Dark Visions

SYNOPSIS:
Suzanne’s visions begin after a visit from her grandfather. She wakes from a deep sleep when she feels a presence in her room. Looking at her clock, she notices it is almost midnight. She looks over to her window and sees a ghostly image drifting towards her. Somehow she knows it is her grandfather; still, she is terrified! After he gently kisses her forehead, he floats back across the room and waves goodbye. The next morning, Suzanne learns that her grandfather passed away around midnight. Her vision of him is the first of many. Later in life, she has a vision of a young girl named Madison drowning in a lake. Suzanne is frightened after Madison invades her life. She is even more frightened when she learns that Madison has been playing with her granddaughters. She must discover what happened to Madison before she can help her move on.
_____________________________________________________________________
DARK VISIONS
Chapter One- A VISIT FROM BEYOND
My story begins in 1974. I was not your average twelve year old. My innocence had been lost long before my twelfth birthday. One person I felt some sense of innocence around was my grandmother. Perhaps, because she treated me like a child. She told us stories. She was a fabulous storyteller. However when I think back some of her stories were scary for a child.

Stories I would never share with my children or grandchildren at a young age. Yet, I do not recall ever being frightened. Grandma was the storyteller and was also there to protect us. She did not know at the time what her grandchildren were going through. She knew she did not care for our father. I don’t think at the time she even knew why she had an overwhelming dislike for him. Though we didn’t see our grandparents often the visits were great. It was on those rare occasions we acted like children. It was only then that our father was on his best behavior.

Now as for my grandpa, I have never understood the connection I had with him. He was in a V.A. hospital most of his life. He suffered from mental illness. I was always told he had shell shock from the war. My mother often spoke about him having twenty-six electric shock treatments to keep him calm. Grandma raised their five children by herself. She was in her early thirties when Grandpa was committed to the hospital. Yet she stayed faithful to him. I often wondered what her life would have been like if she divorced and remarried. I always heard stories about Grandpa getting out of control and going after his children. Mom said he would cry afterwards and beg for help. Most of all I remember his eyes. They were gray. There was seldom life in them. Yet, sometimes his eyes would give a little sparkle and he would get a childish grin on his face. Grandma often treated him like a child. I suppose she was always on guard when he was out on visits. One clear memory I have of grandpa is his story about how he was going to buy a farm with lots of animals. He told me we would all live together on his farm. Then he placed me on his knee and pulled me close to him. "Don’t let your visions scare you child!", he whispered in my ear. When grandma saw him holding me she yanked me from him. It took years to understand why. It scared me! I know grandma loved grandpa. I also know she was afraid of him. For that matter he was afraid of himself. He got worse over the years and refused to visit as much. I think that was his way of letting his family know he loved them. He wanted to keep them safe from himself.

Even though I lived in Texas and my grandparents lived in Pennsylvania in my heart there was no distance. My grandmother always made sure we knew her. It was not uncommon for me to have vivid dreams involving my grandparents. Then came the day I could not get my grandfather off of my mind. I had the strongest urge to call him. But as the day went on the feeling passed. I went to bed early that night, only to wake from a deep sleep in a panic. I could feel a presence in my room. Often my father would creep into my room in the middle of the night. Somehow I knew it was not my father! I looked at my clock and noticed it was almost midnight. I froze when I looked over to my window and saw a ghostly image drift into my room. My heart raced and I struggled to catch my breath as the figure slowly approached me. It was a tall thin man dressed in a suit and hat. I knew it was my grandfather. He always wore a suit and hat. It didn’t matter if it was him I was terrified. I tried to scream, but was unable to find my voice. The image came closer until it stood next to my bed. When I looked up I found myself staring right into my grandfather’s gray eyes. I shivered when he leaned down and kissed my forehead. Then I watched him float back across the room towards the window. Before he vanished he turned towards me and waved goodbye. I knew it was the last time I would see him.

The next thing I remember was waking up to my alarm at six o’clock in the morning. I raced towards the kitchen to find my mother. Barley able to catch my breath I told her every detail of my nightmare. She assured me that it was just a dream and told me to get ready for school. She promised I could call my grandma after school and see how grandpa was doing. Mom’s words brought me some comfort. I managed to put my nightmare aside and get ready. Still I had an odd feeling that something was not right. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to stay home but my mom insisted I get going. Just as I was ready to walk out of the door our phone rang. Sometimes a phone rings different in your ears and you can tell bad news is coming. I dropped my books when I heard my mother scream "No"! It was my grandmother on the phone letting us know that my grandfather passed away around midnight. Little did I know that night was only the beginning of many visions to come. I tried to ignore them over the years. It did not take me long to realize that my visions were not meant to be ignored.

To this day I am thankful I was able to tell my mother about seeing grandpa before the call. Who would have believed me if I said something later? I would have been labeled as a child with an over active imagination. I learned later that grandpa snuck up into the attic at the V.A. hospital. It was the middle of winter. He took a shower snuck into the attic and sat in front of an open window. There he sat for hours soaking wet deliberately freezing himself to death. Grandma was convinced he did not commit suicide. She just thought he did not know better. Later in life I wondered if he had visions. I often wondered if his death was his final attempt to protect his family from himself. I wonder if he saw just what he was capable of when he was out of control.

ROBINETTE