I silently asked Sheila to help with our communication and almost instantly the familiar sensation of cobwebs brushed light as butterfly wings across my face. This signature sign of her presence always calmed me and filled my spirit with fearless confidence. Having her to oversee matters, I knew we’d be okay. Keeping my voice in a hushed tone, I spoke just loud enough for the others to hear.
“We are inviting the person (I didn’t like to refer to them as “spirit” when speaking directly to them) that has been trying to get our attention to come through and speak to us.” I looked to see if the Rowan family was still okay to proceed. Their eyes were open and when I glanced at each of them, they nodded in answer to my silent question. They were good to go. Okay then. After a slight pause, I again spoke out loud for the benefit of the others.
“We ask to speak with the person who has been trying to get our attention. We allow you to come through and speak to us only if you come in peace and will cause no harm.” I was glad to note that Mary’s hand, though cold, was much more relaxed. Kade’s hand was firm and warm. I squeezed it gently and he squeezed back. “Try to keep your thoughts clear so as to not create any barriers to the communication. Keep your focus on the imaginary light surrounding us.” Several minutes ticked by. Sheila’s warm presence withdrew just enough that I no longer could feel the cobwebs. I knew she hadn’t left me completely and I wondered if she was doing something on her end to help things along. The afterlife was such a mystery, though many claimed to know all about it.
The temperature in the room began to drop noticeably. Mary’s hand trembled. I squeezed it gently. She squeezed back but did not turn her head to look at me. It dawned on me in that moment that the four people around me were focused with quiet intensity on the floor in front of us. And then I saw why.
Lost in my own internal wanderings, I’d missed it at first. A shadow danced in the spot of sunlight shining across the floor’s smooth surface. I glanced to my right where the windows were located to see if a tree branch was perhaps creating the shadows. Mary had pulled the curtains closed but they parted just enough to allow a ray of sunlight to spike through. I could see nothing to explain the shadow. The sun’s ray of light came into our circle between Kade and Adam. The shadow was faint at first, moving around as if it was indeed the result of a tree branch moving about in the breeze. Then it grew darker, forming into a circle about the size of a quarter. After a brief pause, it broke apart and formed into an ever expanding ring until it disappeared beyond the light. I glanced up at the others and found them all looking at me.
Adam broke the silence. “What was that?”
“I’m not sure.” I felt a slight tremor at that moment and before I could say anything, Kade’s hand tightened. The floor vibrated again. Remembering there was a train track across the street, I wondered if perhaps that was causing the vibration. Then my chair rumbled loudly in the quiet room as it moved slightly forward, scraping the floor in protest. Mary’s and then Adam’s did the same. Eyes wide with alarm, they both looked at me for reassurance. Then the floor shook again. Earthquakes were not known in Maine and I’d never experienced one myself but the sensation was what I imagined it might be like. “The trains…”
“No,” Dawn cut in, clearly fascinated. “We’ve never felt anything from them. They are barely moving by the time they arrive to the mill or pull out for departure.” The fact she was more excited than afraid seemed to help relax her children as well.
“I think perhaps whoever is trying to communicate wants us to believe they really are here.” Just as I said that, my chair moved back a couple inches and I clasped harder to Kade’s and Mary’s hands. The spirit wasn’t done playing. Before I could try and reassure everyone that this phenomena was typical (not!), my chair began to rock back and forth, going up on the two front legs about a half inch, plopping down awkwardly and then propping up on the back legs in the same manner. These sorts of theatrics I could do without. “Stop.” The rocking immediately stopped. Then the temperature dropped some more and a curious smell began to permeate the room. Even as I lifted my nose to the air, I noticed the others doing the same.
It was a sweet smell, almost like vanilla but that wasn’t it…something else … another pleasant scent similar to … sage! The smell grew stronger and everyone was now drawing the scent into their noses, taking deep whiffs. “It’s sage but something else…”
“Sweet grass.” Dawn nodded with conviction as she took another big whiff. “Definitely sweet grass and sage. Possibly cedar as well.”
