The Celtic Symbol

by V M Jones

  The tour explained the history of the castle and its importance to the area. It took them to the tower stairs, the upper rooms, and the lower rooms. Declan was excited to see the dungeon.

  “I bet there were lots of bad guys here. I bet they tortured them too,” he said confidently to the others.

  “Sometimes not enough,” said Siobhan as she glared at him.

  As the family moved on to the next room, Tevan found himself lingering at the dungeon stairs. As he stared at one of the walls he noticed a bright blue spot which grew until it spread across the wall. He seemed to be peering through a window into the past. He could see men dressed in armor with swords and round shields fighting another army with a large creature behind them. He saw flashes of red and green lights. He was very confused at the scene before him and was oblivious to his surroundings.

  About three-quarters of the way through the tour, Patrick was standing next to Declan when he felt something was wrong. He turned around and looked back at the rest of the family. Ansley and Siobhan were right behind them but Tevan was nowhere to be seen.

  “Tevan!” he shouted but there was no answer.

  “Take Declan’s hand. I’m going to find Tevan,” he said as he pushed Declan towards Ansley.

  Declan grabbed her hand watched as Patrick turned to retrace his steps.

  He searched for several minutes until at last he found him down in the dungeon. Tevan was standing on the steps staring into space.

  “Tevan, are you ok?” He asked.

  Tevan didn’t respond and continued staring at the wall as if in a trance.

  “Tevan!” said Patrick sternly.

  Tevan suddenly turned and looked at his Da. “Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he said visibly confused.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Patrick staring at him.

  “I - I don’t know. It’s hard to explain but I think I just saw into the past. I’m ok now,” said Tevan as he turned and walked back up the steps.

  Patrick was concerned but let it go.

  “Let’s catch up with the rest of the family.”

  He patted Tevan on the back then hurried through the castle to find the others.

  Ansley kept looking back to see if Patrick and Tevan had caught up to the group yet. She was relieved to see them as they neared the end of the tour.

  “Everything all right?” she asked glancing at Tevan from head to toe.

  “Everything’s fine,” said Patrick as he smiled and nodded.

  As they finished the tour and headed back to the parking lot, Patrick asked the family what they liked most about the castle.

  “I liked the cannon ball stuck in the wall from the battle in 1599,” said Declan as he jumped from crack to crack on the walkway.

  “I thought that was the best too,” said Tevan nodding at Declan.

  “I liked the upper tower room,” said Siobhan as she began to dance and gesture with her hands. “I bet a princess lived up there waiting for her prince.”

  Tevan and Declan rolled their eyes at her comment and groaned. The family walked back to the car.

  “That was a great tour,” said Patrick smiling at the others.

  “It’s a beautiful castle,” said Ansley glancing back at the impressive structure.

  Patrick started the car and headed down Bridge Street back towards their home on the mountainside.

  3 STRANGE HAPPENINGS

  Over the course of the next week, the family began exploring the landscape surrounding the old home. The mountains were beautiful and rose above the rolling hills near Cahir. Declan couldn’t be more excited with all the space to play. He constantly harassed each member of the family to go with him on the nearby trails.

  Tevan usually went along with his enthusiasm though he was more interested in checking out the local sports club.

  Patrick enjoyed hiking with the boys along the trails that led up into the mountains. Occasionally they were able to convince Ansley and Siobhan to join them. They hadn’t ventured very far on the trails but the scenery they experienced was breathtaking.

  It rained off and on during the next few weeks. Each rain seemed to renew and refresh the landscape. Living on the side of the mountain also provided the family with contact with its natural inhabitants. They were serenaded every morning by the sounds of birds. It seemed that everything was too perfect.

  “I need to get out the paints and easel,” said Ansley to the family one morning as they were enjoying the beauty of their surroundings.

  Ansley was a part-time artist and was very talented. She began painting the breathtaking views of the foothills and the mountains. When she wasn’t busy designing her kitchen, she would paint scenes of family life. She especially liked to paint pictures of the children playing.

  One bright sunny morning, she began painting the landscape near the home. She was inspired by the bright colors of the vegetation and the stark contrast of the shape of the surrounding landscape. The kids were chasing each other around enjoying the fresh air of the mountains. Ansley smiled as she tried to catch the essence of the children’s laughter and innocence as they explored the landscape around the house.

  Ansley was pleased with the way the painting turned out. She captured the beauty of the landscape and laughter of the children. She decided to frame the painting and hang it in the playroom.

  The next afternoon, Tevan, Siobhan, and Declan were standing in front of the painting admiring themselves.

  “I look pretty good,” said Tevan as he pointed himself out in the picture. “Too bad you twits don’t look as good as me.”

  “Whatever,” said Siobhan arrogantly, “My beauty far exceeds the likes of you.”

  “Oh yah,” said Declan with a glare, “Ma painted me the best.”

  “What a great painting,” said Patrick quickly changing the subject. “It has three of my favorite people in it. All of them quite good looking I might add. Not that I had anything to do with it.”

  “You didn’t,” said Ansley teasing him and giving him a sly smile.

