Tomorrow is not just another day, it is another chance.

Today I would like to share with you a five star review I received for Why Mary Beth Why. It is printed on Amazon.com.

It is a good read and an excellent story. There's plenty of suspense which keeps the story moving but what I enjoy most of all is the way the author weaves the background until it seems very real. I can visualize the setting and experience it. that alone would make it a wonderful read but the story kept me turning pages! Now I am eager to read the author's newest release!

Two Wrongs Don’t A Right

Helen Ogrodnick

Chapter One

     Here in Northeast Pennsylvania the stillness of the night was unsettling. There wasn’t even a breeze blowing, but yet the sky was full of stars. The only noise was the sound of the crickets, and on occasion the squeak of the porch swing as Edith would move her body to and fro. Here it was, the first day of May, and she realized her oldest son Gordon would be graduating from high school in a few weeks. Would she cook the food for the party, or will it be catered? It is 1967, and I have a demanding job, the party will be catered, she decided. Edith had so much on her mind, she could not sleep. Her thoughts were again on the earlier happenings of the day. Her friend, John Martin had invited her to go to a gathering of friends with him. John was an all right guy, just sort of weird. He was middle aged, single and extremely shy. She was remembering how nervous he was when he arrived at her door this evening.

     He knocked on the door, and when she opened it, he said, “Hello Edith. Can I come in a minute?”

     “Of course, John please come in. Would you like a cup of coffee? I have just baked an apple pie,” Edith said.

     “No, we really don’t have the time. I just want to let you know what you are getting yourself into by going with me tonight,” he remarked.

     “Tell me about it. It can’t be that bad, can it?” she questioned. Edith had only known John through work. He was a loner and she was determined to bring him out of his shell.

     “This gathering is going to be in the apartment of a woman who lives in the hotel. Her name is Ruth Worman,” he explained.

     “You mean the local author?” Edith questioned surprised he would know anyone of her caliber.

     “Yes. She is writing a book about reincarnation and she wants opinions from different people, and of different backgrounds. Will you still go with me?” he asked shyly.

     “Of course, let’s get going, we don’t want to be late,” Edith said to him as she picked up her purse.

     John opened the door of his Volkswagen bug for her.

      She was smiling and said, “John you surprise me. I have never ridden in an orange car before.”

     “Oh, it rides as smooth as a black one would,” he answered seriously.

     Edith knew she would be in for an interesting evening. John was very quiet and kept nervously tapping the steering wheel with his forefinger.

     Upon their arrival at the hotel, he turned to Edith and said, “I forgot to tell you how nice you look this evening. Do I look okay?” he asked.

     “Yes John. You do. I am not sure I would have recognized you out on the street. This is the first time I have seen you out of your work uniform, and no grease under your fingernails,” she replied as she looked into his blue eyes. “I’ve never seen such thick eyelashes on a man before,” she added.

     He blushed and stammered, “You’re putting me on.”

     “No, I am telling you the truth. You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I suppose the blue shirt you are wearing bring out the color of your eyes,” Edith told him as he knocked on the door.

     The door was opened by a rather large woman. “Hello John, come on in. We were waiting on the two of you.”

     Once inside John said, “Ruth, I would like for you to meet my friend Edith Davis. Edith, this is Ruth Worman.”

     “I am pleased you could come this evening. Come on in and let me introduce you,” she said, leading them into the living room. “John, I think you know everyone here except for Doctor Samuels. Everyone this is John’s friend Edith Davis.”

     Doctor Samuels walked over to them, shook John’s hand and smiled at Edith saying, “I am very pleased to meet the two of you. John, Ruth has told me much about you.”

     “Don’t worry, it was all good,” Ruth informed him as she took Edith around and introduced her to the other guest. Ruth had formed a circle with chairs. Edith and John were seated opposite Ruth and Doctor Samuels.

