Out of the Mind Of . . . A Fantasy and Paranormal Anthology

by Barbara Combs Williams

  Mama was swaying a little on her feet. She was a light shade of pecan brown, but all the blood had left her face leaving her looking suddenly ashy.

  Martha Ann asked, "Mama, what's wrong, what's happened?" She gave us all such a look of despair that I knew my dream had come true. My mother got off the phone and like a robot told Melinda to go and wake up daddy.

  Aunt Elmira was to have had "minor" surgery on Monday morning; at least that's what my folks called it. Not being privy to all the adult talk, I took that to mean it was some sort of a female problem, but nothing too serious. I heard my mother and father talking about it the week before.

  Mama was going to the hospital in Lakeview and stay with her during her surgery. Aunt Elmira would be in the hospital for about four to five days and mama would go back and forth to check on her. We didn't have a hospital in our little town of Pineville and had to go about twenty miles to Lakeview.

  Mama joked and said, "Elmira gonna work herself into a fit about the surgery. She sure is worried about that place. You can't even talk about it without her shaking her head and saying those heifers better not mess with her."

  We laughed, thinking nothing of it. We had no idea that auntie was that scared. She always laughed and joked about everything, never taking anything too seriously. You could go to her, and talk about anything and she would always say, "child, it's gonna be all right, just take it to the Lord in prayer."

  A neighbor, Ms. Mattie was with her that Friday afternoon when auntie wouldn't stop talking about the upcoming surgery. Auntie was afraid of the hospital and felt the nurses wouldn't treat her the way they should. She was so nervous and frightened of the whole thing that she started having horrible chest pains and difficulty breathing.

  Ms. Mattie said that auntie just kind of doubled over in her favorite chair in front of the TV right there in the living room. Ms. Mattie went running out of the house screaming for help.

  One of the other neighbors, Mr. Henry ran over to see what was going on and went inside to Aunt Elmira. Mr. Henry saw Aunt Elmira lying across her chair and had the presence of mind to call the fire department.

  We found out later she had a massive heart attack. The only thing we knew for sure of that night was she was gone.

  That Friday night I asked God, "Why do you let me see these things? Why do you give me this gift, this curse, if I can't do anything about it?" What's the reason behind forewarning if I can't? What was I suppose to tell Aunt Elmira to change things?

  Was there anything I could have changed if I had tried? I had so many questions and no answers, no answers at all. I prayed I wouldn't have the dreams, nobody wanted to hear me talk about them anyway and I didn't know why I was getting this unwanted information.

  I had often times tried to tell my family before about my dreams. My daddy said I had the "sight" because I had been born with a "veil" over my face. He said he was the seventh son of a seventh son and had the gift also. I didn't know what he was talking about and frankly didn’t care.

  I didn't know anything for sure, except I was confused and hurt and afraid. I was afraid to think about people, fearing I would dream something terrible about them.

  My sisters often joked, "I hope Angela don't dream nothing about me, I don't want anything bad to happen to me." They would say it laughingly, but they meant it and it hurt. They would tell me I was different and had strange ways.

  In the midst of all my sisters I felt alone. I did feel different, but it wasn't my fault. I had no control over my dreams. It was the witch riding my back.

  My dreams did seem to only foretell bad things or at least that was the easiest stuff to remember. I know I had other more mundane dreams. In fact, I would often dream of simple everyday things like kissing some boy or getting a new outfit or just what college life would be like, but by far the more horrible or tragic the dream, the more I remembered.

  I often saw wars were people were being horribly killed and hurricanes and tornadoes. I called these, ‘death, murder, kill’ dreams. They were always horrible. Did these things actually happen somewhere? Why did I get this knowledge, for what purpose was I to know?

  My daddy told me that the clearer or brighter the dream, the more likely it was to happen. Some of them were so crystal clear and detailed I could tell the color of shoes someone had on.

  AUNT ELMIRA'S FUNERAL was held that next Friday at 1:00pm in the small church, Mount Ivory she was a member of for most of her adult life.

  The church was filling up fast. The funeral home director had sectioned off the first few pews for the immediate family. Mama was sitting a few pews ahead of us with her other sisters and brothers behind Auntie’s children. Daddy and us girls squeezed in beside some of our other cousins after we had gone up to look at Aunt Elmira one last time.

  The funeral was very beautiful if such can be said of death, with all kinds of lovely flower arrangements surrounding her ivory casket. She looked almost asleep resting in her coffin. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair was styled just right. She had on her best white suit.

  But in the midst of all this grief for my aunt I was thinking of myself.

  The night before, I had another dream. This dream started off like the standard chasm dream, but when I finally fell over the cliff and was falling, I wasn't afraid. I felt a new presence beside me, almost keeping me afloat, helping me to fly.

  I felt such peace that I wanted to keep on flying forever. Of course as all good things end ... so did my flying. I landed on the canyon floor gently but firmly. I still felt like a presence was with me, so I started to walk around and examine this place I was in.

  There were huge stately trees and beautiful flowering bushes, the like I had never seen before. The grass was a dark emerald color, cool and almost inviting me to take off my shoes and walk through it. Everything was so colorful and vibrant, and a gentle breeze was blowing softly against my cheek.

