Paranormal Story Archives
March 2001
– Page 14
Shadow of
the Spirit
by Laurie A.
The first week of January, my mother and I went to visit my elderly grandmother, who lives just outside of Memphis, Tennessee in a small town known for its lack of shops. She had just been released from the hospital. She was admitted for congestive heart failure. She has adult-onset diabetes and heart problems and doesn't take good care of herself, so much of our time was spent setting up a healthy and tasty diet and the rest was spent talking about "old-times" with my very large family.
One night, after the aunts, uncles, cousins, and other spare visitors left, we decided to have a quick nap. It was around midnight before we even got to bed, and I remember thinking how cold the house was even though the heat continued running full blast. I was unusually tired, perhaps because of the visiting family and dry heat of the house. Usually, I can stay up for hours on end without any ill effects, but this particular night I couldn't even raise my eye lids without the scratchy pain attributed to lack of sleep. I lay down in the large queen bed that had been in the house since it was built, in 1960. I couldn't sleep well at all and tossed and turned as I thought of the days events. I thought of my cousins, the sweet angels I wished to be my own children. I thought of my grandmother, her memory seems to be fading and yet she still tells defiantly about seeing grandfather in the hospital. I fell asleep finally next to my mother. No matter how old we get, our mothers are always there for comfort. I don't remember when I woke up or why, but I did awake rather abruptly. I remember this eerie feeling that I should look toward the closet door, which was on the opposite side of the bed where my mother slept. I sat up on my elbows and turned my face to the closet before opening my eyes. I wasn't afraid, but I was still reluctant. I opened my eyes and saw a shadow standing in front of the closet door, standing over my mother. At first I thought it was my mother getting up to go to the bathroom, but the figure didn't move. I looked at the bed and saw that my mother was lying there snoring. I then remembered my cousin was spending the night and that she may be checking on us. Somehow, this irrational answer seemed to fit and I laid back down to finish my nightly nap.
I do not know how much time passed, but I once again awoke. Again, I didn't know what had awaken me. There was no noise, no light, no disturbances to shake me from my REM. I again had the feeling that I should take notice to the closet door. I, at first, tried to lay back down for sleep, but soon my curiosity became a nervous fear. I raised up on my right elbow once again and turned my head to look over my shoulder. There she was. The shadow stood at the closet. A shadow that instead of being darker than the room, as most shadows are, was actually lighter. She had silver ribbons of moving light flowing through her small figure. I could tell the figure was female, even though a robe covered her featureless body. I tried to get a better look by turning my body to face her. As I squinted to get a better look, one feature - a nose, mouth, hair - would have been better than a lone figure, she disappeared. Her body faded into, for lack of a better phrase, thin air.
The next day I asked my cousin if she had gotten up in the middle of the night. I was still trying to find some sort of rational explanation. She said she didn't wake up until I did, and, in fact, a little later. I could find no evidence, no cause, no reasoning, but I know she was there. And until I find out otherwise, I believe she was my mother's and my guardian spirit.
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