I sniffed again and agreed that the distinctive smell of cedar could be detected now that she’d mentioned it. Of course it could be that suggestion was influencing our senses but it sounded right. Why these particular scents?
“Indians use sage for ceremonial rituals.” Dawn glanced at me with wide eyes, comprehending. “It must be one of my husband’s ancestors.”
As soon as the words were out of Dawn’s mouth the scent went away but the cold remained. I closed my eyes and waited to see if anyone would approach me for communication. Expanding my focus on the room at large, I sent out psychic feelers in hopes of detecting the presence of unseen visitors. Someone was near the fireplace. I opened my eyes half expecting to actually see something but I saw nothing. My gaze dropped to the logs sitting in a neat stack in the grate and as I did so, they suddenly shifted making us all jump.
“Someone is here. I think you may be right, Dawn. I’m getting a strong impression of an Indian native.” I could almost sense Kade’s question and shook my head. “Not Big Red.” But he was a big man, impressively so. A strange feeling passed through me, like another soul mixing with mine, and I had a sudden urge to call out in a guttural sound and flex my biceps. Of course, in truth, my biceps were nothing to be showing off despite the fact that they felt quite massive all of a sudden. My chest felt just as massive and I wasn’t talking about suddenly sprouting big breasts. Male testosterone flooded my system. It was all I could do not to jump to my feet and start striking poses like the men on those Mr. Universe competitions. Okay, I get it. You are a big man. Tough. But what do you want?
The image of the witch’s leg adorning Buck’s monument flashed through my mind and then my foot stomped hard, jarring my knee bone. Mary gasped but I couldn’t reassure her for this strong male entity had my complete attention. Another smell permeated the air around me. Some sort of flower but I couldn’t place it. I am not a botanist. I need more to go on here. Why the smell? What is it?
The logs in the grate suddenly popped as if someone had punched them from beneath and they scattered on the floor next to us. Adam started to rise from his chair but I saw Kade’s grip tighten and he relaxed back into his seat. “What the heck is it with the fireplace?”
The room was at once warm again. Whatever had joined us was now gone. Disappointed not to have made better contact, I looked around at the others to gage their reactions. The mood in the room was quiet and reflective. It wasn’t until the entity left us that I noticed how dark the room had been while he was here. Concurrent with his departure, it was as if the sun had suddenly come out from behind the clouds although the windows were mostly covered by curtains. “He’s gone.”
Kade gave my hand another quick squeeze and let me go. He stood and went straight for the fireplace. “Do you think something is hidden here as well?”
A couple minutes later and we were all on our hands and knees scouring every inch of the fireplace, paying special attention to the hearth stones. We found nothing. Disappointed, I sank back on my knees. “He showed me the witch’s leg on Buck’s monument and right after that he made me stomp my foot and then the logs rolled out onto the floor. I thought for sure there was a connection somehow.”
Kade straightened up and stretched, absently rubbing his leg as he considered everything he knew up to this point. “It’s beginning to look like the witch’s curse on that monument is tied to the Indians somehow.”
He had a point. It sure was beginning t
o look that way. Logically I wanted to say it didn’t make sense. Indians weren’t known for making curses and part of a leg surely wasn’t a symbol that would be associated with them. I knew better than to close my mind to any possibility so I shrugged in clueless bafflement. “Not sure, but I agree it’s starting to look that way.”
By silent agreement, we put the chairs back in their respective spots and returned to where we’d been sitting before the séance. All five of us sat in contemplative silence, each lost to our own musings.
It was Dawn who finally broke the silence. “I don’t understand why everything has to be so cryptic.” She shook her head, a small frown marring the area between her brows. “If they can communicate, why don’t they just come out and tell us what they know or want us to know?”
Kade and I chuckled in mutual understanding. He’d asked the same question when we were investigating the haunting at Sea Willow Haven. In fact, everyone I’ve come into contact with concerning paranormal phenomena always wonders the same thing and asks that very question. Including me. “I think it has something to do with the fact that we learn more by searching for answers than what we do when they are simply given to us.”
