Buried Secrets

Gabriela had known ever since she’d moved into the house a week earlier she wasn’t alone. The home she had purchased was an old one and one she was sure was packed with memories of many. This fact, among many, only added sustenance to her being an empath and a bit of a conduit for spirits. Gabriela could not only sense the emotions of living humans but was also able to receive an understanding of feelings emitted by souls on the other side. It was nothing new and something she’d experienced early in her life since the age of five, a gift most likely passed down from her German die Oma or Grandmother, whose third eye was beyond well-developed before she died. Gabriela’s abilities had grown stronger, also becoming well-honed as she had grown older. At fifty-five, it was not unusual for Gabriela to sense and understand something out of the ordinary others would fail to perceive or recognize.

Tonight, Gabriela tossed in the bed, the hot, humid air of the summer seeming to suffocate her. The darkness loomed, overwhelming as it moved all about to encompass her like a thundering storm cloud. Would she ever be free of the heaviness she sensed from nearly direction? Was there nowhere to flee to escape it – even during the darkness of night?

The raw, brutal emotion invading her being this night was an inexplicably heavy one. As usual, she was completely alone – no other in the house – so she knew what she was feeling was something otherworldly. She wondered at the possibility she had been exposed to someone’s heaviness of emotion during the day and thought their emotions must be encroaching upon her, disrupting her solitude to settle within her much like feathers after a pillow fight. Still, she knew that inexplicably what she was feeling was far heavier than mere feathers – it was more akin to the heaviness found in a ton of bricks.

Gabriela sat up and turned on the bedside lamp, intending to rise and proceed to the kitchen for warm milk – or perhaps even better, a dram or two of whiskey. However, as the light flickered across the expanse of the small room, Gabriela gasped at the sight of one solitary, lone figure who stood in the far corner. She uttered a small curse word. Try as she might, she would never grow accustomed to the unexpected.

Her heart raced as the two stared across the expanse of the bedroom at one another, the woman’s eyes piercing in their intensity until they reached the depths of Gabriela’s soul. Without a doubt, she instinctively knew whomever the woman might be, she was not of this world, but instead a lost, lingering soul who sought some type of help. Slowly, from where she sat on the edge of her bed, Gabriela watched the woman as her breathing eventually slowed. She reminded herself there was nothing of which to be frightened, even though seeing a spirit from the other realm was not an everyday occurrence. More than likely, this poor woman – or spirit - looked to be much more afraid of her.

She addressed the woman and spoke softly through telepathic means, as she always did when such spirits presented themselves. “Who are you?” she asked. “Do you need help?”

The young woman appeared battered and frighteningly haggard as tears filled large, luminous eyes even in the spirit form. Gabriela could sense her fear for it was a palpable force that permeated the length, breath, and scope of the entire room. So, it was this poor woman’s cry for help she’d felt and not the emotional remnants of some human.

At the spirit’s continued silence, Gabriela pressed. “What can I do to help you? You must tell me.”

The woman drew nearer until she was beside the bed, all the while seeming to float over the hardwood flooring as she moved. “I’ll show you. Someone must know,” she whispered in response.

Gabriela was startled. This woman did not continue the use of mental, telepathic communication she’d initiated. Never had she directly communicated with a spirit from the other side - only through mental means or telepathy. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, but she was nonetheless. Ever since she’d seen her first spirit more than fifty years ago, she had been in a constant state of awareness which never failed to amaze. It was one huge and perpetual learning curve.

“What is it?” Gabriela asked. “What do you want me to see?”

The woman glided to the hallway just outside the bedroom’s doorway. “Here,” she prompted Gabriela, her eyes pleading for her to follow as she pointed downward to the floor.

Gabriela quickly rose and moved to stand near her. “Where? Here?” she asked the woman, clearly confused upon the sight of a smooth, bare floor.

The woman pointed. “Beneath you will find that which you must seek,” she said, pain riddling her voice in the quiet of the night.

The floorboards in the old house were weathered with years of age and use, and Gabriela knew it would take little effort to lift the floorboard’s plank but she was in need of a tool to do so. She turned and quickly sought a small screwdriver from the bedside table. Upon finding it, she turned but found the woman’s form had disappeared, no longer a visible apparition in the hot, lingering air of the night.

Sighing in disappointment, Gabriela went back to the hall and dropped to her knees. Using the screwdriver, she was able to lift two of the wooden planks with little effort. After also retrieving a flashlight, she uncovered a small, black notebook, and though it was a bit tattered, she saw it was intact. Carefully, Gabriela took ahold of the notebook and resecured the floor planks.

Gabriela headed to the kitchen and poured herself a generous portion of the whiskey she had only considered moments earlier. Drink in hand, she returned to the bedroom. It was the perfect night for a healthy bit of alcohol she thought as she repositioned the pillows to allow her to sit more comfortably while reading whatever was in the notebook she’d found. Surely, there was a story to be told. The woman was most insistent someone know what was written herein, so Gabriela was sure there would not be much sleep instore this night. She needed to know precisely that which the spirit had wanted her to know.

Taking a good sip of the strong Irish whiskey, Gabriela read the first entry’s date of November 14 of 1894. She knew the house she’d bought was old but was surprised nonetheless to learn it was well over a century old. She carefully turned the page in order to read what was written herein upon the yellowed pages.

