When Christmas finally came I knew it was going to be a stretch without my family and trying to get into the spirit while being on a tropical island.
I saw that a few of the stores here sold a holiday artificial palm tree with the little lights attached. The stores all carried tropical ornaments so I thought; why not get into the mood by going ‘Tropical’ all the way? I bought the six-foot palm tree and started to collect a variety of the tropical ornaments. I bought some seashells, glass parrots, starfish, and found the most beautiful glass seahorse. I bought the last one that was on the shelf. Now to top things off, I went and bought a brand new beach towel that would be my tree skirt. At this point I was feeling crafty and was anticipating the end result.
When it was all set up, I plugged my masterpiece in, took a step back and was quite proud of my accomplishments. I turned off all the lights in the house and admired my work. Hubby also sang praises about the tree. I said to him, “Do you miss the traditional tree?” He hugged me tight, and told me he thought this was way cooler.
I took photos and plastered them all over Facebook and Twitter where people and friends would comment on how beautiful it looked. I skyped my daughters, showing off my tree, and they loved it.
As the days wore on up until Christmas I found myself pining for the traditional Christmas tree, wishing I had just bought a small artificial one. I decided to busy myself with volunteering at the schools and working on some writing projects. I had to resign to the fact that it was just going to be me and James alone this Christmas. I had made one new friend whose husband worked for the same company that hired James. We did some lunches and went out for dinner on the weekends, but I still had that feeling of loneliness inside.
One night while lying on the sofa and staring at the tree, I decided to rearrange some of the ornaments. The glass seahorse didn’t look quite right, where it was hanging, so I moved it to the back of the tree. It had large beady eyes, with the body an array of striped pastels. I placed him at the back of the tree, as the front was already cluttered with the seashells and other tropical ornaments. I stood back and was happy with my new arrangement. I turned the lights out and went to bed.
The next morning I walked into the living room with my cup of tea and turned on the TV. I sat on the sofa to find the seahorse ornament had moved from the back of the tree now to the front. I wondered if I was losing my mind! “How the heck did that happen?” I turned to the Missy and asked her if she did this. I even phoned James at work to see if he moved it. He has an early morning shift and wondered if he had done this? Of course he didn’t, I came to find out. I walked over to the tree, picked up the ornament and placed it again in the back. I could swear that seahorse was looking at me like it had a mind of its own. I looked it straight in the eye. “Did you move by yourself? “After placing him in the back, I decided it was just a fluke and went about my day.
That night after dinner I was watching television by myself. James turned in at seven. Seems every add on television featured a traditional Christmas tree. I glanced over at my palm and wished it would turn into a traditional tree. As I walked over to unplug it, I held the little seahorse in my hand. “Now, don’t you move tonight, little guy.” I couldn’t believe I was talking to an ornament. Is this what I would be reduced to, living on this little island? Talking to ornaments was not something I did on a regular basis.
During the night when I woke up to let the dog out, I went to check on the tree, just to see if the ornament had moved. I found it was still in the back where I had placed it. Feeling good about all of this, I went back to bed.
The next morning carrying my tea into the living room I could see the seahorse had once again moved! I spilled my hot tea but didn’t care, as I stared at the tree in wonderment. Was I going nuts? Did I have a ghost? I sat on the sofa trying to make some sense of all this. I thought of my mother, who loved Christmas more than anything. I wondered if she was up to this. And there was my father, who was a joker. Was it he? All the while that seahorse seemed to be staring at me once again with its little black beady eyes.
I walked over to the ornament again and held it in my hand. “Okay, just why are you doing this? Is it your plan to make me go insane?”
Wow, here I was again, talking to an ornament. I knew something was up, and I needed to speak to someone. Talking to James or my girls about this was definitely out of the question. They’d have me in the ‘Looney Bin’. I paced the floor trying to come to a solution. Then it hit me! I’d been listening to Blog Talk Radio quite a bit lately and some of the paranormal shows had psychics on as guests. I do believe in the paranormal and had a few odd encounters in my life. Callers could phone or Skype in and get a reading. Bingo! I had a plan.
* * *
With it being a weeknight, I knew my husband would retire early so I could listen to my show downstairs in peace, hoping to contact a psychic on a show. I searched several shows on Blog Talk and found one that had a medium on from California. I hadn’t heard of her before, but I thought I’d give it a shot. My heart raced and my hands were all sweaty as I remained in the queue waiting and praying for the show host to answer. Lots of things were going through my head as I waited. I wondered what the listeners would think of me. But I had signed in as a fictitious name. Besides, no one would know me, I rationalized.
Finally I was put on with the host, and a lady called Dawn Collins, the guest medium. I had introduced myself, then had to state my name, birth date and where I lived. I was told not to give any more information than that. I surely thought I would be able to talk about my strange occurrence. I held my breath and waited patiently, as a bit of silence came from the other end.
Miss Collins was consulting a counsel of guides to assist her in this assessment. “I feel there is a presence in you home, April. It’s one you know well.”
Once again I was holding my breath and my heart was pounding. I was waiting for her to reveal that it was indeed my mother.