      Ruth remained seated as she spoke, “I want to thank each and every one of you for coming this evening. I would like to keep the conversation light and informal. By just being your own natural self will be of help to me. Let’s pretend we have known each other forever and go on from there.”

     “Let me tell you about myself, and my reason for being here,” Doctor Samuels started. “I am a licensed physiologist as well as hypnotist. Has anyone here ever been hypnotized before?”

     “Since no one said yes, if you are looking for a volunteer, I will,” John offered.

     “Thank you John, but you appear a little too anxious. Edith, would you consider letting me hypnotize you?” Dr. Samuels asked.

     “Why me?” she wanted to know.

     “Let me explain,” Dr. Samuels started. “I want to hypnotize someone and take them back into their past lives. I am under the impression you have never given this a thought, therefore any information you give us will not be something you have already made up in your mind. Are you willing to undergo hypnosis? You are in no danger at all. You will not do or say anything you would not do or say in your normal state of mind.”

     “I see you have a tape recorder with you. May I listen to it after the session?” Edith asked.

     “My dear, I will make you a copy. Now may we proceed?” he inquired.

     “I always enjoy a new challenge this, will be an unforgettable experience for me,” Edith predicted.

     Dr. Samuels stood up and walked over to her chair saying, “Edith, I want you to relax. Put your feet flat on the floor and place your hands in your lap. Now, lightly close your eyes and just listen to my voice. Edith, you are very relaxed. Your eyes are closed and you cannot open your eyes. The more you try to open your eyes, the more relaxed you will become. You are standing outside an elevator. The door opens and you enter. You look up at the numbers above the door, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three two, one. The elevator door opens. You walk out into the lobby of a building. You are relaxed and happy. Think happiness. You feel safe and unburdened, taking deep breaths as you walk into the room. The floors are hardwood, with white rugs as smooth as clouds as you walk over them. Candles glow all around you.  You are touched by its beauty. You want to lie down, so you look around the room and see a couch along the wall. You walk over and sit on the couch. Now you want to be more comfortable so you lay down on the couch. Your eyes are still closed. Edith where are you now?”

     “I’m in my room crying,” Edith responded.

     “Why are you sad?” he asked.

     Still sobbing she answered in a childlike voice, “Daddy cut part of Rex’s tail off.”

     “Who is Rex?” the doctor wanted to know.

     “He is my puppy. Daddy shouldn’t have hurt him,” she explained.

     “How old are you?” was his next question.

     “I’ll be six tomorrow. Rex was my birthday present,” she explained.

     “Now Edith, I want you to breathe deeply and let it out your breath slowly, thinking happiness. Now take another deep breath and count, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Where are you now?” he asked.      

     “I am at the church picnic, and I got even with Rachel,” Edith answered.

     “Why did you feel you had to get even,” the doctor asked.

     “She tried to steal my boyfriend, but I fixed her,” and Edith started to giggle.

     “What did you do?” the doctor asked in his monotone voice.

     “I pressed the juice from an apple, put it in a vial, put the vial in my pocket, and when I saw her at the picnic, I spilled the apple juice on her shoes. Flies were swarming her so bad she went home,” the giggling voice said.

     Doctor Samuels looked up, smiled and continued; “Now you are going into a deeper sleep. Your eyes are still closed. The more you try to open them, the more relaxed you will become. Deeper, deeper, where are you now?” he asked.

     “It is dark in here. The only light I see is from a torch on the wall. I cannot move my arms or legs. I am chained to this wall,” the voice answered.

     “Can you tell me your name, and why you are in chains?” the doctor asked.

     “My name is Hattie McFarland. I have been accused of being a witch,” the voice answered with a heavy Scottish accent.

     “Where do you live, and why were you accused?” the doctor asked.

     “I live in Nether Keith. It is a part of East Lothian, Scotland. I was arrested for practicing witchcraft and taken to Halirivid Howe before King Majestic,” was her explanation.

     “Did you practice witchcraft?” Dr. Samuels asked.

