The Crystal Visions: A Families Journey into the Paranormal Volume 2 (3 page)

          Shaley and Pippi charged into the mudroom
before entering the old style country kitchen. “Can we go swimming Aunt Sona?” Shaley asked much too loudly. “Not by yourselves… no!” Sona replied. “Awww” The girls responded in unison. “Swim swim.” Spencer said coming from the parlor into the kitchen and joining the conversation. “I’m too busy now Shaley.” Sona said apologetically. “Besides you can’t swim if you’ve just eaten some of these delicious double chocolate cookies I just made. They’re still warm.” Sona smiled knowing sweet treats were always a good way to distract kids.

          Shaley picked up as many as her little hands could hold and handed some to both Pippi and Spencer. She then proceeded to stuff a whole one into her own mouth which made Spencer giggle uncontrollably. Spencer moved to the back window to watch the
river while the girls talked their teenage girl talk. “I think you freaked that lady out.” Pippi said between bites. “She’ll be ok.” Shaley responded. “What lady?” Sona asked. “The lady we met in the Cemetery. She was there to see her daughter on her birthday. I told her not to be sad.” Shaley explained before taking a long drink of her Almond milk.

          Sona was about to inquire further but Spencer’s voice halted her questions. “Plane! Plane
!” He said excitedly jumping up and down. Shaley and Pippi ran over to the window and sure enough there was a float plane coming in for a landing. Now that was something you didn’t see every day. It flew low right down the middle of the small river, taxied briefly to moor at a floating dock on the far side where the river was wider and deeper. “Wow!!” Spencer said awestruck. “That was so cool!” Shaley exclaimed. Sona just shook her head. She would never have guessed the Magnetewan River was suitable for landing a plane.

         
Pippi finished her cookies and wet her first finger to pick up the remaining crumbs on the paper towel Sona had given her. “Maybe we can go swimming on Saturday.” Pippi asked before licking the crumbs off her finger. “I’m going for my lessons with Naomi in the morning then we usually have a snack at the diner but after that I should be home. I’ll call you.” Shaley smiled warmly. Pippi looked at her and broke out laughing. “You have chocolate on your teeth.” Pippi informed her trying to suppress her laughter. Shaley covered her mouth and ran to the toaster to see her reflection. When she was finished she returned to her seat a little red in the face but smiling all the same.

          Spencer shuffled over
. “Dinew?” He asked. Shaley nodded her head in response. Spencer went over to Sona and patted her arm repeatedly. “Dinew… me?” He asked pointing to himself. Sona turned toward him with her brows furrowed. “Do you like the diner Spencer?” She asked him. “Ya Ya” He said excited. “Shaley’s going with her teacher on Saturday but maybe we all can go some time after school.” Sona offered. “Ya Ya.” Spencer said still excited. He went over to Shaley. “Me dinew too.” He told her. Shaley turned to him and smiled. “Aunt Markie’s Uncle owns the diner. We go there a lot. I always have the pie.” Shaley added with a wink. “Me too” Spencer agreed.

          Shaley turned in the direction of the kitchen. “
Aunt Sona could Pippi sleep over Saturday night?” She asked sweetly. Sona looked over at Pippi who was nodding her head vigorously and smiling broadly. “I don’t see why not… as long as your mom says its ok.” Sona concluded. The girls cheered and ran out of the room. Sona smiled and shook her head suspecting they were going to ask Pippi’s mother immediately. ~

          The room was dark except for the eerie glow of the moon streaming through Shaley’s bedroom window. She was a light sleeper so every little sound seemed to awaken her. She’d finally descended into a deep sleep when she felt someone sit down on the end of her bed by her left foot. “Here we go again.” Shaley mumbled. She sat up rubbing her eyes to clear the film that had accumulated during her brief slumber. “Who is it?... Roxanne?” Shaley asked as her vision focused. “They call me Fizz.” The young girl said. “Well Fizz you can’t just go around waking me up every night. I’m falling asleep in class.” Shaley said peering over at the translucent figure.

