Strangely Unforgettable

Strangely Unforgettable

It was a family Christmas Eve party that I would never forget, and not just because it was the coldest day of the year.

My family always got together during Christmas Eve. We would each take turns on whose house we would visit. It was an annual tradition that never got missed, save for the first year Covid hit.

It was my mom’s turn to host–G.G.’s place. My mom was one of the best cooks out of the bunch, in my opinion, which always made the holidays delightfully tasty. If you left G.G.’s place still hungry, it was your own fault.

She didn’t have a huge amount of space in her house, but it was always enough to give everyone at least some breathing room. Besides, some folks came and went at different times of the night too since they had other stops like in-laws to visit.

There was one person who was there when the ham was out of the oven and sliced who I never even saw before who apparently had come through the kitchen door after I was helping in the kitchen earlier. But I didn’t bother asking my mom who it was right away because she was busy chatting it up with the person. All I could see from the other room was the backside of blue jeans and a red hoodie.

I never forgot a face, but I never was able to get a good view of the person’s face as it was kind of shrouded with that red hoodie up over his head and covering part of his face. Oddly, each time I peered over I could only catch a side profile—curly hair along the edges of the hoodie and the curvature of a jutting nose.

Then I started eating my mom’s savory ham and the other fixings and didn’t think as much about the mystery guest, especially since I too started chatting with others. A few times I thought I caught a glimpse of his face but it was always tilted down toward his plate while ingesting the good food.

Another time when I caught just a glimpse, I thought he appeared a little disheveled from what little, like dirt was covering some of his features. Or perhaps it was the darker shadows from his taking refuge under that hood—like a cloak. He never really made direct eye contact with me.

Then I thought maybe it was a homeless person she invited, perhaps someone she ran into at the Salvation Army where she volunteered at times. She was prone to doing good deeds for folks, especially this time of the year.

After some time, curiosity mixed with frustration got the better of me and so I got up to seek him out and introduce myself, but then I couldn’t find him. I remember thinking it was like Where’s Waldo, minus the white stripes. I mean, he was there one second and then—Poof! Gone. I completely lost sight of him.

After everyone left, I chose to hang back and help mom clean up the kitchen.

“Hey mom, great party tonight.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Are you full?”

I smiled. “For sure! My stomach is very full with your great cooking!”

“Ah, thanks, son.”

“Yeah, I feel full, but I also feel like a bit of a fool…the other kind of fool.”

“What do you mean?”

“Who was that you were talking to earlier who left before Aunt Patty?

“I don’t know who you mean?”

“You know, the one you talked to while you were finishing up the mashed potatoes?”

“I don’t know, probably your brother just before he headed out for work.”

“Well, that’s who I thought it was at first too, but then I saw what looked like curly hair. He was wearing jeans and a red hoodie.”

“Oh, that’s the spirit who visited me once before.”

“The—what did you say?”

“Yeah, I know it’s odd, but it’s a ghost who visited me briefly a couple days ago. Sorry, I didn’t have a chance to tell you yet…just didn’t want to scare you. But he’s friendly. As you know, I did have an evil spirit that was annoying and wouldn’t leave me be for quite a while, but this one ran that one off and decided to visit me again. I’ve never slept so well in my life!”

I knew of the other, evil spirit, but never saw it. I counted myself lucky too.

“Wow, mom—he just decided to show up again, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Did he tell you his name?”

“No, but I haven’t asked him yet either.”

“I see.”

“I’m kind of surprised you saw him.”

“Yeah, me too. I never see apparitions. I usually just get the inside scoop from you. It’s like you’re the ghost whisperer.”

G.G. smiled. “The first time we didn’t converse as much, but you know how lonely people can get during the holidays. The stove vent was still running, and so I thought, what could it hurt to talk. Not too many people were at the house yet to think I’m crazy talking to myself, thinking no one else could see him or hear him over the exhaust fan.”

“Can you think of anything significant that could have triggered the arrival of this new spirit?”

“Oh, I think it was that Ouija board your brother got me last Christmas.”

“What? Mom! I didn’t even know he got you one of those. You have to be careful. I’ve heard bad things can come from those. It’s a means to communicate with the dead!”

“I know—I know. I was too scared to do it myself, and so your brother conjured it up for me. But in this case, it worked out. Somehow the evil one was replaced with a good one.”

“Mom, I’m glad it worked out and all but tell me Loren’s not playing around with that Ouija board anymore.”

“No, not since it spelled out beware that last time.”

“Beware?”

“Yes, B-E-W-A-R-E.”

“And when did that happen?”

“About a month ago, but then when Loren told me about it, I told him to go and burn the thing as firewood as soon as possible.”

“Did you actually see him burn it?”

