An Da Shealladh

Part 1

The 24th May 2026 was the day my life took quite an interesting turn.

Unfortunately it started with Auld Bert being taken to hospital. Bert & his family were our neighbours where I grew up in Auchelmachan in the Scottish Highlands.

After our parents passed away, my siblings and I were left the family house. It had been 5 years but none of us had wanted to sell, there were so many good memories of our formative years in Auchelmachan, so we kept it on and took turns staying there for the weekends or family Christmasses.

Bert & Ina and their family, Stewart & Graham were always part of our lives. We shared celebrations & sadness and all the occurrences of life in the Highlands.

With a population of 300, Auchelmachan, while being a picturesque and tranquil place, didn't quite hold the draw for us young ones, all of us dispersing through these Isles, and then some onto Europe and beyond.

I was working in Glasgow, in IT securities; anti-hacking for the Co-operative Bank, and I was the closest when Ina died. I helped Bert organize the funeral before Stewart & Graham arrived back from New Zealand, Stewart working in construction in Auckland & Graham was a Rugby coach in Hamilton. It took them a few days to arrive back in Auchelmachan, and I was able to let them take over the arrangements & helping their Dad.

And so it was me again who was closest to hand when Bert fell ill. It being a Sunday I wasn't at work so I drove straight up as soon as I got the call. Graham called from Hamilton asking if I would check on Bert as there had been no answer when he had tried to call. He had tried another old village friend who lived the other side of Bert, but when he answered, Gerry had turned out to be in Frigiliana Spain, for a two week holiday, having just left on the Thursday.

I arrived in Auchelmachan with some trepidation, anxious as to what I would find. The door was unlocked, this being a quiet Highland village, it wasn't unusual.

I found Bert in his bed, very pale & with shallow breathing, so I called an ambulance.

The village being between Glencoe and Ballachulish, the nearest hospital is at Fort William so I followed in my car.

It had been a heart attack, and they took him into intensive care and within a couple of days he was sitting up in his hospital bed, I was able to take a couple of days off work and stayed with Bert until the boys arrived from New Zealand.

The next Saturday I drove back up to Fort William to visit Bert, the boys took a break for lunch while I sat with him, I chatted about my plans for the future, having had job offers in the States, Canada and Australia. There was quite a prestigious company asking for my services in Miami and I was giving it serious consideration. After chatting for a while Bert asked me to turn the TV on which I did.

This is where things became strange, the tv showed a headline saying ‘Miami highlights for Finlay McDougall’. Now this startled me somewhat, as I am Finlay McDougall! And I hadn’t been to Miami, yet. I looked at Bert and he put a finger to his lips and motioned to watch the telly. We watched in silence, him with a serene smile and me with a puzzled pale expression. It showed clips of me, of a life I hadn’t lived yet, we watched me arriving in Miami, working all the hours, promotions, partying, living the high life, but becoming tired and a little jaded. One night I was out with colleagues after work and as I was on my way home, I stopped in at a deli to pick up a quick sandwich to eat at home, I had walked in and was ordering my sandwich when the door burst open and a man with a gun demanded cash, I guess instinctively I tried to disarm him, but the gun went off and I was left bleeding on the floor. The TV faded out and I looked at Bert. ‘What on Earth Bert? ‘ I stammered.

Bert spoke quietly, ‘You have heard that my family have an dà shealladh, the second sight? ‘ I nodded slightly and said ‘well yes but I thought that was just some apocryphal mythology, ancient Celtic family, seers and druids and all that ? ‘ he replied ‘Well you have been so good to my family and I, Finlay, and I want you to live a long full-filling life.’  I quietly said ‘Thank you’ still feeling a bit behind with the conversation. Bert continued ‘I felt you needed to know what would happen if you went to Miami, and I don’t have the strength to give you a full explanation or reading, so I’m glad the tv worked as a medium.’

I stood up and walked to the window, then turned and sat back down again. ‘Are you telling me?….that you can predict my life? What else can you tell me, where should I go, what should I do with my life?’

‘You still need to make the choices Finlay, if you give me potential decisions I can try and get you an insight.’

‘What about my other potential moves Bert? This is quite difficult to process!’

‘I know lad, but I must rest now, come back and see me again and we will try another choice.’

‘Ok Bert, the important thing is for you to rest, and get yourself on the road to recovery, I’ll try and get back soon.’

I met Stewart and Graham for coffee briefly while the nurse was attending to Bert, but didn’t mention the revelation from their Dad. I still wasn’t sure what to think. I drove back to Glasgow, my mind going over Bert’s tv show, and what it meant for me.