GRAMPIE

Grampie

    Submitted by Renee Johnson

     Norfolk County, Massachusetts

 
The first memory of interaction with any spirits in the house was when I was about 5. My great grandfather died, nobody told me. I know I was his favorite little person but I never liked going to the nursing home even though I liked to visit him. The place always smelled of old urine and I didn't like being there. I remember how hard it felt to breathe, it was suffocating.

My family never told me that he died. I don't know what they expected, maybe that I wouldn't notice?

I was asleep when it happened and I was woken up by 'something'. I remember just waking up out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night. I was facing the wall closest to my bed when I opened my eyes. On the wall there was a shadow darker than the room and after a few moments adjusting to being suddenly awake I realized it was Nathaniel. He moved and pointed towards the far end of the room where my closet door was. When I looked to the closet there floating in the air in front of the closet door was Grampie's face, smiling and large. The thing that impressed me the most was how large, his face, floating there took up most of the width of the door. And then they were gone, Grampie and the shadow of Nathaniel. But I understood what happened, I understood why he was there. He was saying goodbye even though no sound was made. I knew he was gone.

Some time later, several days maybe, we were all dressed up and in the car. I am in my own little world half paying attention to the adults talking in the front seat when I hear something about going to see Grampie. And I spoke up and said "But Grampie died" and my Grandmother turns in her seat to look at me and say, "How did you know?".

"He told me".

I don't recall their reaction, I was looking out the window at nothing. I do not remember going to his funeral, I think they have been dropping me off elsewhere. But that's where the memory of the event ends.