| Spiritual Non-Fiction posted February 3, 2022 |
  |
All three Nelson boys had died. One kept his promise.
The Whisper
by christianpowers
The Nelson family business was a small service station in a small New England town. Riverside Auto and Towing had been built in the 1920's and purchased by Charles Nelson, who everyone called Big Charlie, in the mid '50's. His three sons, Charles Junior, who everyone called CJ, Bobby and Ray Ray all worked the pumps and helped their dad fix the cars.
In the summer of 1969 when men went to the Moon and caskets covered in flags was Southeast Asia's number one export to the U.S.A., those three Nelson boys died in that small town garage.
Their bodies had been found early in the morning by their father. Apparently, the 1955 Ford they had been working on the night before was still running and the dark gray gaseous cloud from its deadly exhaust filled the entire building. The other boys had passed out near the car.
CJ had been found clutching the doorknob. He had almost made it out.
After their funerals, when my Mom and Dad were driving home, my Mom, still wiping tears from her eyes, said, "CJ was my favorite. I loved all three of those boys," she said, "but CJ had such a great sense of humor. He always made me laugh." Then she looked out the window and said, "You know... When CJ thought he was going to Vietnam... just before he found out his eyes were too bad to serve... he promised me that if he died over there... if he was somehow able... he would find a way to talk to me and tell me if there really was an afterlife." She smiled wistfully, and added, "I told him he better not haunt me."
My mom never mentioned that again, and a full year went by as we all moved on with our lives.
Then, one day, almost exactly a year later, as my mom and I were packing boxes in an upstairs bedroom. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, jerked her head away from an invisible threat and ran out into the hallway.
I followed her out of the room.
She was jumping up and down, shaking and crying as she yelled, "It's him! It's him!"
I had no idea who or what she was talking about. "It's who?" I shouted back.
"CJ!" she said, wiping her ear with her hand. "He just whispered... right the hell into my ear!" My mom looked frantic.
"What did he whisper?"
My mom's face contorted, half laughing and half crying she said, "He whispered... All he whispered was..., 'Boo!'"
The Nelson family business was a small service station in a small New England town. Riverside Auto and Towing had been built in the 1920's and purchased by Charles Nelson, who everyone called Big Charlie, in the mid '50's. His three sons, Charles Junior, who everyone called CJ, Bobby and Ray Ray all worked the pumps and helped their dad fix the cars.
In the summer of 1969 when men went to the Moon and caskets covered in flags was Southeast Asia's number one export to the U.S.A., those three Nelson boys died in that small town garage.
Their bodies had been found early in the morning by their father. Apparently, the 1955 Ford they had been working on the night before was still running and the dark gray gaseous cloud from its deadly exhaust filled the entire building. The other boys had passed out near the car.
CJ had been found clutching the doorknob. He had almost made it out.
After their funerals, when my Mom and Dad were driving home, my Mom, still wiping tears from her eyes, said, "CJ was my favorite. I loved all three of those boys," she said, "but CJ had such a great sense of humor. He always made me laugh." Then she looked out the window and said, "You know... When CJ thought he was going to Vietnam... just before he found out his eyes were too bad to serve... he promised me that if he died over there... if he was somehow able... he would find a way to talk to me and tell me if there really was an afterlife." She smiled wistfully, and added, "I told him he better not haunt me."
My mom never mentioned that again, and a full year went by as we all moved on with our lives.
Then, one day, almost exactly a year later, as my mom and I were packing boxes in an upstairs bedroom. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, jerked her head away from an invisible threat and ran out into the hallway.
I followed her out of the room.
She was jumping up and down, shaking and crying as she yelled, "It's him! It's him!"
I had no idea who or what she was talking about. "It's who?" I shouted back.
"CJ!" she said, wiping her ear with her hand. "He just whispered... right the hell into my ear!" My mom looked frantic.
"What did he whisper?"
My mom's face contorted, half laughing and half crying she said, "He whispered... All he whispered was..., 'Boo!'"
In the summer of 1969 when men went to the Moon and caskets covered in flags was Southeast Asia's number one export to the U.S.A., those three Nelson boys died in that small town garage.
Their bodies had been found early in the morning by their father. Apparently, the 1955 Ford they had been working on the night before was still running and the dark gray gaseous cloud from its deadly exhaust filled the entire building. The other boys had passed out near the car.
CJ had been found clutching the doorknob. He had almost made it out.
After their funerals, when my Mom and Dad were driving home, my Mom, still wiping tears from her eyes, said, "CJ was my favorite. I loved all three of those boys," she said, "but CJ had such a great sense of humor. He always made me laugh." Then she looked out the window and said, "You know... When CJ thought he was going to Vietnam... just before he found out his eyes were too bad to serve... he promised me that if he died over there... if he was somehow able... he would find a way to talk to me and tell me if there really was an afterlife." She smiled wistfully, and added, "I told him he better not haunt me."
My mom never mentioned that again, and a full year went by as we all moved on with our lives.
Then, one day, almost exactly a year later, as my mom and I were packing boxes in an upstairs bedroom. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, jerked her head away from an invisible threat and ran out into the hallway.
I followed her out of the room.
She was jumping up and down, shaking and crying as she yelled, "It's him! It's him!"
I had no idea who or what she was talking about. "It's who?" I shouted back.
"CJ!" she said, wiping her ear with her hand. "He just whispered... right the hell into my ear!" My mom looked frantic.
"What did he whisper?"
My mom's face contorted, half laughing and half crying she said, "He whispered... All he whispered was..., 'Boo!'"
You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.
© Copyright 2024. christianpowers All rights reserved.
christianpowers has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