“No, but he said he took it over next door to Brian’s who already had a fire going that night and gave it to him to burn.”

My mom looked perplexed. “Come to think of it though, I usually see Brian just about every day outside—you know how he’s a bit of a hyper person, a busy-body, but I haven’t seen him. I’ll have to ask Loren if he’s seen him recently when he gets home from work.”

***

My mom called me the next day. She told me that a missing person’s report was filed by her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Jones, after she hadn’t seen her son, Brian, for 24 hours. They were tight, he and her, and she said it was not like him to just up and disappear.

And then my mom started crying.

“Mom, I’m sure he’ll turn up. I mean, it’s Christmas.”

“But, Chris, the last thing she said he was wearing was blue jeans and a red hoodie.”

“A red hoodie?”

“Yes, exactly what the spirit was wearing when I talked to him last night in the kitchen.”

“That is odd.”

“It gets stranger,” my mom said between sobs.

“Take some deep breaths, mom.” I gave her a minute to compose herself.

“Ok, I’m better, I think.”

“Good. Continue when you’re ready. My cell battery is almost full and so I have plenty of time.” 

I heard a deep sigh on the other end of the phone.

“Ok…When Mrs. Jones looked down in the basement where Brian stayed in her house, nothing looked out of the ordinary. It was the same horror posters, masks, shrunken heads, and other oddities that he always liked to collect. You remember Brian, always deep into the macabre.”

“Yes, I do remember seeing some of his collection of things once. He was so excited to show me.” 

“Right, but one thing Mrs. Jones hadn’t seen before was a wooden game that was out of its container. It was on top of the pool table, and it had an odd name—she couldn’t remember the name when the officer first arrived. So, she led him downstairs and showed him. It was a Ouija board. I’m sure it was the Oujia board!”

“Oh great!”

“There’s more. There was also a piece of paper with letters scribbled on it that spelled two words: Be Aware.”

“Wait, not Beware.”

“Correct. B-E, followed by a space, A-W-A-R-E, my mom said, spelling it out of for me like I was a kindergartner. “I think it was a message for his mom, letting her know to be aware that he is still here—in spirit, or as a spirit, however you prefer to think of it.”

“You didn’t tell her about the encounters with the spirit wearing the red hoodie, did you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Mom, please don’t – ever!” I mean, you’re usually the only one who sees these spirits for some reason, like you’re a conduit or something, and who knows if his mom has or will see him again in this realm. But please don’t confront her about it as it might be enough to take her over the edge, like reporting it to the police. And then the police will think you’re crazy, or maybe even a murder suspect!”

“I see what you’re saying, but I feel so sorry for her.”

“I know mom, so do I, but it’s too risky. Promise me you’ll leave it well enough alone.”

“I promise—but what if she cannot even see him, or hear him at all, her own son?”

“Thank you for promising. As for her inability to see him, if he wants to make her aware of his presence, then I would think he would muster up the ability to do so. I mean, I even was able to see at least part of him.”

“Thanks for talking things through with me. I feel a little better about the situation, though it’s still strange.”

“Strange indeed. What about Loren? Did you get a chance to ask him if he saw Brian?”

“Oh, sorry, I meant to bring that up.”

“It’s ok…you’ve been dealing with a lot lately.”

“Loren told me he’s seen neither hide nor hair of Brian. And he agrees it is very unlike him.”

“Did the spirit even look like Brian in the face?”

“That’s just it—his face was kind of blurry, like a camera that’s out of focus.”

“Interesting. Do you ever remember him having curly hair?”

“Only when he was younger, I believe, and then it straightened out, and then thinned out even more and he kept it buzzed down after that.”

“Well, maybe it’s just a coincidence. Keep me posted, and call me whenever you need to, mom.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“I love you too, mom.”

Click.

***

About 2 weeks later my mom confided in me. She told me how she had about two or three more visitations from Brian since the time they had a memorial service, which was a few days back. He first thanked her for attending the service and consoling his mom.

He then proceeded to tell her how he was able to see his father on the other side who had passed from cancer, and that he had become a messenger, even telling his mom certain things that his dad wanted her to know, and vice versa, but of course not everything as certain things are not allowed to be conveyed on this side.

He also said he chose not to appear before his mom right away, not until after the service. He was so happy to be able to give her closure—especially since she had to endure his passing without even seeing his physical body. He told me that she laughed with tears of joy and said she preferred the spiritual form, to remember him in his youth. He laughed too at that point. 

I was pleasantly surprised when my mom told me all this, the fact that Mrs. Jones wasn’t left completely in the dark. And we were both amazed by the fact that a spirit can visit at least two different dimensions, to be able to teleport back and forth. It was both mind-blowing and reassuring.

There are evil spirits and pure spirits, and now I am at least assured that my mom communes with the latter.