Hello, my name is Devon Michaels. I am nineteen years old and I have no family, not anymore. You see, I was born in a small Wisconsin town. When I was little, my parents got divorced. Later, when I was just nine years old, my young mother mysteriously drowned in Lake Michigan. The police couldn’t find any clues if it was a murder, so the case was shortly suspended. I think about what happened to this very day, especially after the phenomena that happened on the ten-year anniversary of her death.
I remember I spent most of the morning at my mother’s tombstone. I remember how chilling the day was of her death. January 6th, the middle of the coldest parts of winter. I put a single rose on her burial spot and read her tombstone.
“Nancy Lyn Michaels. A good memory long forgotten.”
I thought about how unfair my mother’s death was. She never deserved to die that young, and especially by drowning. I went down on my knees and felt her tombstone. Strangely, it felt wet, like someone poured water all over her grave just before I got here. I thought little of it, said my goodbyes, and left.
I got home, and opened my front door. Before I knew it, I was lying on the ground in a daze, wondering what just happened. I slowly got up and realized, there was a puddle of water underneath my feet. How could a puddle of water be in the house? I worried, and checked the rest of the house, just in case. There were no other problems, just a mysterious puddle of water in front of my front door. I then cleaned up the puddle, just in case any company comes.
No one showed up to feel sympathy or remorse for me. To be honest, I wasn’t very surprised because I never had any real friends that supported me. I continued the day like just an ordinary day. Things started getting very peculiar and down-right disturbing after I went to bed. I remember going to bed around 11:00, and I woke up at 2:50. I looked around and I mostly saw the darkness around my room. Then I looked to my bathroom across my room. I looked further into the room and saw a hand on top of the bathtub- but it wasn't just any hand, it was my mother’s hand.
I knew it was her hand because she had an obvious scar on her arm, courtesy of my abusive father. She also had shiny gold ring on her finger as well. I moved closer to get a better description, she looked exactly how I remembered before she died. She was laying in a bathtub full of water, wearing a pure white shirt. She then looked at me, with her eyes blank and lifeless, and giving a worried expression on her pale face. I screamed and ran for my bedroom door and slammed it shut. I put my body on the door to keep her out. I waited. I didn’t hear any footsteps or any other noises. All I heard was the strange apparition of my mother saying:
“Devon, please…”
I don’t know how long I laid there. Because for some reason, I woke up in my bed like that strange confrontation was all a nightmare. At least that was what I thought before I turned on the news. I got up, ate breakfast, and a took a nice refreshing shower. Then, I turned on the TV and it showed the local news station.
“Top story this morning. An unknown woman was found dead on the local beach last night. She was described as a woman in her 30’s, with long, black hair, and a scar on her right arm. If anyone knows anything else about this woman, please contact the local police.”
I dropped the remote in shock. That was impossible. My mother died ten years ago. There is no way that thing I saw last night was real.
I started crying in disbelief. I cried for at least an hour and then I realized that had to make sure my mother was in her grave. So, I went to cemetery that night. I dug up her grave and looked. She was definitely in there. I was somewhat relieved. I looked at her face, one final time. I felt her face, and noticed that there was a tear in her eye. I see now. Now I understand why I saw her that night. She just wanted to see me one final time.
I had no more business being there. So, I dug her back up. Before I left, I put that single rose back on her burial spot and said: “I love you and I miss you, mother.”