     “In the beginning I helped cure the sick. I was tricked into mixing a balm, and telling who I thought was my friend, to rub it on the soles of her husband’s feet to cause his death. She was tired of begging him for spending money. She promised she would share his money with me, instead, she reported me for being a witch. King Maiestic sentenced me to be burned at the stake. All the hair was shaved from my body, showing a brown mark on my right upper thigh and when my head was shaved, I had a big scar on my head. This frightened everyone, and I was chained in the dungeon until my fate is decided. Shush, here they are approaching. I am being dragged and am placed between two large wheels. They are attaching me to the rack. My feet are bound and attached to a loop on one of the wheels, my arms attached to the other. The wheels are being turned. Listen, you can hear the creak as my body is being stretched. I will not cry out, nor will I beg. The pain is unbearable; I can feel my soul leaving my body. Edith’s body slumped in her chair.

     The room is quiet as Dr. Samuels straightens Edith in the chair. He again spoke in his low monotone voice, “Edith, I am going to count to three. When I get to three, open your eyes and stretch your arms over your head. You will feel very relaxed. One, two, three.”

     Edith opened her eyes, stretched her arms over her head and asked, “How did I do?”

     “You did wonderful, dear. How do you feel?” the doctor answered.

     “I feel fine and I wish you would stop calling me dear. My name is Edith. My mouth is so dry, may I have a glass of water, please,” she asked.

     Ruth handed Edith a glass of water. She drank the water and remarked, “I must have told quite a story. Everyone is looking so serious.”

     “May I ask a personal question?” Ruth asked.

     “Yes, this is my natural hair color,” Edith answered smiling. “I am a natural red head.”

     “I was going to ask if you have a birthmark on your right thigh and a scar on your head,” Ruth answered sheepishly.

     “As a matter of fact, I do,” was her answer. “I was born with a birthmark on my thigh and on my head, and as I grew, so did the birthmarks. Every time I would brush my hair, the birthmark on my head would get irritated and bleed. Daddy finally had the doctor remove it. It took fourteen stitches to close the gap. With this thick head of hair, my scar is not even noticeable. Why did you ask?”

     “Once you listen to the tape, you will know. I would like to play the tape back now. It is still early,” Doctor Samuels suggested.

     “Yes, please. I am eager to hear it,” Edith requested.

     Dr. Samuels rewound the tape, and pressed the play button.

     When Edith heard herself crying, she interrupted by saying, “I remember Rex. He was a bulldog. He was my best friend.”

     ‘Shhh, let’s continue listening,” Dr. Samuels cautioned.

     This annoyed Edith, but she remained quiet.

     After the tape had finished playing, Dr. Samuels asked, “Edith, does anything else sound familiar to you?”

     “No, sir it doesn’t. I find it interesting that in the one segment the girl pressed juice from the apple. I suppose at that time apple juice was not bottled.”

     “I would like to ask a question if I may,” Ruth spoke up. “Right at the end you said, I can feel my soul leaving my body, what sensation did you feel other than pain?”

     Edith closed her eyes, sat very still, and then said, “The pain was unbearable, and then I felt like I was floating, I am sorry, that is all I can remember.”

     “You did just fine. You have been so much help to me,” Ruth responded. “I will put a small article about this meeting in tomorrow’s edition of the Wilkes Barre Press. I do need to get publicity for my book.”

     “The publicity will help me as well,” Dr. Samuels agreed.

     “John, would you mind taking me home now, I am tired,” Edith asked.

     “Not at all. It is past my bedtime also. We are so busy at the silk mill I have been going to work two hours early every day. Edith knows that. She works in our methods and standards department in Plymouth,” John volunteered the information.

     “Good night and it was my pleasure to meet you dear, I mean Edith. Perhaps I will have the honor of hypnotizing you again,” Dr. Samuels suggested.

     “Perhaps, good night everyone,” Edith called out as she and John walked out of the door.

     Once in the car John asked, “What did you think?”

