Free Kentucky Hauntings by Roberta Simpson Brown Page B

attack. Everybody was deeply shocked because nobody had known she had a heart problem. She had never complained, so maybe she herself didn't know how serious her condition was. Nobody was around to take her place nursing the sick. The Dunbar family especially missed her.
    Little Willie insisted on going to Granny Burton's funeral with his parents. It was a chilly day and his parents didn't want to take him out, but he was so persistent in his intent to go that they finally gave in. As Little Willie stood by Granny Burton's grave, he realized he should have listened to his parents. He could feel the damp air sinking into his bones, and by the time the funeral ended and he got home, he was chilling and running a fever. The local doctor came and left some medicine, but he had to be on his way to pay another house call.
    Mrs. Dunbar was afraid that Willie's chill might turn into pneumonia, so she bundled the little boy up in the quilts she had made for him. She sat by the fire to make sure he didn't kick the covers off. He was due to be given another dose of medicine in two hours, and she wanted to be sure to stay awake to give it to him.
    Little Willie slept fitfully at first, but he finally settled into a peaceful sleep. His mother, tired from the household chores and from Granny Burton's funeral, sat in her rocking chair in front of the warm fire. The flames danced in the fireplace, and the penetrating heat relaxed her exhausted body. Soon she was fast asleep. Time passed, but she was not aware of it.
    Then suddenly, she woke up. She wasn't sure what woke her, but she saw that dawn was breaking. Her first thought was that she had missed giving Little Willie his medicine and had let the fire go out. She could see that the fire was burning, though, and the room was warm. She stood up and moved quickly from her chair to Little Willie's bed. She was sure he would be feeling worse without his medicine, but he opened his eyes and smiled up at her.
    â€œHoney, I am so sorry,” she said. “I fell asleep and didn't give you your medicine. I'll get it for you right now.”
    â€œWait, Momma!” he said. “I've already had my medicine.”
    â€œSon, I've told you not to get out of bed and get medicine by yourself,” she scolded gently. “Why didn't you wake me up?”
    â€œI didn't get up, and I didn't need to wake you,” he told her.
    â€œThen how did you get your medicine?” she asked him.
    â€œGranny Burton brought it to me,” he told her.
    â€œThat's impossible!” exclaimed Mrs. Dunbar. “You must have been out of your head with fever! Granny Burton is dead!”
    â€œI know she's dead, Momma,” said Little Willie, “but I woke up and she was right here by my bed. She put her finger to her lips and shook her head so I'd be quiet and not wake you. Then she brought me my medicine and tucked the quilts around me. After that, she put some wood in the fireplace, and just vanished.”
    â€œThat just couldn't happen, honey,” she told Little Willie. “Are you sure you weren't dreaming?”
    â€œI'm sure,” he insisted. “She opened the bottle and gave my medicine to me.”
    Mrs. Dunbar looked at the bottle on the dresser. She could see that the level of liquid was down in the bottle and the spoon beside the bottle had traces of medicine on it. The bottle and spoon definitely had been used.
    Mrs. Dunbar couldn't understand it. She asked her husband if he got up and gave Little Willie his medicine, but he insisted that he had slept through the night. Little Willie never changed his story. He knew Granny Burton had kept her promise, even though he didn't know how she could have done it.
    After a while, Mrs. Dunbar began to believe the story. There was no other explanation for what had happened. At other times after that when Little Willie got sick, she would notice small signs that Granny Burton had paid a ghostly visit to watch over Little