“Your father is with you. He has been playing games with moving something in your home.”
I wanted to jump out of my seat. How did she know something had been moved? I only gave her the information requested.
“Seems he has a penchant for shiny things,” Miss Collins informed. “Is this making any sense to you, dear?” she asked.
I confirmed her information, of course, and told her then what was moved.
“Your father wants you to know he is with you and you are not to worry about your move. It’s where you belong. Usually we worry about the deceased, but in most cases they are just fine and communicate with us when they know there is a problem. He must have been feeling your sense of uneasiness.”
I sat speechless and felt an overwhelming sense of calm, thanking her and ending my call, knowing she had other callers in the queue.
Would I tell James? Would I tell the kids? Lots was going through my head right now. What I did do that night was walk over to the tree and leave the seahorse in the front, just where dad had moved it. “Okay, dad, the jig is up! I’m glad you decided to join us here on the island for Christmas.” I turned out the lights and went to bed, wondering if the ornament would be moved in the morning.
The next morning, to my surprise I checked to see if the seahorse had moved. It was still at the front, where I knew it wanted to be, or where dad had wanted it to be. I sat on the sofa and decided that I was ready to accept the fact that I would not have my traditional Christmas and would learn to like my new lifestyle. After all, if dad was sending me a sign, then I better adhere to it.
That evening after dinner while sitting in the living room with James, he had noticed a few of the small lights were burned out. He walked over to the tree. “Usually it’s just one of these little guys that makes the entire strand go out,” he said. As he leaned into the tree, the seahorse fell to the floor and shattered into several pieces.
“Oh, no!” I screamed, falling to the floor, trying to gather every last piece.
“It’s o
nly an ornament, honey,” he stated.
“No, it’s dad’s ornament!” I yelled.
“What in the heck are you talking about?”
“Dad has been moving the seahorse. A psychic called Dawn Collins told me. She said dad was playing tricks on me to let me know he’s here with me.”
“You went to see a psychic . . .here on the island?”
“No, I talked to her on a Blog Talk Radio show the other night.”
“Well, if you believe everything you hear and read on the Internet, you’re headed for trouble.”
I looked at my little seahorse, now shattered in hundreds of little pieces and began crying. “I can’t even glue him back together.”
“Just go to the store where you bought that one and get a new one,” he suggested.
“It won’t be the same. Besides it was the last one left. I rolled up the paper towel with all of the pieces and placed it in the kitchen drawer.
“You know honey, you really have to get a hold of yourself. Why don’t you call one of the teachers you met down here and go out to lunch?”
I looked at him as my eyes welled up. He just doesn’t get it.
* * *
The next morning I knew I had to have another seahorse. I waited until the store opened and was ready to make a mad dash over to the Christmas section the minute the doors opened. I wanted to be sure I got one and would trample anyone who got in my way.
Racing down to the aisle with the ornaments, my heart pounded. Oh, please let there be at least one more left. To my dismay the rack was empty. There was a vast array of seashells, starfish and the other sea - themed ornaments, but not one seahorse. I went to hunt down a store clerk and asked if she could check the back room to see if they had any more in stock. The older lady must have noticed my breathless tone and antsy demeanor. “I don’t think we have any left, Ma’am, but I’m going to check now for you.”
I waited patiently for her to emerge from the stock room with another identical sea horse. It wasn’t like I could go to a Target or Wal-Mart, this being a small island, we had few stores and selections were limited.
My heart sunk when she came out to let me know there were none left. “We have lots of new seashells that I’m going to stock in a bit,” she said.
At this point I could feel myself losing control. I asked if she could order some. She informed me they weren’t ordering from this particular company anymore. I turned on my heel and left the store. I hadn’t even bothered to thank her. Yes, I was desperate, and to the point of a pending breakdown.
I had one last hope, and that was to go into town where the tourist shops were. I knew of a couple shops that sold Christmas ornaments. As I drove into town I noticed there were two cruise ships in port. “Darn! I’ve got to get to the shops before the tourists do.” They always bought island ornaments, as it is quite a novelty. I parked the car and raced off to the first shop. I wove in and out of hordes of tourists who packed the sidewalks.
I walked into Trade Winds, the first shop and BINGO; I could spot the glass sea horses in a display on the counter. I shoved my way through a group of tourists. Now up close, I could see the seahorse was quite different from mine. The colors were darker and it didn’t have the black beady eyes. There were three of them left on the rack. I pondered for a moment, but when a few tourists picked the other one up and looked like they were going to buy another, I panicked and purchased the one.
Once home I placed the new seahorse in the same spot as the other one. “Now I hope you like your new home, J.K.” Yes, I was talking to an ornament again. I decided to call him J.K. That was my dad’s nickname.
I was proud to show James the new ornament. He gave me a hug knowing I was now finally showing some excitement toward Christmas. “I see you have gone tropical,” he said.
“How about hysterical?” I replied.
I know he still didn’t buy my story about dad moving the ornament. I think he was just glad I was showing signs of settling into our new lifestyle.
