America the poor: A Wanderers Tale, Volume One

Chapter 40: A Final Visit from my favorite Uncle Sonny

Within two weeks, My Uncle Sonny had a sudden stroke, and never recovered. Three days later, he died in the hospital, with his wife Red sitting as his side . To say I was sad would be a complete understatement, he was and always will be missed.

Aunt Red was inconsolable, and at first, my grandmother would venture downstairs to help her daily, but after a week an aide was brought into the house instead, and kept Red company as well. Sonny was buried in his beloved white suit, and there was a large wake and funeral. He had many friends, as well as every family member showing up. My mother was decidedly absent of course. No loss there I guess.

A week after his funeral, I was in my bed, it was very late, I wasn't asleep, but laying there in the almost dark thinking about my life so far, and thinking about Sonny. I was in the back bedroom, which was the one directly above Sonny's room. There was a little light from the kitchen night light next to my room, since my door was always open.

There was a large mirror directly across from my single bed; As I was laying there tossing and turning and embroiled in my own sad thoughts, I didn't notice at first a subtle light growing in the mirror. I think it was a slow process, and happened over the course of a few minutes. Something slowly arose in the mirror, dim at first, but getting brighter when I finally noticed it. I slowly and deliberately looked at the mirror. At first it was a mere glowing blob of white light, I remember seeing the light reflected off of my headboard, that's how I first noticed the light.

As I looked into the mirror, this blob became more distinct, and seemed to stretch tall. I saw a bald head,and a kind face smiling at me, and a very bright tie and white outline:

I stared deeper, and it became brighter, and the face looked back at me, and only smiled, nothing else. He was very bright finally, and I knew who this was. Sadly being that I was so young, and I was still very inexperienced regarding the otherworldly, mindless animal terror hit me.

I jumped out of my bed, seeing him look straight at me smiling from inside the mirror, and I ran screaming from my room. I tripped over the bottom of my bed, yet I didn't fall, but kept going. Such was my strength in my terror, I basically flew out of there.

Such was the power and strength of my fright. Looking back, he meant no harm I know, and was sending me a positive message with his smile, but tell that to the young boy I was, the one who left the room faster then the famous roadrunner from Wile E.Coyote!

I was touched for the second time by the supernatural, and I still wasn't quite ready. When I got to the dining room in the dark, my grandmother was robed and coming in from her room, I give her credit, she was fast. She grabbed my arm, while I was still wailing. I'm sure I was babbling at first, and completely indecipherable.

She had a strange calming way around me. Of course, it didn't work with her sister Red, but it worked with me. She was like a voice of rationality, and was like a quiet still calm lake, when she wanted to be. We sat down, and a few minutes later, after my babbling died down, she got the gist of my story. She walked to my room (alone), and came back. She saw nothing of course, I asked if she believed me, and she said that she did.

According to her, In her time she saw quite a few spirits, and said Sonny only showed up as a final farewell, and he loved me so much, it made perfect sense finally.

He didn't mean to scare me, just to say goodbye. I agreed with her, but I ended up sleeping on the living room couch, since I wasn't ready to look in the mirror again that night; And for a few weeks later I covered the mirror with a sheet at night before I slept, I loved Sonny, but wanted no more visitations, not yet at least.

I missed him, but he had moved onto a better place, and that was fine with me. I said my goodbyes, and I think Uncle Sonny did as well. I never saw his spirit again til decades later, but I guess I didn't need to. He had moved on. Eventually I did as well.