  Standing off to the side, almost out of view behind an outcropping of rock was a young man. The face looked familiar to me, not as if I had met him before, but more like I knew who he was supposed to be. As long as it wasn't Jimmy Johnson, I welcomed anyone else to my dreams.

  Suddenly he turned and looked in my direction. He wasn't one of my many cousins, he wasn't Jimmy, but I knew somehow, deep inside me he was someone meant for me.

  He was tall but not too tall, maybe six feet. He had a nice face with a prominent brow and dark eyes. He had even, milk chocolate skin and the loveliest pair of lips I had ever seen on a man before.

  I started walking towards the young man, and he started coming towards me. As is the nature of dreams, it seemed the more we walked towards each other the farther apart we got. I was so frustrated I yelled out to him, "Stop walking and stand still. What's the matter with you? Who are you? Why are you in my dreams?"

  He didn't answer me. In fact, he looked at me with a sad smile on his face. I just knew I should have kept quiet and let him come to me, but I wanted to know. Slowly he turned around and with a gesturing, come here motion, walked back behind the rocks.

  What was I to do? Was I supposed to follow him? I was so confused. I felt the presence beside me, almost nudging me forward, but I stalled. I was afraid to go, afraid to stay, afraid of the unknown.

  The tears rolling down my cheeks were not only for Aunt Elmira, but for me as well.

  The funeral was over and Aunt Elmira was laid to rest in the little cemetery behind the church. We all went back to her small home that seemed even smaller now for Auntie was a woman who always seemed bigger than life and with her being gone everything had been diminished.

  We had so much food for dinner from so many friends and family we could all eat for about a week. My stomach was in knots, not just for my cousins and auntie's family but for myself also. Much food, tall tales, and tears later, we went home and life went on.

  I FELT SO TWISTED UP inside. Excitement and jubilation warred with despair, grief, and guilt. Here it was finally the Sunday in September I had been wa
iting for all summer. I was in Atlanta at the State University of Georgia were I would enroll as a freshman in the 1976/77 school term.

  Mama, daddy, Lin, and I had traveled to Atlanta where they would leave me after getting me checked in to start this new chapter in my life. Mama had gotten me two new suitcases so I would have room for all my clothes, old and new we had collected over the summer. It was a tearful parting because Lin and I were almost inseparable.

  "Lin, don't worry, I promise to come home on the Greyhound as often as possible, and nothing or no one will keep me from keeping that promise. I will always be Ken to your Barbie, so be strong and happy for me. You are the one who has to keep mama going and make her proud by being a good girl. You know Aunt Elmira's passing has been really hard on her. And with Mira, Martha Ann and me going to college, you're the one who has to keep mama company."

  I told Lin all these things and more, as we walked to the dorm room from the admission’s office.

  Lin looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "Angel, I'm gonna miss you so much, most of all, but I know with your greedy self, you won't stay away from mama's fried chicken and collard greens for long, so you'll be home before I know it. Besides, now I can be mama's and daddy's baby and not old Mira." She smiled her fairy princess smile at me then and we both nearly fell over laughing.

  Sitting on the bed in the small dormitory room I started to think over the decisions I had made that had brought me to this point. Tomorrow was the start of all the things I had dreamed of for myself. All I had to do was go out there and let things fall into place but was it that simple.

  Had I made the decisions or had they been made for me. Aunt Elmira was gone, but I still had my dreams haunting me. I spoke out loud, "What good are the dreams, what are they leading me to? Why is the witch still riding my back?"

  All these thoughts and more filled my head until I didn't want to think anymore. I decided to go out and see what the new campus had to offer instead.

  I walked down the tree lined sidewalk and just took in the sights and sounds of the city. State University was situated right smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta. After I walked about half a block, gawking at everything I saw, I saw a huge tree almost standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

  I supposed it was such an old tree that they just built the sidewalk around it instead of chopping it down. Even for September, the tree was still brilliantly crowned in emerald green leaves. The air around the tree seemed to shimmer and dance and I thought I saw someone standing on the other side of it.

  I walked slowly down the sidewalk and yes, there was someone standing there. I was about twenty feet away, but I could make out a face. The face looked familiar to me, not as if I had met him before, but more like I knew who he was supposed to be.

  Suddenly he turned and looked in my direction. He wasn't one of my many cousins. He certainly wasn't Jimmy Johnson. But I knew somehow, deep inside me he was someone meant for me. Yes, he was meant just for me.

  Who Commanded?

  Without a Doubt

  I saw dazzling crystal clear light

  Emptied from a cloudless sapphire sky

  From that same sky now ashen, rain

  And I wondered, who commanded?

  I saw liquid more precious than gold

  Shower down over all the earth

  All nature was thoroughly nourished

  And I wondered, who commanded?

  I felt frozen flecks of wonderment

  Glide by my now cooling cheek

  More diverse than the blades of grasses

  And I wondered, who commanded?

  Amazingly, now came sizzling lightning

  Lashing daggers beyond my reasoning

  Followed by sound so bold and fearsome

  Again I wondered, who commanded?