“But does everything have to be such a mystery?” Mary’s dark eyes clouded with puzzled annoyance. “Why haunt us and not tell us why when we make contact and ask?” She touched my arm in sympathy. “You must get very frustrated.”
I patted Mary’s hand, noting that it didn’t feel as cold as it had earlier. “Sometimes I get frustrated but mostly I just get more curious. It makes me dig more and search more and question more and through all that I learn more.” I glanced at Dawn curiously as I remembered her recognition of the smells during the séance. “How did you know what those smells were? I’d heard of sweet grass being used in some spiritual rituals but I’d never encountered it.”
“As I’ve said before, my husband was proud of his Indian heritage although he wasn't sure from which tribe his ancestors hailed. He studied all the different cultures and we attended a lot of Indian powwows.”
Adam and Mary nodded their heads in fond remembrance and when their mother paused, Adam spoke up. “Pop dragged us to all sorts of Indian gatherings and celebrations. Not just here in Maine for we’ve gone as far south as Florida and as far east as Arizona.”
Smiling, Mary looked more relaxed than I’d seen her. “We grew up having some of the best vacations.”
Thinking about the beads I’d found at the Tenney house, I felt a sudden compulsion to share that with them and spoke up before I changed my mind. “You would probably love to see what I found at the Tenney house given your interest in Indians.” That got the attention of all three Rowan family members.
Adam leaned forward, his expression filled with curiosity. “What?”
“A box of Indian beads.”
Dawn was clearly perplexed by my announcement. “What do you mean you found them? And why would Indian beads be hidden in the Tenney house?”
“I made contact with a spirit who showed me where they were hidden which was in the fireplace. There was a secret compartment where a copper box was hidden. The box is filled with Indian beads and a smooth oval stone.”
Clearly interested, Dawn motioned for me to continue with the story. “What do the beads look like? How do you know they are Indian beads?”
“I showed them to Rid since his nephew owns the property. Rid seems to be well versed in Indian history. He recognized them right away, but I also did some research on the internet.” I paused for a moment then decided to tell them about my vision of the necklace. “I believe they used to make up a necklace. I saw it in another vision.” Remembering the drawing I’d made to show Rid, I grabbed my sweater from the end of the couch where I’d tossed it after our mad dash into the house. “I drew a picture of it.” I pulled the drawing out of my sweater pocket and handed it to Dawn. She stared at it for a long, thoughtful moment.
“This is a lovely design.” She lifted her head and glanced at Mary. They exchanged a long look then Dawn gave a slight nod and stood up. “I’d like to show you something.”
The rest of us stood at once and followed her out of the room. She went down another hallway that led in the opposite direction of the kitchen and opened a door at the end of it. Bright sunlight poured through several windows, lighting the cluttered craft room within. Dawn stepped aside so I could enter and I did so cautiously for most of the floor space was taken. Despite the chaos, there did seem to be some sort of order to everything. It wasn’t messy, just very crowded. Craft supplies of every sort filled the floor-to-ceiling shelves. Drawers, bins, boxes, jars … if it could hold some sort of supply, then it was present in this room. The workbench made it pretty obvious the craft of choice…jewelry.
Dawn glanced at my interested gaze and smiled. “I’ve been making jewelry for many years. Mary does as well. I think she’s more talented than I, really, but I do enjoy it so much.”
An assortment of jars and trays filled with beads were scattered around the large desk. I bent to look at them more closely. Glass beads, clay beads, rocks and gems…they had it all. “What a lovely hobby. I wish I knew how to do something like this.”
Mary touched my arm to gain my attention. “Maybe you could give me those beads and I’ll try to recreate the necklace for you.”
My heart nearly stopped. It surely skipped hard. Excitement raced through me so fast my breath hitched and goose bumps broke out on my skin. I loved the synchronicity of the universe. How lucky was it to meet these people and have them be jewelry makers? I nodded immediately to show my approval of her suggestion. “That would be wonderful, Mary! Thank you so much.”
