October Surprise

September 9

Dear Children,

I really feel as though I made the right choice when I decided to retire in Oahu, Hawai’i.  Of course, I will miss you, but you have your own lives on the mainland.  And you will be able to visit, and when the grandchildren start to arrive, you can send them here for the whole summer!

You know how I love to write… I decided to make entries in this journal every day, or as often as I can…because I plan on staying very active.  I also think of the journal as a way of talking to you (in addition to our text messages and calls)!  It helps me to feel closer to you.

September 12

As I have always told you, Irish people have been credited with having one foot in this dimension and the other foot in another realm.  Late last night, as I was walking home from the bus stop, I felt a strong wind brush past me.  Although the air surrounding me was utterly still, the wind compressed the grass and flowers next to the sidewalk.  I think I stopped breathing when I realized that this phenomenon was keeping pace with me.

This morning, my neighbor, Omi, teased me about my “bodyguards” – the two very tall men who had escorted me home. (This is how I learned about Night Marchers!)  She told me that in spite of how you children had always teased me about my “psychic abilities,” I probably do possess them and that spirits are going to approach me because of this.  She explained that Hawai’i is a gathering place for many different cultures and spiritual beliefs, and that spiritual entities and portals to other worlds are as prevalent as the clouds that always seem to hover and obscure the very tops of the mountains on the Windward side of this island.

September 19

Spidey arrived today!  I will cut my entry short now because I want to give him some attention.  How nice to be reunited with him!  I will show him the island!

October 1

Spidey has been doing something very strange – he lies at the foot of my bed and watches something on the floor.  He doesn’t bark at it; he just tracks it with his little round Chihuahua eyes.  He might be watching a gecko; sometimes one will get in the house.  However, I think that he is just traumatized from his long flight over.  And they lost him in the cargo hold for a while!  Poor old dog!  He has his nights and days mixed up, I think.

He is taking the quilt off me every night and I wake up and pull it over; the nights are getting cooler.  I wish he would save his antics for the daytime!

October 5

Something woke me up last night; it was almost midnight.  I saw the quilt being pulled back away from my legs and I saw that Spidey was on the pillow next to me, shivering.   This morning, I realized that I must have been dreaming.  Don’t you agree?  But what a strange dream!

October 10

Last night, I felt as though something had brushed up against my hair.  Almost like someone had kissed me on top of my head.  Just once, and no more.  There was a breeze puffing in through the screen.  That must have been it.  This island really loves me!

October 15

Dear Children,

Well, I didn’t want to worry you so I didn’t mention it when we talked yesterday, but I think there is something in this house.  I mean, like an entity or a spirit.  Now, I can just hear you laughing as your read this, but — last evening, just as I was about to go to sleep, I felt hot breath against my face.  Sleepily, I put my arms around whatever was breathing on me and I felt a ruff of fur, like the neck of a large dog.  I don’t remember being afraid at all; I simply hugged it and told it to go to sleep.  That’s all I remember.  How could I have not been afraid?

Spidey has taken to sleeping out on the couch in the living room.  He won’t come into the bedroom anymore.

October 22

Sometime during the night, there was a great screech from the upstairs apartment.  I haven’t had a visit from the entity lately, maybe it went upstairs.  I mean, where does it go when it’s not in here with me?  And it only gets active around midnight.  What does it do the rest of the time?

People should just accept spirits.  Especially here in Hawai’i, where there are numerous reports and sightings. I don’t think they get angry unless you make them angry.  And it’s probably better to just get along with them.  In a fight, who do you think would win?  Yeah.  That’s what I think, too.

October 25

Okay, things have taken a more physical turn.  The entity tried to get onto the bed last night.  I didn’t care; how could I not have cared?  I remember that I simply moved over and it crawled up next to me.  There has to be some kind of shape shifting going on.  It took up very little room, not at all like a large dog, as I thought before.  I had the feeling that it lay on its back, looking up at the ceiling, eyes open.  I don’t know when it went to sleep, if it did, because I closed my own eyes and willed myself back to sleep.

October 27

The entity seems to have increased in activity. I was packing some boxes yesterday, just putting my summer clothes away, but when it was time for bed, there was an ominous desperation in the room.  I think the entity was worried I might be moving.  I told it, “Don’t worry, wherever I go, I’ll take you with me.”  However, that didn’t seem to satisfy it and during the night, I had to push it away from my face several times, its breathing was so heavy.  Why was it so restless?

Dear Nicole, Steven, and Chelsea,

After these past three months with no leads, the Honolulu Police Department has officially ended the search for your mother.  I am so sorry.  I have enclosed this journal that they found in one of her drawers.  Maybe you can make some sense out of it. 

I keep thinking that I see her from time to time, but I know that’s just wishful thinking. It was so odd that she didn’t take any of her belongings with her when she left.  I can now send them on to you, I guess. Although I don’t know where your mother went, this much I do know for sure:  Your mother loved you very much.

Aloha,

Omi

P.S. It’s so odd – last night, I thought I heard some claws scrabbling on the floor near my bed.  I was sure it was Spidey, that he had gotten in somehow!  But no it wasn’t.  I’ll keep looking for him, though.