  Now a peaceful breeze sailed by my brow

  Soothing the strange fear from my face

  Heralding a majestic grandly power

  Without a doubt I knew, who commanded!

  A Boy and His Dog

  Slender Brown Hands

  THE SMALL BOY WHISTLED for his dog; he knew if he didn't come back with something for supper this time, he would get a whipping. He was old enough to carry his daddy's old shotgun, but not quite old enough to use it properly.

  He didn't have a real name for his dog, it being the runt of the litter and discarded as a proper hunting dog by his father. Therefore, the little boy named Eddie, gave the dog his name.

  Eddie was also the runt of the litter in his large family of seven brothers and three sisters. Life was hard when you had a mother and father and just a few siblings, but it was insanely hard without a mother, and you are the youngest of the brood and your birth signaled the end of that mother.

  Eddie loved to hunt in the woods behind the old barn, beside the farm house he and his family barely scratched out a living on.

  His father was a carpenter by trade but grew vegetables and grain for the many mouths he had to feed. Eddie's one chore at the age of nine was to flush out any small animals that could be used to help feed the family. He carried his father's oldest, rustiest shotgun, but his daddy never gave him the proper training on what to do with it.

  He wasn't sure if the gun was even loaded. So his dog Eddie, along with his gift, were the tools he used to get at the quail, rabbits, wild turkeys, and occasional possum that would sometimes fill their plates.

  Eddie's father believed you had to be good for something or you didn't eat, and he saw the dog, and sometimes Eddie himself as being a waste of what little leftover scraps they had.

  Eddie kicked at the old stump that sat rotting in his path. He whistled again for his dog and called out hesitantly. "Eddie, you old dog, where did you get to?" He looked around and stood silent for a moment to hear any signs of his dog. He used his gift and concentrated hard on the whereabouts of his Eddie.

  A rustling in the bushes caught his attention. He hadn't noticed how the growing darkness had crept up on him and turned around, again and again; finally realizing how far he had gotten from the farm. It wasn't that he was scared of the woods or the dark; it was just he didn't see or hear his dog. Eddie, the boy was worried.

  Eddie had never, not answered with a loud bark, to the signal of his master's whistle. He had taught the dog himself how to respond. None of his other brothers had wanted the dog. They all had big hulking brutes that could literally bring down a deer if need be. His siblings had all been ready to drown the dog in the river; when Eddie as a toddler had reached out his hand and gently petted it and said "me, mine."

  Eddie's dog was a lot like him, small boned and not much to look at, but he loved that dog with a fierceness that was unrelenting. The dog in turn was his for life. To see the two of them together, a small brown boy with large, wide eyes and a small brown mutt of a dog with a white patch above the right eye was a sight that could gladden the coldest hearts. For little Eddie had nothing, absolutely nothing to call his own, except his dog.

  But, nothing Eddie or his dog could ever do would gladden his daddy's heart. With the birth of Eddie, his daddy had lost his world, his wife and Eddie was the cause of that.

  Times were hard and lots of things in that day could bring an otherwise healthy woman to her grave, but Eddie's daddy said to this day, "That child came and took my Lizzy away, I can't even stand to look at him."

  The only things Eddie had inherited from his mother Lizzy, were a soft heart and his gift. The gift of feeling the presence of spirits. Eddie had never physically felt his mother’s touch, but in his mind he saw her slender brown hand often reaching out to stroke his hair.

  EDDIE WAS GROWING CONCERNED. His dog had disappeared, and he didn't know what to do. He knew it was no use going back to the farm and telling any of his brothers or his father. They weren't concerned about the whereabouts of Eddie, and certainly not his dog. This wasn't the first time Eddie and his dog had stayed away past dark.

  Once, about a year ago, Eddie the dog had been o
n the trail of an old possum and sniffing around several trees and bushes had gave chase, and the boy not wanting to give up had run along behind him.

  They had run deeper into the woods than ever and spinning around in circles, Eddie had gotten lost. Before he knew what was happening, the sun was setting, and they had gone so far they ended up on someone else's property.

  The dog had come back to the boy with his tail dragging and head hung low. He had lost the scent of his quarry. The boy didn't care, he was just happy he had his dog. It didn't matter that they were lost, it was dark, and they were far from home.

  Eddie had felt the presence of spirits. Eddie took the chance on the feeling that surrounded him and his dog. Suddenly he knew how to get home, and he let his dog lead them back out of the woods.

  When they finally got home after three hours lost in the woods, no one seemed to think anything about it. In fact not a word was said but, "Did you get anything to eat while you and that dog were fooling around out there in them woods?"

  NOW, EDDIE WAS CONCERNED. He started walking towards a thick stand of bushes and trees about a hundred feet away. He thought he could just make out in the gathering darkness a figure under the tree. "Is that you Eddie," he called out, "come on boy, let's get outta here, time to go home."

  Silence was all he got. The boy raised his gun a little higher. It wasn't easy since he had never actually used it before and wasn't quite sure how to hold it properly.

  He did know that you pulled on the little trigger, because he had seen his daddy do that before when they were butchering hogs in the winter time. The gun made the loudest noise he had ever heard, and he jumped where he was standing behind his older brother Willie.