Smiling wide for the first time that day, Mary nodded her own approval of the plan. “I’ll come by later and pick them up. I’ve always wanted to see Barb’s B&B. Mom is friends with her but that developed more after I left for the military.”
Dawn was smiling as well. “Maybe I’ll come too. I haven’t seen Barbara in quite a while.”
“Yes, please do. Barbara did tell me to extend her apologies for not visiting in so long and I’m sure she’d love to see you, Dawn.”
Adam and Kade waited in the doorway since the room was too crowded for all of us. My eyes met Kade’s briefly and I knew that he approved of my decision to give the beads to Mary. He looked just as excited about that as I was actually.
Dawn glanced at her watch and turned to leave. “I better get those biscuits in the oven.”
Once we were back in the living room, Adam walked over to the fireplace and looked at it thoughtfully. “So that’s why you suddenly became interested in the fireplace earlier. You thought maybe to find another secret hiding spot?”
I gave a small shrug. “Well, I thought it couldn’t hurt to look.”
“I wonder who hid the beads and why?” Mary sank down on the couch and fell back against the cushions.
Kade and I returned to our previous spots as well. “I don’t know, Mary, but I hope to find out. Maybe after you make that necklace, I’ll put it on and see if it helps connect me to the events that led to those beads being hidden away.”
Mary clasped her hands together in an effort to contain her excitement. I knew she couldn’t wait to get her hands on those beads and bring the necklace into being. “This is all such a mystery. How exciting to be involved in it!” And then, remembering the stress looming over her life, some of the light went out of her eyes. “If only we could figure out how to save our home.”
A pall fell over the room and we all sank into quiet contemplation. Dawn entered at that moment and pulled us from our disheartening thoughts. “Dinner is about ready. Mary, you want to give me a hand?”
I started to rise as well but both women waved me back down. Mary’s eyes met mine and it was easy enough to recognize the plea in them not to argue with her. “No, Tess, please, let Mom and I take care of it. You relax here for a moment.”
I couldn’t argue with her after that. Besides, I had a st
rong suspicion the women wanted to talk in private. “Okay but call me if you need any help.”
“I will.” Mary wagged a finger at Adam. “Be a nice host.” And then she and her mother hurried from the room.
Adam looked at me and then Kade and then back to me. “So was the Tenney house haunted too?”
“There was someone there but I’m pretty sure he’s not haunting the place.” I reached for Kade’s hand because I liked having contact with him and he entwined his fingers through mine. It was so nice to have him near.
“So you are a painter?” Adam glanced down at our hands and then raised a smirking brow to me as if to remind me that he’d called it right the night before.
“Yes, I paint mostly landscapes but I do a bit of everything.” Kade looked at Adam for a long moment, studying him. “What do you like to do?”
“I like to do landscaping.” His tanned face actually colored a little. “I know that’s hard to believe when you look at our yard but I didn’t want to start something mom would expect me stay around and maintain.” He shifted uncomfortably. “It was never my intention to stay in Bucksport.”
“Where would you like to live?” I asked, curious.
“Pop took us to the Blue Ridge Mountains once to attend an Indian powwow there and I fell in love with the area. I’ve always wanted to go back.” He gave a shrug and glanced away, his shoulders slumping, and I knew he felt that dream was completely unattainable. “There are a lot of rocks there. Just as there are here, of course, but there was something about that place…”
“Rocks?” Kade and I asked in unison and we smiled in acknowledgment that we were so in synch with each other.
“I love working with rocks to create stuff.” He gave us a contemplative look and stood up. “If Mary and Mom can show you their stuff, then I might as well show you something I’ve done.” He motioned for us to follow him. We went down yet another hallway and out a door that led to the back part of the porch. Both Kade and I had to stop for a quick moment to admire the view of the Penobscot River with Fort Knox gracing the opposite bank before hurrying after Adam who was stepping down onto the overgrown lawn. He pointed to the left of where we were standing and then began walking toward it. “I built that.” It was a beautifully constructed fireplace.
Hidden Voices (Tess Schafer-Medium) Page 22