  Patrick grabbed her and gave a big squeeze as she laughed. The family enjoyed the painting. It seemed to help tie the family to their new home.

  The kids loved the summer days playing in the countryside. Occasionally it would rain for several days causing the children to watch anxiously out of the windows longing for the sun to reappear.

  One afternoon as the sun peeked through the clouds, Declan went out back to play. He walked past the big mound and noticed how the rain had soaked the dirt and turned it into a thick mud. He cleared away some of the ivy and began digging into it.

  He noticed something catch the sunlight and reflect it back into his eyes. As he brushed off the mud around the object it began to take shape. It was a round metal plate with some kind of Celtic design. He rubbed off more of the mud and found that it had a small, green emerald crystal in the center.

  “What have we here?” he thought to himself. “This could be a good luck charm.”

  Curiosity got the better of the lad as he took out his pocket knife and began prying off the metal object. It seemed to be attached to some stone and was hard to get off. Soon the metal piece gave way to the pocketknife and dropped to the ground. Upon releasing the artifact from the stone, Declan felt a shock run through his body. He squinted his eyes as a flash of blue light blinded him. He jumped back in fear and headed for the safety of the house.

  “Ma! Ma!” he shouted excitedly as he reached the back of the house.

  Ansley ran to the back door to see what the excitement was about.

  “I pried off a piece of metal from the mound and it shocked me. Then there was this huge flash of blue light,” he said while making large gestures with his hands.

  Ansley could see the fear in Declan’s eyes as she listened with skepticism to his explanation of events.

  “Declan, you have a good imagination,” she said scolding the lad. She looked out toward the mound of dirt just to be sure but didn’t see anything unusual. She conti
nued preparing dinner.

  Patrick, Tevan, and Siobhan had been to town buying some needed supplies.

  As they carried the bags of groceries into the house, Tevan began taunting, “Siobhan has a boyfriend.”

  “I do not,” she said defiantly glaring at Tevan. “I was only talking to him. He just asked where I was from. Besides, he plays on the rugby club team.”

  “He does?” asked Tevan as his eyes lit up. “What’s his name?”

  “Vaughn,” said Siobhan as she turned her back, “But that’s all I’m telling you because you made fun of me.”

  “Sorry,” said Tevan trying his best to apologize.

  “Enough of that stuff,” said Declan interrupting the conversation. “You should have seen what happened to me at the mound today. I pulled off a piece of metal stuck on it and it shocked me with a huge flash of blue light.”

  “Whatever,” said Tevan rolling his eyes.

  “You have an active imagination,” said Siobhan mocking him.

  “What’s he talking about?” asked Patrick with concern in his voice.

  “He seemed pretty scared running to the house this afternoon,” said Ansley reflecting back on the event.

  “Did anything else happen?”

  “Nothing since.”

  The information seemed to bother Patrick but he brushed it aside.

  “Let’s eat. I’m starving,” he said as his stomach growled.

  “Me too,” said Declan as he plopped down on a chair at the table.

  “Ok, its ready,” said Ansley smiling at them.

  That night, around midnight, Patrick was awakened by a flash of blue light outside their bedroom window. Patrick sat up and stared out into the dark, wet night.

  While still staring out the window, he reached over to shake Ansley and asked,” Did you see that?”

  Ansley sat up startled,” What’s wrong?”

  “The lighting, did it seem strange to you?” he said softly to her.

  “What lighting?” responded Ansley with a yawn.

  “The lighting, it was blue. Different than usual,” said Patrick a bit confused.

  “That is odd,” agreed Ansley as she tried to lie back down to sleep.

  Since it was raining, Patrick assumed the flash of light was from the thunder storm. A few minutes later, they were awakened by a strange noise coming from the playroom.

  “I think there’s someone in the house,” said Patrick cautiously as he quickly sat up in bed.

  Ansley was now fully awake and grabbed his arm in fear.

  “I better go check it out,” he said as he slid out of bed.

  “Please be careful,” said Ansley anxiously as she let go of his arm.

  Patrick quietly picked up a poker from the fireplace and walked slowly down the hallway to the playroom.

  He noticed a flash of red light that he assumed was part of the storm that was raging outside.

  He raised the poker in the air as he opened the door. He took a quick look around the room then jumped back. He didn’t see anything but still wasn’t sure.

  “Maybe they already left the playroom,” he thought to himself. He stood for a moment gathering courage to go into the room.

  He was just about to rush into the room when he suddenly felt something touch the back of his arm. He jumped with fear. He turned with his arm raised ready to strike whatever it was that touched him. He was relieved to see that it was Ansley. She had followed him out of the bedroom and had stayed a few steps behind him.

  “You gave me a fright,” he said grabbing her hands.

  “Sorry,” said Ansley with a smile. “I couldn’t let you face the intruder alone.”

  Nothing in the playroom seemed out of place. They went to each door of the children and inspected their rooms. Siobhan was hugging her pillow and drooling out the side of her mouth. Tevan had an arm dangling down the side of his bed where he had dropped his digital music player. Declan had kicked all the pillows and blankets off of his bed and was curled up like a ball. They were all sleeping soundly.

  “What a sight they are,” said Ansley with a sigh.

