought peace to my soul. But I never took it seriously.

One night, obeying a whim, I put it under my pillow.

That night for the first time I dreamt of my mother who shook her fist at me. She was the daughter of a clergyman and had always refused even to go inside a Catholic church.

I took the dream laughingly, not believing in omens.

Not long after this I had a most extraordinary experience.

I had been out to afternoon tea and came back lonely and tired and hungry to my empty rooms. There was a feeling that haunted me every now and then that the rest of the family were upstairs—the family that were all married and in homes of their own and the last only so lately passed away.

The feeling came every now and then hauntingly, leaving me to reality and the desolation of my lonely room.

I suppose I was run down or low-spirited because I was cold and had had no tea for I could not keep the tears back and sent a cry out through the window and up to the sky to God or Heaven to send me something to make life worth living.

I wondered, as I had done many times why Naomi had quarrelled, and thought of the many times I had watched for her to come to make up, quite expecting her to come.

That night, as I lay in bed I found a most extraordinary thing happening. My limbs began to move as if automatically—certainly not of my own volition.

I was interested and watched proceedings as if I were detached.

The movements went on for a little while but I was sleepy and, I suppose, fell asleep wondering a little, but not much. But next night, when I went to bed, I happened to be on my back and no sooner was I still than I found my feet drawn into position, my legs straightened so that I lay in one straight line on the bed. Then my arms were moved until they lay across my breast, the hands straightened out flat on my breast, side by side.

Then the exercises began. I watched with interest making myself passive and allowing my limbs to move as directed by some unseen force.

It seemed to me that the whole of my inside was being gradually massaged leaving me afterwards with a comfortable feeling as if it was all of velvet. The next day I felt particularly well. I lay there passive, struck with wonder at what was going on, and took note of it all.

Night after night these continued for I am not quite sure how long. Each night a different part of my body was exercised. One night my head was made to move first as if nodding and it was continued about twenty times, then moved from side to side—then the soles of my feet were