I want to say that I'm probably the most honest man you will ever meet. Never once have I touched a drop of Bacchus's wine, touched the Devil's Lettuce, nor indulged in the more heinous or destructive drugs ever to exist. I'm not what you would call a poet, a novelist, nor even someone that can dream anything creative. I am dull as a man my age could be, but still happily married and gainfully employed. So when it comes for me to tell you this story, let me say that in its entirety that it's real. At no point have I changed events, names, or even places to protect the innocent - not that there had been any wrongdoing at all that night. And let me make it perfectly clear, I am not a superstitious man either, but it certainly has created a believer into that world in me.
During a business trip to Ireland last year, I found myself in a quaint little village by the sea. For the life of me, I can't remember its name, but I do recall there being a cliff with a gorgeous view of the sunrise only ten minutes away from it. Four other colleagues and I stopped there for the night on the way to a convention. Given we had all the time in the world to make it to our destination and have traveled a fair distance from the airport in Dublin, we figured we could use a bit of a rest from the trip. We stayed in separate rooms, bid ourselves good night, and to meet up with one another at 9 am to resume the rest of the trip. The others hit the bar, I decided to go to my room.
For how warm and inviting an inn such as this is in a nice little village, there isn't a lot to do in the room itself. Not like what you expect to find at a Holiday Inn or Travel Lodge, but in 2018 you would expect some modern conveniences. The place didn't even have a charging dock for my cell phone, and of course, I would forget my charger at home of all times. No wifi access to connect to the internet on my laptop, either, which meant even going on Facebook or even Youtube was out of the question for entertainment. It had a TV, sure, but I was never one to watch TV before bed. So, I did the next best thing when you're as bored as I was: Try to sleep.
I will say what this village inn did have over the comforts of a Holiday Inn, very comfortable and homey sheets. It was as if someone took the time to research what sort of bedding my grandparents would have used in their time, and added all the comforts of that era. Despite how awake I was, I managed to get myself a little bit tired enough that sleep would not be impossible to obtain at that moment. Getting into just my boxers, wrapping myself up in the sheets and blanket, I let my eyes closed and began to slow my breathing. I felt so relaxed, so tired, the bed was so wonderful. I was having doubts I could even leave it in the morning. I was half-way there, I could feel it, about to lose that consciousness and pass out.
Come to me...
My eyes opened up immediately. I could have sworn I heard a voice, beckoning me somewhere, but I had no idea where it would come from. Most of the other patrons were in the pub, and it sounded more like it came from inside my room than the other side of the door. “I must have woken myself up from a dream,” I told myself, chuckling before settling down again for a second attempt.
Come to me...
There it was again. The voice of someone I had never heard of before. It was certainly a woman's voice and a fairly young one at that. A young adult probably, someone who had either finished high school late or was already in college. In any case, she was adamant that I go to her, but I had no idea where she could have been, or what she would have wanted from me. I took another look in the room, making sure no one was making a prank just because I wouldn't get drunk with them.
“Okay, really funny,” I said, taking one last look. “If I need to find you, I will, but don't assume you won't get out of this unpunished.” It was an empty threat, I wouldn't know what I could do to an obvious prankster. But at the same time, I also didn't want her to think I would go soft after bothering me.
Come to me...
She called to me once more, yet this time, and perhaps it was from me being a little more awake and alert to the situation, hearing her say that felt a little unusual, or off-putting. It wasn't that I was lightheaded, but I certainly had the symptom of such a thing happening to me, which is as best a description of the feeling I could think of. The more upsetting aspect about it, in retrospect, was that the feeling was more welcoming than bothersome. At the time it didn't register to me that being the case, but remembering back on it now, it most certainly was. All I knew what to do then was to go outside. No matter what the feeling was doing to me, cooler air would be better than warmer if I was lightheaded. A change of clothes later, and I left the inn without my colleagues realizing.
The night air in Ireland seemed crisper and cleaner than it ever did at home. I didn't question it, instead, I enjoyed the late evening chill. My lightheaded feeling was gone, at least for the moment. I began to look around at the night sky and marveled at the glorious sight above me. Having been a city boy all my life, I never was able to see the number of stars I was able to see now. It was beautiful, seeing the night sky shimmering like it was, almost like seeing the shimmer of light against freshly fallen snow against a black background. I thought about staying awake for at least another hour to star gaze.
Come to me...
