THE CHRISTMAS GHOST
You've had it happen I’m
sure. You’re someplace, anyplace and you see a shadow of sorts out of your
peripheral vision, maybe even right in front of you.
You don’t give it a lot of
thought until that day or maybe the next day or two you learn that someone you
know has died. You give it some thought and then dismiss it as nothing. I’ve
had this happen on more than one occasion. The first time was on Christmas Eve
1973 as I stood in front of my boss’s office at the copy machine. He was out of
the office at the time and the lights were out so the glass window was more a
reflection than anything. I noticed it was 10:40 on the clock above the
machine. As I stood there making copies, I glanced up and saw the shadow of a
figure behind me. I spoke, “I’ll be done here in a moment” and I was. As I
turned around, there was no one there. In fact there was no one within 100 feet
or more. Odd I thought and went about my business. The next day my brother
called me there at work to inform me that my mother had died.
“Oh no” I said, “When did it
happen”
“Around 10: 30 or so the day
before.” came his reply.
That evening as I prepared
to drive to Phoenix to attend to things related to my mothers death, I thought
about that shadow I had seen behind me at the copy machine. Was it a sign?
Since I do believe in things paranormal and such I couldn't dispel the notion
that I had in fact “seen” my mothers demise.
As the years went by, I
heard and read many more stories about people who had experienced similar
situations only adding credence to the notion that death may well visit prior
to it’s actual arrival.
Coincidentally, a week
before Christmas in 1980 I was dating a gal who was open to my theories about
the matter. One evening while we were sitting on the couch in her living room,
she abruptly disengaged from our “hugging” to exclaim, “Did you see that?”
I honestly had to say that I hadn't since I had been similarly engrossed in
our… uh, shall we say, “hugging?
She swore that she saw a
dark figure move across the room and disappear.
I acknowledged that in fact
it was possible but that she shouldn't give too much thought to it since there were better things to concentrate on at the moment. So chivalrous I am. Anyway,
two days later she called me crying. Her father in Colorado had died two nights
ago. Okay, that got my attention and I talked with her at length about how that
was actually a good thing that she had been “witness’ to her fathers passing.
Several years later I was
doing some last minute Christmas shopping at the mall on my way to my sisters
house for some holiday cheer. I seem to always find myself having to pick up
things right at the last moment. Yes, this time I saw it again. In the window
reflection at Macy’s there it was. A dark shadow passed right over me and
suddenly shot upward. I turned to see, but there was no one there. A shiver
went down my spine as I immediately reflected on the past experiences I have
had. I wondered who it might be. Someone I know? Someone who’s close to me
knows? What a terrible time of the year to lose someone, right at what’s
supposed to be the happiest time of the year and suddenly someone dies. I
finished my shopping and walked out to the parking lot to my car. The parking
lot was filled with shoppers going to and fro with their packages. I couldn't shake the thought that someone somewhere was going to be crying this season.
I arrived at my sister’s
home around 9:30. Everyone else had arrived much earlier. As I walked in I
immediately saw my sister sobbing as she was being held by her husband. My
brother was sitting on the couch, his head down in his hands. Several others of
her guest were somber and whispering quietly among themselves. There it was I
thought. Once again I had experienced the moment perhaps when someone we knew
had lost his or her life.
“Sis” I said, “Who is it.
Tell me what happened”
Her grief was I guess too
much for her to even hear me and respond. John, her husband slowly looked up
and stared past me. He too seemed overwhelmed at the loss of whoever it was. No
one was speaking, even when I addressed a couple sitting next to my brother on
the couch. Every one seemed entirely consumed by the loss of someone they all
must have known. I sat down on the piano seat in the corner and just waited. I
finally addressed my brother, “Richard” I began, “Who is it? Who died?”
He head slowly rose from his
hands as he seemingly acknowledged that he had heard me though he looked away
towards my sister.
“Richard” I repeated, “Tell
me” He got up slowly, ignoring me and walked over to my sister and put his arms
around she and her husband.
Why was no one speaking to
me? It was as if I was invisible there in the room with them. I stood up
abruptly and spoke loudly, “Why is no one answering me?” I said
As I looked around the room,
suddenly I knew.
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