         
Fizz looked down at her hands that she’d placed on her lap. “I want to talk and you’re the only one who talks back.” Fizz stated. “Ok Ok. Why do they call you Fizz?” Shaley asked politely. “When I was a baby my hair was curly and stood up on the top of my head.  I looked like a bottle of pop that had been shaken.” Fizz looked up and smiled at Shaley. They sat quietly for a few seconds. “Why did you tell my mom I was always with her?” Fizz finally asked. “I just didn’t want her to be sad anymore.” Shaley replied. “She can’t remember me laughing and having fun. She only remembers the sad times. It’s hard to be with her when she’d sad.” Fizz said turning to look out the window. Shaley followed her gaze wondering what she saw.

         
The night was cool and clear and bright with a three quarter moon. What did an apparition see? “I need to get some sleep now Fizz...  Goodnight.” Shaley said out loud scrunching down in her bed and covering herself with her comforter. The spirits didn’t know when an appropriate time for conversation was and Shaley was experiencing more and more interruptions in her every day routine. She needed to ask Naomi about that on Saturday she thought to herself. ~

          Markie packed up her camera gear for the day. She’d spent the afternoon photographing the birds, flowers, trees and river. She was pleased with the day overall and was sure she’d been able to capture the essence of spring in this location. She hopped into her truck and headed for home. With any luck she would get there in time to help Sona with dinner. She pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off, gathered her gear and entered the residence through the side entrance closest to her home office where she deposited her equipment. She usually could smell dinner cooking from the hallway but today the mouthwatering aromas were absent.

          She entered the kitchen to find Sona sitting at the counter sipping a coffee and thumbing through a magazine. She cleared her throat to alert Sona to her presence so as not to startle her. “Hello beautiful! What’s going on?”
Markie enquired. “I promised the kids I would take them to the diner for supper tonight.” Sona said before accepting a moist kiss on the lips from Markie. “That sounds like a great idea. Can I join you? I haven’t seen Uncle Tullio in a while.” Markie said.

          Shaley and Spencer both came into the room anxiously. “We’re ready Auntie.” Shaley informed the adults. “Isn’t Emma coming?” Sona asked.
“She said she’s going to be video chatting with her trainer and doesn’t want to miss it.” Shaley said. “Well ok then. Is everybody ready?” Markie asked. “Ya Ya” Spencer replied excitedly. They all piled into Markie’s SUV and when she looked through her rearview mirror Spencer looked about ready to burst with sheer excitement. “Seatbelts on everyone!” She called out before putting the vehicle into gear.

          The group
marched into the diner which seemed unusually packed with patrons. Ever since the diner opened it had a steady clientele but today it seemed especially busy. An older man with thinning hair and a warm smile wearing an apron wrapped around his waist approached them. “Marquesa, my smart girl.” Uncle Tullio took Markie into his strong arms and hugged her tight giving her a kiss on each cheek. “Sona, Shaley welcome and who is this handsome young man?” He asked. “This is Spencer, our friend Jenna’s son.” Sona explained as Tullio gave her a warm hug.

     
    Someone called from across the room for Uncle Tullio. He held up his finger indicating he would be right there. He guided them to the booth that was reserved for family and scurried off. He started to remove the dishes from a nearby table to prepare it for its next patrons when a crash from the kitchen sent him scurrying through the swinging doors to the back of the restaurant. Markie stood up and started to lend a hand busing tables while a waitress came by and took their order.

          Markie continued to help out until the rest of the family
had received and consumed their delicious meal. Spencer had been watching Markie intently the entire time and when his meal was complete he went to help her. Finally Markie and Spencer had caught up with all the stray dishes and had taken them to the back where Tullio loaded them into the industrial dishwasher. The two returned to the table just in time for dessert. Spencer and Shaley had ordered pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Tullio emerged from the back room with a smile plastered on his face. “Thank you so much Marquesa… and you too Spencer.  You really helped us catch up with the crowd. Any time you need a job young man you come see me.” Tullio beamed looking directly at Spencer and pointing to his own chest dramatically. “Me! Me!” Spencer shouted with a dab of ice cream on his upper lip.

           Shaley handed him a napkin and he absently wiped his mouth. “
Slow down Spencer. We’ll have to talk to your mom about that. Maybe you can come here for your work placement for school.” Sona thought out loud. Spencers’ smile was contagious. Tullio took the lull in the diner traffic to sit down with his family for a few minutes to catch up. “Uncle you really need more help around here. I hate to see you working so hard… especially since you came up here to enjoy your retirement.” Markie stated bluntly. Tullio smiled. “Yes yes. I have the sign in the front window.” Tullio said pointing to the Help Wanted sign.

