Grandfather Says Goodbye

I was 12 when my grandfather passed away. For the next few months, me and my brother and sister would stay over with my grandmother once a week to keep her company. One night over there, I woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. This is unusual for me, especially since the house was quiet and I had no bathroom needs. But since I was up and wide awake, I decided to use the bathroom anyway and then get something to drink.

On the way back from the kitchen, I distinctly heard the sound of steady breathing coming from the living room, which was pitch black and supposedly empty. A little freaked out, I told myself the sound was somehow echoing down from the bedrooms and went back down the hall.

As I passed my grandmother’s room, I heard her snoring a bit – the sound was not her. I peeked in on the sibs; not them either. Somehow, I made myself go back down the hall to see what was going on.

The breathing continued, and it was definitely coming from the living room. I stopped at the doorway and realized that it was coming from the far corner; my grandfather’s favorite recliner. Like I said, it was pitch dark in there so I couldn’t see a thing, but I listened for a while and went back to bed feeling very peaceful.

There’s no doubt in my mind that my abuelo was trying to let me know he was OK.