Welcome to another segment of paranormal tales

This week’s featured story is told by Brandina {Silverfaeries & Dragonflies}. She has a story to share about someone close to you showing that you are not alone and they are still around caring about you as much as you still care for them even after they have moved on. And her story begins:

The Hug

It was late on a cold night in late fall, early winter. Laundry needed to be folded and since I didn't want to go to sleep yet, I decided to fold it to help me pass the time before my boyfriend came home from his night job as a DJ. The kids were sleeping in their rooms, the dog and cats resting throughout the house. It was a calm evening outside and there was music playing softly in the background.

Folding laundry is a rather mundane task. One that takes little concentration which allots you the opportunity to think about other things while you're working. That evening, though, I don't really recall thinking about much. My mind was clear, I was calm and comfortable in my environment. I felt safe. It was really quite an ordinary evening.

It kind of came out of nowhere, the thought of her, of Meme. It had been many years since my grandmother had passed, and quite some time since I had really reflected on my memory of her. I welcomed the thoughts and felt drawn to them, to the comfortable nature of them. Special moments that I shared with her, lessons that I learned from her, stories that she used to tell me of her youth that had left me in awe as a child. I had always longed for more of a relationship with her, to know her as an adult instead of just as a child. To learn about her personality in the depth that only an adult mind is capable of. To hear the stories about her life that would not have been appropriate for her to tell to a child.

The last few years of her life were difficult. She suffered from diabetes and Alzheimer's. Pancreatic cancer was the real culprit, the last straw. She was weak, her memory was failing her and the medication they had her on made it impossible for her to see clearly. She forgot who we were or imagined us to be people that weren't even there. She wasted away and seeing it happen was one of the most frightening things I can ever remember experiencing.

After hanging up the clean clothes I was left with a basket full of towels to fold. I decided to finish that task while sitting on the bed. After sitting there, folding the towels, for a few minutes, something changed. The memories that had nostalgically drifted through my mind before had created a calm inside me, one akin to the way I felt when she was near me, so when a sudden rush of intense emotion came over me, it was quite surprising. The tears that accompanied the loss of her had run out years ago. I had accepted that loss and moved on with my life, holding tight to the sweet memories I was lucky enough to have. Suddenly beginning to cry, hysterically even, was quite uncharacteristic of me. The intensity that I felt was more than overwhelming, it encompassed my very being. It was alarming and scary, to say the least.

There I was, sitting on the edge of my bed, hysterically crying and wondering what the deal was when something prompted me to look at the bedspread directly next to me. I don't know why, but there was nothing else at that moment that I needed to do – it was an odd feeling. I looked at that spot for quite some time without seeing anything out of the ordinary. Then, slowly, very slowly, an impression started to form there, on the bedspread. It was large enough that it appeared as if someone was sitting there. In no longer than the time it would take to snap your fingers, my crying stopped. The intensity of emotion disappeared as quickly as it had come on.

I stared in disbelief at the impression on the bed next to me. My mind was trying to process what my eyes were seeing, but was having some difficulty in accepting it. I was mesmerized. I had, for so long, wanted something I could consider proof of paranormal existence. I wondered if maybe my desire for proof was causing my mind to 'play tricks' on me. At least until it happened. I felt something, a physical touch, like arms wrapping around me in a gentle hug. I froze, my mind froze, I held my breath. The 'hug' lasted only a few moments. The next thing I knew, it was all gone. The emotion, the impression on the bed, the arms that I'd felt wrapped around me; even the memories and thoughts of her.

The unfortunate thing about all of this was the fear that crept in afterward. I totally flipped out, called my boyfriend and was so hysterically afraid that he immediately left work to come home. It was impossible for me to explain over the phone. I don't think he had the slightest clue what was wrong, but he obviously had a sense of my endangerment. This fear of the unknown, of the unexplainable made it impossible for me to see what I should have seen about it all. It was only a few days later when it all became clear.

She had come to see me. The sudden appearance of my memories of her was her way of letting me know she was there. As for the emotion? Maybe I hadn't really 'dealt' with the loss of her like I'd convinced myself that I had. But the impression and hug make complete sense. She was comforting me, and she did it as well that night as she had when I was young. The reason for her visit is still unknown to me, but I will forever be thankful that she came. Now, when things get tough, when I feel like I have no one to turn to, I feel her there. Only when I really need her most. The greatest gift ever.

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Thank you so much for sharing! That is wonderful that you have her as a guide and someone to look to when you feel no one else is there. I would have been freaked out at first to see an imprint on anything but I’m sure it was calming to feel her presence around you. Great story and thank you for all the wonderful photos. She seems like she was an amazing person in life.

If you have a story to share & tell, please contact me at its.just.rebecca{at}gmail{dot}com