          As Markie turned s
lightly to check the sign Naomi came in looking frazzled and slightly out of breath. She came right to their table and kissed Tullio warmly on the cheek. The railroad car diner had been their project together and they really did seem very happy together. “I’m sorry darling. One of my students had some personal issues they needed to discuss.” Naomi apologized slipping off her jacket and continuing into the back of the diner but not before smiling to the rest of the family. She returned with her long ebony hair pulled back in a ponytail and an apron around her own waist. She stopped briefly at the counter and made a couple of ice-cream floats before she was roped into working.

          Naomi had many interests but her life’s work and her continued inter
est always revolved around her Spirituality and Shamanism. She felt that she could apply everything she knew to any situation. Whatever she did and whoever she came across in her lifes’ travels there always seemed to be an opportunity to practice the principles she’d learned from the Elders. On a personal level she knew that it didn’t matter what job she chose as long as she was happy.  It needed to feed her heart, mind and soul but just as importantly she had to do it with integrity. Her students’, owning the diner and even her stained glass projects all gave her a level of fulfillment she was grateful for daily. ~

          Spencer marched into the exercise room under the old Church where Emma was just shutting off her connection to her trainer. “Me eat!” He told Emma. “I know… you went to the diner. Did you have a good time?” Emma asked him. “Ya Ya” He said smiling broadly. Emma moved to one of her machines and adjusted the difficulty setting as per her coach’s instructions. “Me work… dinew.” He said enthusiastically. “You worked? Are you the new cook then?” Emma teased. “No!” Spencer giggled as he pulled on his cowlick. “I clean.” He told her. Emma was making more adjustments to her elliptical exercise training machine. “You’re a working man now are you?” She asked without looking up. “Yup” Spencer replied his chest puffed out like a rooster. Emma looked up at him smiling. “That’s terrific Spencer. I’m so proud of you.”

         
Spencer looked pleased smiling broadly. The basement had high windows that faced the side parking lot. Spencer could hear and then see a car that had pulled in the lot with the sound of crunching gravel. He made a quick move toward the door. “Mom!... mowo.” He said waving to Emma as he exited. “Ok bye Spencer. See you tomorrow.” She called out to his back. ~

          Jenna parked her car in the churches parking lot and walked to Sona’s back door. She quickly wrapped on the door as she let herself in. Sona had a fresh pot of coffee waiting for her. “Hi honey, did you have a good day at the office?” Sona asked in a joking manner. “It was a pretty productive day over-all.” Jenna replied taking the offered mug of Joe. “Sorry I don’t have any leftovers to offer you. We went to the diner for supper.” Sona said. “Oh right. That’s ok as long as Spencer is fed.” Jenna said before sipping her coffee. There was a ruckus at the back door as Spencer came charging in. “Ma! Ma!” He called out loudly. “Slow down Spencer. Did you wipe your feet so you don’t track dirt into Sona’s nice clean kitchen?” Jenna asked sternly. Spencer stopped in his tracks and looked down at his feet.

         
He went to the back door and scrubbed his sneakers on the door mat. He charged back into the room just as quickly the second time which made Sona grin in amusement. Jenna pretended to be deep in conversation with Sona so he would have to wait and cool his jets. Sona watched on fascinated at the interaction between mother and son. Spencer stood patiently shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Ma?” He finally said. Jenna turned to him. “Yes Spencer.” She said. “Me wook dinew.” He said trying very hard not to look too excited.

          Jenna looked to her friend for clarification.
“The diner was slammed so Spencer and Markie helped out busing tables.” Sona explained. “Oh that’s great Spenc. You’ve always been a good helper.” Jenna told him. “No Ma… me wook dinew mowo.” Spencer tried to explain. “Uncle Tullio said he did a great job and if he ever needed a job to come see him.” Sona told her. Jenna looked at Sona and then Spencer a little skeptically. She knew he was helpful but he’d never held down a proper job. “Was he serious?” Jenna asked Sona. “I think so. They really need the help.” Sona told her friend.