Not-so-creepy story time.
I am one of those people who has the dubious honour of having four of their high school classmates die either during or soon after high school. One of them was a very dear friend of mine. He was one of those people who always had a ready smile, a ready hug, and a piercing whistle that could make your ears ring for days. I felt like I could always count on him.
He was the baritone saxophone player in our school band. (I played French horn.) Two years in a row, we went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to compete in a parade and concert competition. When we weren't competing or waiting for results, we were allowed to wander around that little tourist trap and look in stores, buy things, anything we wanted so long as we weren't causing trouble. He was one of the few people who could stop the rolling granite sphere outside Ripley's Believe It Or Not and he got us all free tickets that way.
While we were walking around one day, a whole group of us, him included, found a little wedding chapel down a side street. Jokingly, he took a picture with another of my friends as if they were going to get married there. It was a beautiful photo, with the chapel behind them and the chapel garden to one side. I remember seeing it after it was developed.
Roughly a year after graduation, he was helping his father mow a hillside when the tractor he was driving tipped and fell on him. He died there in the field. I still can't think about it without my eyes burning with tears.
After his death, my friend - whom he took the photo with - looked at the photo where she had it framed on her dresser, and the oddest thing had happened. A rainbow had appeared across the photo, arching behind them both.
Not long after that, my friend and her husband found out they were expecting a child. The pregnancy was very hard for her, and she often had to stay the night in the hospital. One night, she was alone as she prayed that she and the baby would be okay when a sense of well-being came over her and the door to her room gently closed.
Not knowing that had happened to her, miles away, I was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to assure myself that everything would be okay for her and her child when I felt the same assurance that everything would be fine, and the back door to my house swung closed and latched.
When she and I talked later, we both came to the same conclusion. It was him, doing just like he'd always done and watching out for us, assuring us he was watching over her and her child.
I'm glad to have a friend like him on the other side.
He was the baritone saxophone player in our school band. (I played French horn.) Two years in a row, we went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to compete in a parade and concert competition. When we weren't competing or waiting for results, we were allowed to wander around that little tourist trap and look in stores, buy things, anything we wanted so long as we weren't causing trouble. He was one of the few people who could stop the rolling granite sphere outside Ripley's Believe It Or Not and he got us all free tickets that way.
While we were walking around one day, a whole group of us, him included, found a little wedding chapel down a side street. Jokingly, he took a picture with another of my friends as if they were going to get married there. It was a beautiful photo, with the chapel behind them and the chapel garden to one side. I remember seeing it after it was developed.
Roughly a year after graduation, he was helping his father mow a hillside when the tractor he was driving tipped and fell on him. He died there in the field. I still can't think about it without my eyes burning with tears.
After his death, my friend - whom he took the photo with - looked at the photo where she had it framed on her dresser, and the oddest thing had happened. A rainbow had appeared across the photo, arching behind them both.
Not long after that, my friend and her husband found out they were expecting a child. The pregnancy was very hard for her, and she often had to stay the night in the hospital. One night, she was alone as she prayed that she and the baby would be okay when a sense of well-being came over her and the door to her room gently closed.
Not knowing that had happened to her, miles away, I was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to assure myself that everything would be okay for her and her child when I felt the same assurance that everything would be fine, and the back door to my house swung closed and latched.
When she and I talked later, we both came to the same conclusion. It was him, doing just like he'd always done and watching out for us, assuring us he was watching over her and her child.
I'm glad to have a friend like him on the other side.