The Glowing Child

Within six months my family lost three major members. My dad first, my great Aunt, then her brother, my grandfather. During his last days my grandfather was very ill. He was in the hospital on what they call an air bed. I remember going to see him. He was lying flat on his back looking up at the ceiling when I entered. The bed looked like a sarcophagus. It was making a humming sound. As I got closer, I could see the bed was tubes of air. The humming I heard was the pumps circulating the air. I circled around the bed and wasn’t sure if grandpa knew I was there. When I spoke to him, he moved his eyes toward me, and I saw the recognition there. I talked to him about what my children had been up to and about my life. I told him how hard it was to see him like this. He tried to say something, and I couldn’t understand him. He tried several times and I started to cry. I apologized and told him I just couldn’t understand. I told him my oldest brother was supposed to come later today and maybe he would understand. Grandpa nodded and closed his eyes. I knew he was tired. I told him I loved him and left in tears. The rest of the day the images of that room and my grandfather plagued me. I felt horrible. I knew what he wanted me to hear was very important to him. It had to be, or he wouldn’t have tried so hard to tell me. It bothered me and when I laid down that night for bed, it was still on my mind. I said my prayers and must have drifted off to sleep. I realized I was dreaming and smiled. My grandfather was standing in front of me. He looked so good! He was wearing white, when my mind registered what I was seeing, my heart started to sink. I wasn’t dreaming. I looked around and saw the dark billowing fog. I could feel the creepiness of it. My grandfather started to talk, and I looked back at him. Tears welled in my eyes and started to streak down my face. He told me he wanted to make sure we looked after grandma. I told him of course. He told me that’s what he was trying to say earlier, that he was worried about grandma. I assured him that we would take care of grandma. He told me that she was used to him being there and it would be hard for her. I told him that we would be there for her. My eyes were drawn to a light forming over my grandpa’s shoulder. It was getting larger by the second and two shadows were approaching us within it. I looked back at my grandpa with tears in my eyes. He smiled a smirky smile that was his way. He pulled me to him and hugged me, then he held me by my shoulders firmly. He told me I had to wake up now. He shook me just a bit and told me again to wake up now. I could hear a phone that started to ring. I didn’t want to leave him. I kept thinking not again. I can’t do that again. I knew what all this meant. He was dead. Over his shoulder the light was very bright now and dispelling the dark mist. My great grandmother, his mother, stood with a man I didn’t really know. My grandfather never raised his voice in life, but you knew when he was upset. I heard that tone when he told me again, “Wake up, now! You must go back!”