mellie is my other half's favourite aunt. She is about 60 years venerable. Ellie's husband Terry died four years ago and she has lived alone since then. Ellie was recently admitted to hospital with an e-Coli infection and as part of the treatment the doctors put her in a medically induced coma for a week. It was quite uncertain and the prognosis was not necessarily positive. Fortunately Ellie recovered and is now at home. Weak… but almost back to her venerable self.
Anyway, my significant other and I got in the car and drove over to her place yesterday. I believe in _most_ paranormal things, my significant other: I'm a skeptic! Since Ellie was in a coma, I was curious if she had an NDE. When I questioned Ellie about the time she was in the coma, she couldn't remember anything *weird*. But the conversation turned to ghosts… Ellie told a story about her sister, Lynne, who's been dead for two years.
Lynne died of a heart attack, which was completely unexpected and a huge shock to Ellie as Lynne had never had heart problems before. Ellie and Lynne were good friends and Lynne's death left Ellie feeling a bit lost. She misses her sister very much. There was a picture of Lynne on a petite table in Ellie's living room. One evening while Ellie was watching idiot box, the picture of Lynne crashed to the floor and the frame cracked. It was winter and all the doors/windows were closed – in other words, there was no wind to knock the picture over. Paul, Ellie's son, repaired the frame [which made Ellie very happy as she liked the frame a lot] and the photo was put back on the table. Again, while watching TV, this time with Paul, Lynne's photo smashed to the floor for the second time. The joke was that Lynne **didn't like the position of the photo, she was always nosy and couldn't see enough from that position** We all crack jokes like that from time to time. Lynne's photo was put on the wall, where it has remained without incident, ever since. But that is NOT the story I want to tell you. It is merely a backdrop for the real story.
Before Ellie began her story, she began by saying, “I don’t believe in that stuff.” I couldn’t imagine Ellie talking about ghosts! Ellie could be a soldier… she gets dressed and makes her bed as soon as she wakes up. No cup of coffee to start with—unlike me, who can’t function without caffeine in the morning. Apparently, Ellie follows this routine EVERY morning without fail. I point this out because when Ellie gets dressed and makes her bed, OF COURSE she’s wide awake. On this particular morning, right *after* Lynne’s death, Ellie followed her usual morning routine. Ellie got dressed, made her bed, and then left her bedroom to make herself a cup of coffee and do her own thing. When Ellie came out of her bedroom, she walked into the hallway and saw Lynne “coming in through the window in a flowing white dress.” Lynne was with “some guy.” Ellie, quite surprised, she knew her sister was dead, spoke to Lynne. “Lynne, what are you doing here?” Lynne said, “I just came to see if you were okay.” The man didn't say anything, just stood there. Ellie became very upset. She was crying and was visibly distraught. Helga, Ellie's neighbor, came over for a cuppa and asked Ellie “What happened?” Ellie explained.
Now Ellie didn’t say how Lynne and the man left, whether they left or just disappeared. She didn’t say how long the visit lasted. Ellie wasn’t scared, she was shocked and nervous because she knew perfectly well that Lynne shouldn’t have been in her house because she had recently died. I said to Ellie, “You’re so lucky! Lynne managed to come back to let you know she loves you and is watching over you.” Millions of people in the world would love to have ONE last conversation with their deceased loved ones. I can think of a few people I would love to have one last conversation with. On the way home I figured out to my significant other that the man was actually Ellie’s husband Terry. My boyfriend didn’t take it too well. Why? Apparently Lynne and Terry didn’t get along in life, he couldn’t imagine them visiting Ellie together. I disagree. I believe that when people die all those little personality issues go away. I think it was Terry with Lynne. Ellie's husband and sister paid her one last visit. Maybe Lynne needed lend a hand *focusing* on visiting Ellie, and Terry came to lend a hand her. They both had one thing in common, their love for Ellie. I think they put their differences aside so Lynne could let Ellie know it was OK and that she still cared. I also think the reason the **man** was indistinguishable and noiseless was because Lynne's *mission* was to contact Ellie, he was there to support her.
What do you think about this?
This story was originally published at alt.folklore.ghost-stories and was reprinted with the author's permission.