The woman’s name must have been Anna Beth Dowling Gibson. It appeared she had made numerous entries in the notebook for well over twenty-five years. As she continued to read Anna Beth’s journal, Gabriela was filled a new depth of sadness from underlying emotions to which she could not yet lay a name. Anna Beth had been horribly abused by her spouse, whose name had been Rudy – or Rudolph - Gibson. Slowly, Gabriela flipped through all the pages, reading them in detailed length. There was little joy in the woman’s day to day existence. She had appeared to live a lonely and unfulfilled life, miscarrying baby after baby due to the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Rudy. However, as Gabriela neared the end of the journal, it took on a new life and encompassed an entirely different train of thought.

Ten pages from the end of the small black notebook, Gabriela learned that Rudy had succumbed to temptation, robbing the and had then hidden the money from the authorities to avoid capture. According to what Anna Beth wrote, Rudy had buried the stolen money in a metal toolbox outside the house at the corner of the red barn situated directly next to a large oak tree. Despite Rudy’s attempts to elude capture and proclaim his innocence due to no evidence, he had been arrested and then died of typhoid fever in jail awaiting trial. Anna Beth, ostracized by neighbors, friends, and family alike, had feared further retribution and therefore decided to leave the money buried beside the barn. Fear had gripped her, crippling her existence, but even still, she had left a detailed drawing on the final page of the journal about the money and exactly where it was hidden. She had also written on the same page she no longer found any joy in living and instead, was choosing to take her own life that fateful August day in 1919, praying for mercy and forgiveness for her tortured soul. It appears, however, instead of leaving the book for someone to find, Anna Beth, in fear and shame, had hidden it beneath the floorboards believing that eventually someone would find both the book and the money, thereby uncovering the truth of the robbery.

Gabriela slowly closed the book. It was no wonder she had felt such immense sadness and regret. Anna Beth had lived a life filled with nothing but sorrow, fear, and pain. She had been waiting on the other side for well over a century for someone to hear her cry for help and find the notebook. More importantly, she had been waiting for someone to find the money. Anna Beth was desperate in her plea for help for she needed to absolve her conscience and move on in peace even after all these years.

“First thing tomorrow morning, Anna Beth. I give you my solemn promise,” Gabriela whispered as she turned off the lamp. Relaxed by the whiskey, she was able to find sleep.

As the sun rose early the next morning, Gabriela awoke and quickly pulled on clothes before she made her way to barn in the backyard. There was no one for at least a mile on either side of her, so she did not have to worry about who might see her or wonder as to what she was doing. Finding a shovel in the dilapidated red barn, she made her way to the spot detailed in Anna Beth’s drawing. There she began to methodically dig, her intended purpose foremost in her mind.

It was nearly two hours later and the sun had already climbed high overhead. Gabriela was beginning to feel the heat of the day when her shovel finally hit metal. Quickly dropping to her knees, she used her hands to scoop the earth, further uncovering the top of the buried metal box hidden deep in the ground. After considerable effort, she was able at last to pull the box out from its resting place. It was rusted and covered in clumps of dirt, quite obviously a far cry from its once new and shiny exterior.

Gabriela held her breath as she pried open the lid. As expected, encased therein were several bundles of old currency. Sorting through the money, she was able to determine there was well over $20,000. Though she had expected just this, she still could scare believe her eyes. Such a large sum of money had been an even greater amount all those years ago when Rudy had stolen it. In today’s society, however, it could hardly purchase an automobile.

What a horrible waste, she thought, while continuing to look at money. She knew it must be returned, so she would call the authorities as soon as she cleaned up a bit in order to report what she had found. While she could not possibly tell them a tortured woman’s spirit had led her to the box of cash, she could certainly tell them about the little black notebook she’d found hidden beneath the floorboards, and what secrets it had divulged in regard to the robbery and money.

It was two weeks later. The stolen money had been retrieved by the local authorities and Gabriela felt all was well and settled. In calling the police, she’d learned the bank robbery had remained unsolved despite Rudy’s arrest all those years ago. The man had died in jail though there was no real evidence against him and the case had remained a mystery with no clue as to the whereabouts of the stolen money. The local bank was more than appreciative of the money’s return after so many years and given Gabriela a small reward of $1,000 although she’d insisted such was not necessary. All in all, Gabriela was pleased with the way things had ended. She only hoped Anna Beth felt the same and had moved on to a better place.

It had a long day of canning and working in the garden. Gabriela was exhausted as she lay in bed, anxious for sleep to overcome. However, of a sudden she became instantly aware she was no longer alone. A prayer upon her lips, she reached and turned on the bedside lamp. Quickly, she sat up in bed and smiled in welcome. “Hello, Anna Beth.”

Anna Beth stood in the same place or corner where she had first appeared to Gabriela only two weeks earlier. The former image of the distraught and battered figure, however, had been replaced by one now most abundantly peaceful and perfectly ethereal in its new appearance. A white light seemed to emanate from Anna Beth where she stood in float like appearance above the flooring.

“Thank you for the peace you’ve given me,” Anna Beth whispered, her words and voice now melodic and free of anguished pain.

“You are most welcome,” Gabriela said as warmth infused her heart. In the flash of a mere second, Anna Beth disappeared as suddenly as she had first appeared. Gabriele knew that she had at last found the peace eluding her for so long. Pleased beyond measure, Gabriela turned off the lamp and slept soundly.