Free Awaken Spirit (A digital Short) by Barbara Watkins

Awaken Spirit
     
     
     
    Doors that open and shut by themselves… the soft touch on your shoulder as if to get your attention… only to turn around to find no one there… the sound of footsteps on an empty flight of stairs… the quiet whisper in your ear waking you from a deep sleep, only to realize you’re alone in the pervading silence. Most of us have encountered at least one of these unexplainable events if we were truthful. Nevertheless, we look toward scientific explanations to explain away our fear. I know I did! The old saying… ‘Seeing is believing’ is not always the case. We all know what you see is not always what it appears to be. Most of us believe in life after death. Most believe the body is a shell that holds the soul and upon death, our souls are released. However, where does the soul take rest? This is where it gets confusing. According to what religion you have been brought up to believe there are various opinions. I had always believed that when you die your soul went to heaven or hell, no in between. The events that would later happen would make me reevaluate what I had come to believe.
     
    The autumn leaves were beginning to fall and cool crisp air replaced the choking grip of a sweltering summer. For several years, my husband and I had looked for just the right house out in the country. Since before Katie was born, my husband and I harbored dreams of leaving the city, but circumstances never allowed us to explore such possibilities. My husband Jim and I grew up in the country, and wanted the same environment of small town living for our children. We wanted to find a house with plenty of land so that I could have the garden I had always wanted, and he could build his own workshop. My husband was a top sales representative for a well-known furniture outlet, but his desire was to create his own line of furniture. We had scrimped and saved enough money to finally make the move, and being pregnant with our second child was just the incentive we needed.
     
    Our realtor showed us various lovely homes, that while beautiful and spacious still missed that special something. While Jim was still at work I decided to load Katie in the car and go look. I drove up and down quite a few roads when I noticed a house in the distance. I could not explain it, but something drew me closer, and sparked my imagination. I followed the road that turned off Hwy Z to road marker 332 for about a mile, and then fate presented me with a sight to lift my flagging spirits. The most beautiful two story Victorian home I had ever seen sat there, as if just waiting for me to stumble across it. It reminded me of a scene from right out of Gone with the Wind. The second floor had a beautiful terrace that overlooked the property. There was not another house as far as the eye could see. It appeared to be vacant, as suggested by its dark, broken windows. Beautiful as it appeared, a fresh coat of paint would do it no harm, and the landscape overgrown with weeds and wiry vegetation. Despite its flaws, it sparked something deep within me. I felt like it was calling my name. I could not wait to get home and tell Jim.
     
    The next day we got in touch with our realtor and I described the location and the house. She knew the property well. The house had been built in 1865 and was formally owned by the Masterson family. It had been kept in the family and passed down for years. George Masterson once farmed the hundred acres that surrounded the house back in the 1800s. One of the last living relatives, a descendent of Mr. and Mrs. Masterson now owned the property. James Masterson lived in New York and by all accounts was desperate to sell. He tired of the burden and expense required to maintain the old house. To my pleasure, Jim took one look at it and fell in love with it, and although we knew it would be a lot of work, we were excited to make it our own. The realtor started the necessary paperwork right away and our dream inched closer to