Tyler hadn’t seen his brother for a few years before he came to his funeral. He had gone off to Colorado State University to get his college degree. He majored in Agriculture in Colorado thinking he would someday return to California, but instead was able to find a job as an Agriculture teacher at one of the local junior colleges. During his senior year at Colorado State he met and married Jodi Runyon as soon as they both graduated from college. Jodi worked as a teacher at a local elementary school until she had two children, Skylar and Todd. Skylar was four going on five and Todd had just turned two. Tyler had met Jodi once when they had just gotten married, but hadn’t met the two children. He really wanted to see his big brother and meet Skylar and Todd before he passed through the light.
Ty made his way to Colorado, found their house and went inside. Justin and Jodi had a very nice two story home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was big enough that Skylar and Todd each had their own room. When Ty first arrived it was about 8:00 p.m. and Justin was reading the newspaper on the couch, while the television played in the background. Jodi was in the kitchen putting the dinner dishes away. Todd was asleep in his bedroom upstairs and Skylar was hanging out in the kitchen with her mom waiting to be put to bed. Ty took advantage of their quiet time and went looking around the house to find out how Justin and his family lived. Ty was impressed with how the front and back yards were in such immaculate condition and how well the house was kept on the inside.
After everyone went to bed, Tyler decided he would hang out in Skylar’s room because he wanted to find out more about her. He thought she was really a beautiful little girl and being around her made him wonder what it would’ve been like if he’d had a little girl with Maggie. He stayed in her room the rest of the night just hanging out and watching her sleep.
The next morning he was sitting on the edge of her bed as she woke up around 6:30. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes a few times and then ran her hands through her messed up blond hair. She looked around the room and saw Ty sitting on her bed. She wasn’t frightened by him as she said, “Who are you?” Ty was supersized she could see him. He’d read and learned from personal experience that kids could sometimes see spirits when adults couldn’t. Just like when he was a kid and he had encounters with ghosts and the parents didn’t see them. He very cautiously proceeded to introduce himself to her. He told her his name was Tyler and that he was her daddy’s brother. He said, “I’m your Uncle Tyler.” She replied, “But my daddy told me that you died.” Ty didn’t really know what to tell her, but figured he might as well tell her something she would understand. He replied, “Yes, I was in a car accident and I went to heaven.” She said, “You don’t look like you’re hurt.” Ty told her that he was all better now and that his body had healed.
As Jodi made her way up to Skylar’s room she heard her talking to someone and quickly went into the room. Ty got off the bed and stood at the end of it and out of the way. Jodi said to Skylar, “Gee, I wish you would sleep in just once and awhile where I could get some rest.” Skylar laughed and replied, “I’m sorry mommy.” As she picked Skylar up and started to walk out of the bedroom she asked Skylar who she’d been talking too. Her eyes lit up and she said, “I was talking to Uncle Tyler, daddy’s brother.” It startled Jodi so she sat Skylar down by the bedroom door and immediately went to the closet and slowly opened it to see if someone was in her room. Not seeing anyone in Skylar’s room, she picked her back up and headed down stairs to make breakfast.
When Justin came downstairs and was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hand, Jodi told him what Skylar had said. He told Jodi, “I didn’t think she remembered Tyler’s name. We don’t talk about him that often.” Jodi replied, “It startled me because I heard her in her room talking to someone, but I didn’t see anyone. Do you think she just has a wild imagination?” Justin told her, “It was probably nothing, so don’t worry about it. Maybe she just remembered us talking about him at some point.” Ty was in the kitchen with them and just listening to the entire conversation. He really wanted to jump up and down and shout out at his brother, but he didn’t want to scare Skylar. After breakfast Justin headed off to work and Jodi was home alone with Skylar and Todd.
Ty decided he wanted to just spend time with his brother so he went to work with him and spent the entire day hanging out with him. This was the most time he’d spent with Justin since their younger days when they played together in the big old house. Even though Ty thought this new life of Justin’s was somewhat boring, he still liked being with his brother. He did that for the next few days and then one day decided to stay home when Justin went to work. He was in Skylar’s room again and just hanging out as she slept in her big double bed. When she woke up he was there to keep her company. They talked about everything she wanted to talk about and he liked the fact that she could see and hear him. He thought she was very smart for her age, but didn’t have anyone to compare her to.
After they talked to each other for about ten minutes, Jodi heard her talking to Ty once again while she was standing outside Skylar’s door. She waited a few minutes and then quickly burst in the room hoping to catch whomever Skylar was talking to. Once again, not seeing anyone, she asked Skylar who she was talking to and she said, “Uncle Tyler. He’s sitting right over there,” and she pointed at the end of her bed. Jodi looked around the entire room and couldn’t see anything. She asked Skylar, “If you see Uncle Tyler what does he look like?” Skyler began to describe exactly how Tyler looked. Jodi said, “If that’s true then what’s he doing here? Skylar said, “He told me he went to heaven, but came back so he could meet me and Todd.” By that time the entire conversation was starting to freak Jodi out a little so she grabbed Skylar and went downstairs.
When Justin got home that evening that was the first thing she wanted to talk about. She told him that she was starting to feel a little freaked out about what Skylar was telling her. Justin told Jodi, “Don’t get all worked up about it, it probably isn’t anything. I think we can solve this problem when we take her to bed tonight. I’ll get some old picture of my dad and some of my friends and we’ll mix Tyler’s picture in with them. Since she hasn’t ever seen him she won’t be able to pick out his picture and then we’ll tell her she is just imagining she sees him.” He told her once she couldn’t identify him in all the pictures then they could put the entire thing to rest. Jodi thought that was a great idea and it relieved her mind temporarily.
That night, as they put Skylar to bed, Ty was at the end of the bed hanging out and smiling at Skylar. When Justin and Jodi were sure Skylar was relaxed and ready to sleep Justin pulled out the pictures and laid them on her bed. He said, “Mommy tells me you’ve been seeing and talking to Uncle Tyler. Is that true?” She replied that it was true by saying, “Yes, and he’s standing right there and she pointed to the end of the bed.” Justin jerked his head back quickly toward the end of the bed and looked around and didn’t see anything. Justin said, “If that’s true then show me which one of these pictures is him. She looked up at Ty and smiled and immediately pointed to his picture. Justin was shocked; his little plan had backfired on him. He asked Skylar if she could ask Ty something and she nodded yes. He said, “Ask him what we called the little hiding place where we used to hide out in the big old house.” He knew that only he and Tyler knew the answer to that question. Not even their parents or any of their friends knew what they called it. Tyler quickly told her to tell him that we called it “The little cubby hole.” When she told Justin what Ty said his eyes bugged out in astonishment? At that moment he knew, somehow, Ty’s spirit was with them. There was no other way she would have known the answer to that question. Skylar told him, “He wanted to meet me and Todd before he goes back to heaven and he wanted me to tell you he loves you.” Justin was in shock as he told her to tell him he loved him too. She lay back down and said, “He heard you daddy, but we can’t talk to him now; he’s going back to
haven.” Justin told her to get some sleep and he would see her in the morning and she said, “Okay goodnight daddy, I love you and mommy. I love you too, Uncle Tyler.” Ty told her he loved her to before he left.
During this trip, Ty was able to spend time with Justin and to find out what a precious family he had. He knew that Justin would know that he was okay and in a better place. It gave them the closure needed with each other.
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Chapter 23 – Tyler Contacts Maggie