Before turning into bed, I walked over to the tree to turn the lights out. I looked at J.K. “I put you up in front, so I hope you’ll stay there.”
Not being able to sleep that night, I thought I’d sneak downstairs and take a peek to see if the new ornament had moved. I felt like a child waiting to see what Santa left, as I tiptoed down the stairs and strode over to the tree. I turned on the table lamp and could see it was in the same spot I left him.
Okay, what gives? Was dad not sending me signs anymore?
Did he not like the new ornament? Or was he here for just a short time to deliver his message? My head was wracked with mixed messages. I went back to bed, hoping to have a clear head in the morning. After all, tomorrow was Christmas Eve.
* * *
I was up early the next morning getting the ham in the oven and all the food ready for a quiet dinner for two. James had to work until early afternoon. When you’re in the food business, you work holidays. In a way I was glad to have the morning all to myself. I got the kitchen cleaned, the few presents wrapped that I bought and was ready to Skype my daughters. They were busy back in California getting ready to have their holiday with their spouses and in-laws. My oldest daughter, Bella had beaten me to the call. Somehow I think she knew the battles I was facing with adjusting to my new life. We talked for an hour and she showed me her Christmas tree. It was so beautiful, I was overcome with emotions.
“Oh, don’t cry, mom,” she said.
I never confessed to either of my daughters about my depression for the past few months. There are just some things you don’t tell your children.
After pulling myself together, she informed me that she and her husband would be coming out for sure next Christmas. This time I cried for joy.
“And by the way, Mom, I really love your Tropical tree,” she said.
“I do, too honey.”
The next call I had to make was to my youngest daughter, Angelica. I had told myself I wasn’t going to cry. I managed to make it through until she mentioned my mom and dad. “You know, mom, I really think grams and gramps want you to be happy. I bet they’re smiling down from Heaven at you right now.”
I took a moment of silence. Did she know about the occurrence? I knew she was an intuitive like me, but she couldn’t possibly know. Maybe James told her?
“I’ve got something to tell you, mom.”
I braced myself. Here it comes. ‘The moment of truth’. I just knew she would tell me she was psychic.
“Mom. . .mom! Are you still there?”
“Yes, hon, I’m here.”
“Cameron just found out he’s getting transferred to Houston after the New Year. It’ll be a good move for him. He’ll get a raise and a huge bonus.”
“That’s wonderful news, honey.” It was the second piece of good news I heard today.
“And how do you feel about this?”
“I’m good with it, Mom, besides you know I hated my job anyway.”
“Things happen for reasons, Angelica. You’ll see how this will all work out.”
After our call I went to take out the ham and prepare the other side dishes. I was feeling better about my day. Skype was ringing. I could see it was a call from my Aunt Laura in Ohio.
“Merry Christmas to my favorite niece,” she chirped.
My heart melted. Aunt Laura was my favorite aunt. Since mom’s death she became like a mother to me. We spoke every weekend. We talked about old family traditions, as we lived just one street over while growing up. Christmas back then was magical. Well, it was a bit magical here too, on a different level. I hadn’t shared my strange occurrence with her, although I knew she would be open to this kind of thing.
We got on the subject of family traditions and talked about our summers when the family would all get together in Ocean City, Maryland.
“You know your dad loved that motel we stayed at the first time we went. It was right on the beach. It had huge glass sliding doors that he kept open all night.
He loved to sleep with the sound of the ocean,” she said.
“Oh, that sounds wonderful, but I was only seven and don’t remember much about that place.”
“I remember the sign so well, till this day. It was a big sea horse. It was called The Seahorse Inn.”
I was about ready to fall to my knees. My heart fluttered and I trembled.
“April. . .April! Are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m here, just a little shaken.”
“What’s wrong dear?”
I had to take a few deep breaths after this one and pull myself together. I went on to tell her what had happened. She concurred that this was truly ‘Divine Intervention’ at work here. It was good to get this off my chest. I knew now that I wasn’t going crazy and the psychic was right.
Christmas turned out to be just fine after all. Spending a quiet and intimate holiday with just James and Missy was a real treat.
James headed off to work, and I had planned to take down the tree and the decorations. I removed every single ornament except for the seahorse. I knew it was not the original one, but it still held so much meaning. I held it gently in my hands. “Okay, J.K. are you ready to take a trip?”
I wrapped him up in bubble wrap, and then placed him on the counter. I decided he’d go to visit Angelica. She may need a visit from her grandpa, with moving into a new home in a new place. I’m sure he’ll have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Lorraine Carey is a veteran Children’s Reading Specialist, Teacher and Author.
She taught in many states and still continues to provide reading support services for students at a private school on Grand Cayman.
Her first published work was a short memoir and three novels for tweens to young adults which feature a male hero. All of them are part historical fiction with fantasy peppered with the Paranormal. Ever since her childhood she had a passion for ghost stories.
She is about to release another historical fiction/fantasy, called The Last Vestal Virgin. This is another young adult novel about a teen who discovers she may just be one of the last vestals from ancient Rome and has returned to this lifetime to tend to unfinished business.