View from the Front Porch: Going batty over here
View from the Front Porch: Going batty over here
“What was that?” I whispered out loud to my cat Truffles.
Just then the phone rang. It was my son Jackson, FaceTiming me from Arizona.
“Jackson,” I exclaimed. “You won’t guess what JUST happened to me!”
I must have looked a little manic because he worriedly replied, “Mom, are you OK?”
I proceeded to share about what had just happened seconds before.
There I was, sitting at my desk, scrolling Facebook when out of the corner of my left eye, I saw something. Looking up I watched as a dark shadow flew across my room.
As I sat there, not knowing what or even if I had seen anything, Jackson called.
What you must know, before I go further with this story, is that our family has a history of seeing entities, spirits, ghosts …whatever you want to call them. We have experience.
So, Jackson wasn’t the least bit surprised when I told him about the dark figure that had just flown across my room. He was, however, concerned. Our experience with the other world hasn’t always been a good one. From hearing voices in our closet to snarling dogs and talking dolls … we have had our share of scary encounters.
A few minutes into our conversation, Jackson yelled …
“MOM! Holy Cow! I just saw it! That black ghost thing just flew right past your head!”
My whole body began tingling. This can’t be happening. It had been years since I had had any involvement with a ghost and I wasn’t looking to start now.
Jackson asked me to turn my phone towards the other part of my room so he would have a better view of where this entity flew. We both were a bit concerned as we talked about our ghostly memories.
Then, out of nowhere Jackson began laughing.
“What’s so funny, son?” I was terribly annoyed.
“Mom, you have a bat.”
“A what?”
“A bat,” he answered with a silly grin.
I turned around and saw the tiniest, black bat nose diving around my art studio. Back and forth, back and forth, this silly, little bat flew.
I couldn’t believe it.
A bat.
My son and I had a good laugh as we both watched this creature of the night fly around my room.
Just a few minutes after we spied it, Black Bat decided to “hide” in the top part of a window shade, its head peeking out just a bit.
Not quite sure what to do (it was very late and everyone else was asleep) I closed my studio door and headed downstairs. The bat could wait till morning when I could let Dave deal with our new guest.
The next morning I couldn’t wait to share my story with Emma, Journey and Dave. I also couldn’t wait to get our visitor out of the house.
“We have a bat!” I announced.
Em smiled slyly.
She knew.
About the bat.
In fact two days before I met this creature, Black Bat had introduced herself to Em by fluttering right by her head in our kitchen.
Black Bat had been in our kitchen?!
That means, she may have been in our bedroom and our living room and the playroom.
She had been everywhere and for how long?
Several days went by until my second sighting of her.
Everyone had gone to bed but me. I was in the mood for ER and a bowl of popcorn. Making my way into the hallway, not thinking a whole lot about bats … there she was, gleefully flying about our home, swooping and nose diving in our kitchen, our living room and laundry room.
Honestly, it’s just a little fruit bat, but the panic and the fear that rose up in me. It was silly to say the least. Why am I so frightened of this bat?
Ducking my head (like that is going to help) I sprinted into the kitchen, grabbed a popcorn bag and stuffed it in the microwave. Cautiously I looked behind me and THERE SHE WAS!
She was flying straight toward me! Her webbed wings, flapping, her beady eyes looking right at me!
I screamed. I couldn’t help it. Shoot I was going to wake everyone up. All I could think about was this creepy, tiny, creature landing on my head. She didn’t. She turned right in front of me, as scared of me as I was of her.
Black Bat is still making a home in our home.
We hope to part ways very soon.
Leslie Ackman is a former writer of The Forum and currently a local business owner.
