Grandpa Charlie

I have waited so long to have a forum on which to relay my story. The incident shaped the way I was able to perceive and accept the multitude of metaphysical experiences that are not a part of everyone's journey and become receptive to them at a young age.

At the age of 12, I lost my beloved Grandpa Charlie to complications from diabetes. In today's world, he would not have passed from these complications. However, he did and painfully, and the entire family gathered for his funeral in Santa Barbara, California. He was much loved and it was emotional for everyone. This was the first occasion of a close death that I'd faced in this world and I was extremely shaken. My Grandpa had taught me how to fish at the Santa Barbara Pier. Everything about fishing, insistent that I also learn how to clean the fish I caught. I'd stayed parts of the summer at their home.

After the funeral, in typical tradition, the family gathered at my grandparents' three story Victorian home for a meal before leaving my Grandmother, as most of us lived out of town. Their home had always been amazing to me. They had such a large living room that a baby grand piano sat on one side of it and there was still about 20 feet over to the couch on which I sat, eating between two of my female cousins. On the other side of the room, on the piano bench, sat Michael, my 16 year old cousin, and upon whom I had my first crush. Since I was adopted, I felt no guilt at having a crush on him. He had that slight bad boy edge, was terribly good looking and very sweet. I thought we had a "special" connection. He also had been very close to Grandpa Charlie. We had been the closest grandchildren to him.

Between Michael and I about halfway across the room and up to the right, was my grandfather's Lazyboy chair. Positioned to see the tv, he watched the news almost every night. Fighting back tears while playing with the food on my plate, I glanced over to his chair. He was sitting there. He had a look of peace on his face and appeared to be watching tv. He also looked healthy. I snapped my head back to center, not knowing what I could have possibly thought I saw and locked eyes with Michael across the room. Michael stood up and wiggled a finger at me to follow him and pointed towards a side door, to his right. I got up, walked across the room and silently followed him out the door and down a hallway and out onto the fabulous wrap-around porch of their home.

Stopping, Michael turned to me and said "Did you see him too"?

My world was never the same again.