Visitors

 Ralph Nader's niece was killed in a plane crash.  Her grieving mother was on her way to a concert in her daughter's memory when she was visited by a giant, beautiful moth.  It rested on her shoulder for awhile.  The mother was comforted, feeling her daughter's presence.

This reminds me of an experience in my life.  I'm including it here.

I was reading an article about grief. It mentioned that people who are grieving frequently imagine that their loved one is still around, perhaps as a bird, dog or cat. This reminded me of an episode from a few years back. After a few dates, a man I knew invited me to visit him at his house near the beach in Wilmington, North Carolina. He seemed like an okay fellow, and I loved North Carolina as a child, so I said: “yes.” 

As soon as I walked into his house, I was afraid it was going to be a long weekend. There were old newspapers everywhere, coffee grounds on the kitchen table, dishes in the sink. His wife had died a few months before so I was ready to cut him some slack, but it was difficult. I quickly retreated to the space his daughter had prepared for me. It was a refuge from the clutter. 

It wasn’t too long before I noticed a beautiful red bird. It was sitting on the sill every time I looked out of the window. I imagined that the wife’s soul was lingering so I started talking to the wife/bird. I found out a lot about this man who was brutally left behind by her sudden death. Enough to relax more than I thought I would. 

We had a good time that weekend. I didn’t tell him about the bird, but he owed that creature a lot . 

And so did I. 

This is from my book: Joan Chandler Today