But as I heard her voice once more, a weird compulsion struck me. Before it was a personal mission to find her and tell her to leave me in peace. Now it was just to find her, for what reason I didn't even know. I brought my head down from the heavens and looked around my immediate area. Without the convenience of street lights every twenty feet, I couldn't see anything in the dark of night. The big oak trees I saw early in the evening when the sun was still setting into the sea, were essentially gone in the darkness. It was impossible to tell what from what passed the beacon of light that was the electricity of the inn.
Yet, against the black of the night, I saw something standing out in its illumination on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea. It was hard to tell what it was at first, the source of the light only surrounded by a light blue aura. The likes of it I had never seen before, but it was certainly something I wanted to witness closer. The road to it was clear, a grassy plain with the occasional rock that I tripped over and cursed. My mindset didn't even register the pain I would have normally felt tripping over something that hard, my focus was on the light and approaching it. I didn't even know why, it went beyond curiosity as if going there was somehow a purpose I had long forgotten, and tonight was the night I dreamt of.
By this point, I was about a good thirty steps away from the glowing light, which was becoming more solid and identifiable as I came closer. The light was being cast off a person, a woman given her body shape. At twenty-five steps, I saw perfect long flowing hair, which almost looked like a liquid for how unnaturally wavy it was in the breeze of the sea. At twenty steps I saw that she wore something white and long, a dress of some sort. By fifteen steps I saw the detail in the dress, looking very gorgeous with the frills and the seams, almost like a wedding dress. By ten steps I stopped.
"You came..."
As I gazed upon her, I lightly gulped down, while an unexpected tinge of nervousness hit me. I couldn't explain it, it was like I was meeting her again, but I never met her before. I had so many questions about who she was and what was happening, but apparently, my mouth had other plans for me.
“I could not leave you any longer.”
I blinked quickly, what the hell was I saying? It didn't make sense. Who was she that I knew her so well? When she turned to look at me, it was like my heart sank twice. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but I noticed something as she turned. She was rather transparent. She was a ghost! But yet even as this revelation sat, I didn't flinch, as if I expected that.
“I waited so long...” she said woefully, and I could almost feel myself tear up before I spoke.
“I know. When we sailed, a terrible storm hit us. We were driven off course and made way to a new land. We had no idea where we were, or if we would ever go home again. The captain told us we should make the most of our new life. I could not have wanted another lover, not with you in my heart, but I did go into the arms of another woman.” For whatever reason, I bit my lip. “I was a fool, she had only comforted me in a lonely night, but we did not love each other. My thoughts, prayers, heart, and soul were bound to you, my love. And I found my way back to you.”
She seemed to smile at that, but I had no idea what I was talking about. “Then come to me... and let's go home, my love.” And even before I thought of taking a step forward, as if mentally to continue this game, something else happened. My vision was clouded by the same light blue aura that was covering her, and in a matter of seconds, I realized what happened. Another ghost had come from out of my body and manifested itself as a gentleman very similar to myself. He walked up to her, took her hands, kissed the back of one, and looked into her eyes while she did to his. Then the ghosts disappeared, and just like that, the light around them faded as well. I was left stunned, confused, and certainly a little tired. I needed answers, but they'd wait for the morning.
That night, when I returned to my room, I slept like a log, so hard that one of my colleagues poured water on my face – with the owner's permission apparently. We were going to be late if I slept in a little longer. I told them about what happened last night, but knowing they wouldn't believe me I made the story up like a dream I couldn't shake. It seemed too fantastical to have been real, they said, and they could have been right, but I wanted to ask around just to be sure.
As it appeared, only one person knew the possibility of the story I told. He was an old timer, probably in his hundreds, and he remarked on the story:
“Aye, I know. A young lass, born to the leader of the village, went and got engaged to a seafarin' man. The day before the weddin', his Captain wanted to do some fishin' out deep in the sea when a storm hit. Some say the winds got so bad it sent them all the way to America. And I guess that lass has been waitin' for him ever since.”
When I think back to what happened, it's like one of those weird ghost stories you hear about over campfires. Or at the very least a cartoon. Then I thought about it. My great great grandmother was a woman who gave birth to a child from wedlock but married her to keep the peace with her family. When I realize that and think of the possibility of who this man is, it makes me smile. To this day, even if it's a weird thing to treasure, I was able to reunite my great great grandfather with his first love from beyond the grave.
