Crystal Bell
Jourdene Agoun, Agat, Guam
February 1999
Ijust wanted to tell you a little about me ( although I know your just here for the story). My Grandma was a very special woman. She had the power to keep the family together. I live in Guam, ( that's right above Australia ) and we have our share of demons, ghosts, ancestral spirits ( taotao'mona, meaning first people ) and little elves.
Here's the story:
My grandma was a truly amazing woman. She could make the best doughnuts and shape tortillas into the perfect circle (mind you with just her hands). When she died, everyone was devastated. We knew that she would not leave us defenseless against the taotao'mona's that surrounded my Aunt's house. So we bought a little crystal bell with the prayer hands on it and a little prayer too. Almost every Holiday or Birthday she would ring the bell late at night. And if we stayed up past midnight, we would hear the dishes rattling as if someone was washing dishes. That was our cue that Grandma was telling us to go to sleep. She doesn't do these things anymore because our oldest cousin is in college already. But I love to hear of what our Grandma used to do with the bell.
To this day, we still have it.