     “John, I am too tired to think. Can we talk about it another time?” she asked.

     John turned on the radio, turned the volume down low and drove Edith home in silence.

He stopped the car in front of her house, got out of the car and walked up the front walk with her.

     “Thanks John, I want to sit on the porch swing a few minutes. Ray will be home soon. He is also working twelve hour days now,” Edith explained.

     “I can understand that. The purse factory is a family business,” John commented. “I will see you in work tomorrow. Perhaps we can have lunch together.”

     “That will be nice. Good night John,” she responded.

     John stopped, turned around and said, “Thank you for being my friend. I feel like I can tell you anything and you don’t make fun of me.”

     “We are friends through thick and thin. Good night,” Edith said, and watched as he got into his orange bug and drove off.

     Edith closed her eyes, and was gently swinging back and forth when she heard the front door close. She opened her eyes as Ray sat down on the swing with her.

     “Did you just get home?” he asked.

     “Yes, just few minutes ago. It is so nice and quiet out here, I wanted to enjoy it a few minutes,” she explained.

     “How did the meeting go?” he asked.

     “Quite well, I think. It was in the hotel apartment where Ruth Worman lives,” Edith explained. “I was surprised she was among John’s list of friends.”

     “My father always said still water runs deep,” Ray laughed as he put his arm around her shoulders.

     She snuggled up to him, pulled back and commented, “You smell like beer.          

     “Yeah, after work a couple of us fellows went out for pizza and beer. I probably stayed longer than I should, but the pizza joint has a pinball machine that I got hooked on,” he explained.

     “If one of your sons said that to you, what would you do?” Edith asked.

     “Probably punish them. I work hard all day, I need to relax too,” Ray was defending himself.

     “I think I will go in and check on the boys. The four of them were staying in this evening,” Edith was smiling. “I am so proud of you for turning the basement into a rec room for them. They can bring their friends here and not be out roaming the streets.”

     “I will go in with you,” Ray said, standing up. The two walked into the house together.

     The boys were clamoring up the stairs from the basement. Ronald and Donald the thirteen year old twins were first, followed by fifteen year old Ted and seventeen year old Gordon.

     “Our homework is finished,” Ron said.

     “Gordon checked it,” Don chimed in.

     “Do you two great parents realize what well behaved intelligent sons you have?” questioned Ted.

     “Yes, I am sure we do. Your mother and I thank god every night for our blessings,” Ray answered.

     “We are both pleased the four of you realize how fortunate you are. I don’t see how we can increase your allowances at this time,” Edith said.

     “It isn’t that,” Gordon said and explained, “My friend Fred is selling his pool table. We rearranged the furniture downstairs, and now we have room for one. What do you say, dad?”

     “It’s Thursday night. Ask Fred if he could hold it until I look at it Saturday morning. I will want his father present when we make the deal. Now all of you get to bed,” Ray ordered.

     “Now, let’s go take our showers and make an early night of it, I will even brush my teeth,” Ray said to Edith pulling her close to him as they walked down the hall.

Was I surprised to learn that Rebel Ink Press has released my book TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT. Have you ever been hypnotized and regressed into a past life. Edith Davis has. My book is available at Amazon/Kindle, Barnes and Noble/Nook, Bookstrand and All romanceebooks. I have been unsuccessful in posting a picture of the book. Please check it out on my Face book page. Have a good day.

My next book, TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT, will be released by Rebel Ink Press August 17. Here is the blurb

Edith Davis is a wife and loving mother of four teenage boys and she works in the quality control department of a local silk mill. When a coworker asks her to attend a gathering with him, Edith accepts and as a result, she is hypnotized and regressed into her past lives where she discovers she has been sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft. When she finds out her fifteen year old son is practicing witchcraft, she wonders if he's inherited the trait from her. So Edith decides if she is a witch, she will only use white witchcraft, vowing never to hurt anyone. But when Edith discovers her husband is cheating on her, an she keep her promise?