  Patrick nodded and smiled back.

  “That noise must have been the sounds of an old house, but I’ll check the front door just in case.”

  He walked down the stairs and checked the knob. It was locked. Satisfied that everything was fine he slowly climbed the stairs.

  “Let’s go back to sleep,” said Ansley as she yawned and covered her mouth with her hand.

  They slowly shuffled back to bed.

  “The lighting around here sure is strange,” said Patrick as his eyelids began to droop.

  “Aye it is,” said Ansley although she was almost asleep.

  Patrick leaned over and gave Ansley a peck on the cheek.

  “Good night love.”

  “Good night,” she replied with a slight smile.

  The rest of the night seemed uneventful as they drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, Tevan woke up to use the bathroom. He jumped out of bed and stubbed his toe on the digital music player he had dropped on the floor. As he grabbed his foot and hopped a few steps, he left his room and walked past the painting in the playroom. Something in the painting caught his attention. He stopped and stared wide-eyed. He turned and quickly ran into Declan’s room to wake him up.

  “Quick, come see!” he said grabbing his arm and pulling him out of bed.

  “Look at the painting,” he said pointing to it.

  “What did you do?” asked Declan as Tevan ran to Siobhan’s room to awaken her.

  “What do you want Tevan?” she said in a sleepy, irritated voice. “Just let me sleep.”

  “Come see what happened,” he said excitedly standing by her bed.

  She rubbed her eyes and stepped onto the floor. She turned her head and scolded Tevan for waking her up while walking towards the picture. As she turned to face the painting, her mouth froze without saying another word. After about a minute she shouted, “Someone changed Ma’s picture and they are going to get it!”

  She and the two boys ran down the hall to their parent’s room. Patrick and Ansley were awakened by the sound of excited children.

  “Da! Ma!” they shouted. They all began talking at once.

  “One at a time, please,” said Patrick with a confused look.

  “Come see the painting!” said Declan frantically.

  “Yah somebody changed it,” said Siobhan wanting to get someone in trouble.

  “There’s a red glow coming from the mound,” said Tevan with concern in his voice.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Patrick staring at the three children.

  “Come on!” the kids said excitedly.

  Ansley and Patrick climbed out of bed. The children grabbed their hands and tugged at them all the way down the hall to the playroom.

  “What the?” said Patrick with a bewildered look as he stared at the painting.

  Ansley held her hand over her mouth. “What happened?” she asked out loud.

  To their amazement, Ansley’s painting had changed. A small section of the mound was exposed revealing a stone wall with small cross cut into it. An eerie red glow was emanating from within the cross.

  “Tevan woke us up to see what happened to the picture,” said Siobhan accusingly.

  “Tevan, what did you do?” asked Ansley as she gave him a stern look.

  “What do you mean what did I do?” asked Tevan looking innocent.

  “Tevan, is this another one of your pranks?” asked Patrick glaring at him.

  “It’s not funny Tevan,” said Siobhan with a smirk.

  Everyone was staring at Tevan. “It wasn’t me, honest!” he said with conviction as he held up his hand.

  “Ok, then who was it?” asked Ansley as she looked at the other two children. She didn’t appreciate anyone messing with her paintings.

  The kids all shook their heads.

  “Then who did it?” asked Patrick confused by
their response.

  “I’m scared. What does it mean?” Siobhan said timidly as she grabbed her mother’s arm.

  “I don’t know,” said Patrick still dazed and staring at the painting.

  “Go get my cell phone please,” he said to Tevan.

  Tevan obeyed and quickly left the room. He returned a few moments later with the phone. Patrick raised it up and touched the camera settings. He took a picture and compared it to the actual painting. He wasn’t imagining the change. He saved the image for future reference.

  “What’s all over the floor?” said Ansley as she noticed the mess.

  The family had been so focused on the painting that they hadn’t noticed the footprints on the floor. The family looked down and saw wet, slightly muddy footprints in front of the picture that began from downstairs.

  “I knew I heard someone in here last night,” said Patrick reassuring himself.

  Patrick and Ansley followed the footprints down the stairs and to the back door. The children were close behind them. They refused to be left alone. Patrick had already checked the front door the night before but realized he hadn’t checked the back door. It was locked.

  “That’s very strange,” said Patrick out loud. “How did someone get into the house? The doors and windows are locked.”

  “Maybe it was unlocked when we went to bed and it got locked when the intruder left,” suggested Ansley staring at the door and thinking of a plausible explanation.

  Patrick shrugged his shoulders.

  He looked down at the footprints and said, “Notice how the footprints only go into the house and up the stairs. There are none that come back.”

  “That’s very strange,” said Ansley looking at the footprints then at Patrick.

  “Siobhan, please get a bucket and fill it with water. Tevan, get the cleaner, the mop and some towels,” said Ansley as she began organizing the cleanup.

  The family spent the next half-hour cleaning the footprints. Ansley and Siobhan cleaned the upstairs while Patrick, Tevan, and Declan cleaned the stairs and downstairs. After they put the cleaning supplies away, they sat down at the table to rest and for a quick breakfast. The rest of the day seemed to pass uneventfully.