Visited by my aunt pat

I don't remember meeting my grandfather's sister until I was an adult. Aunt Pat was a rebel when she was younger. Having been born in the 1920s she didn't follow the societal rules of a young lady. She was estranged from the family and lived a very adventurous life. She was a true free spirit with claims of being friends with Dizzy Gillespie and other musicians of that time. She spent the 60s in San Francisco and traveled her way back up North.

When I met Aunt Pat she had been living in Seattle and was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My husband and I would often take trips to Seattle to sit at her bedside and hear her stories.

We became very close and connected. With Steven being a musician, Aunt Pat gifted him a gold book mark with a treble clef on it, round at the top and a point on the bottom. (Relevant later)

I was unable to go up to Seattle to visit her as planned because a storm had come. I called her to let her know that we wouldn't be coming. We were both pretty sad about it but that's life in the PNW winter. That night I had a very realistic dream that I sat at her bedside all night and we talked until the sunrise. It felt so real. She called me that morning and thanked me for the visit! We talked about the conversation we had through the night. Both of us unsure what to think about this experience for it seemed so real to us and we both had the same memories of our conversations.

Aunt Pat passed away that winter.

I will add that before Aunt Pat was diagnosed with cancer she had custody of her grandson Ryan. Ryan's Mom had passed away in her sleep when she was 26. Ryan then went to live with my Mother after Aunt Pat was diagnosed.

I had placed the bookmark that Aunt Pat gifted Steven in a curio cabinet along with crystals and a variety of other stones. One day when I walked by the cabinet I noticed the bookmark was pointing in the back left of the cabinet. I thought, "That's weird" and replaced it to the right side with the point facing the front of the cabinet like it originally was. I then went about my business.

Next week I noticed again that it was in the back left corner with the point facing the back of the cabinet. This time I asked my husband and three daughters if they had been moving it. They all said no. I started to pay more attention to the bookmark to see what was going on. I saw that the bookmark had moved forward in the case. A few days later it turned around to the center of the case then back to the front, turning yet again and pointing to the back left corner. This happened all in a week. The bookmark went around the stones and followed the same path.

I removed the stones from the cabinet and put powder down on the glass to see if there would be fingerprints or something to tell me a clue of what was happening. I replaced the bookmark to the original position (minus the stones) and shut the door, The bookmark made the same path to the back left corner within the week. There was a perfect track with no other prints or marks. Hello Aunt Pat!

In the following months I had many "visits" from Aunt Pat. I should say here that I have always had "visits" from people who have passed. Usually it's to give a message to those left behind. I don't always know the person but I always find out within days to come who it was. That's another story. My visits from Aunt Pat were usually her checking in. Saying hi, I am here. One visit she asked me to tell her son that she was really sorry. This was three months after she passed. I asked my Mother about this and she informed me that they had a huge falling out years ago. Once my mother had spoken to her son the visits stopped.

Until... A few years later. I was working at one of my clients houses. Aunt Pat showed herself to me and said, "Don't worry, he's with me." Having no clue what she was talking about I said okay and went about my business. At 4:30pm that evening my mother called me to let me know that Ryan had passed in his sleep. He was 26, the same age as his mom when she passed in her sleep. I told my mother that I already knew and the he was with Aunt Pat. I never heard from Aunt Pat again.

When I was on my back patio preparing the centerpieces for my cousin Ryan's memorial I turned around to find him standing there clear as day! It's always a little shocking when this happens. He says to me. "Please tell everyone thank you." He faded. I never heard from Ryan again.