by J B Forest
He never once broached to subject of his midnight disturbance during their visit. When her mother tried to find out more about what occurred the night before, he adamantly refused to speak about anything that happened. He dismissed it as a terrible nightmare.
They were preparing to leave when her grandfather held out his hand to her. “Taylor, it is so good to see you and know that you are living close by”, he said. “You alone of all my children and grandchildren showed an interest in my old tales. That means so much to me. Do you think you can stop by to see me tomorrow?”
Before she could respond, Taylor’s mom interjected, “Dad, Taylor is quite busy at the university with her classes and students. I don’t think she can get away right now, is there something I can do for you, I don’t have anything scheduled tomorrow.”
Her grandfather looked sternly at her mom and said, “Marion, this is between me and Taylor. I’m sure she’ll tell me if she’s too busy. I just haven’t seen her in so long, I’d like a little time with my granddaughter. I’d like to hear more about her work. Maybe she’s found some truth in my old stories. I don’t think that’s a subject that you’re too interested in, is it?”
Taylor was about to tell her grandfather that her schedule for the next day was quite busy and she probably wouldn’t be able to visit. But something in his response to her mom and the fact that he wanted to discuss the folklore made her pause. She knew that her mother would insist on accompanying her for a normal visit and it seemed as though her grandfather wanted to speak with her alone. He was probably using this angle to avoid a confrontation with her mom, she could be pretty stubborn about some things. Marion Simon loved her father and was very concerned about his health. If she thought he was hiding something from her, she would not leave things alone until she unraveled the mystery.
“I have a couple of morning classes and a department meeting to attend, but I should be done before noon” responded Taylor. “Why don’t we make a date for lunch tomorrow” she smiled to her grandfather. She leaned forward and whispered in her grandfather’s ear, “Maybe they will let me take you out of this place for some real food.”
Her grandfather sat back in his chair and smiled, “I’ll be waiting for you.”
She gave him another deep hug and stepped aside so that her mother could do the same. Her dad grasped her grandfather’s shoulder tightly and nodded, “You take care of yourself James.”
Before they reached the car her mother asked, “What were you and your grandfather conspiring about in there?”
“Nothing Mom, I just told him I would try to sneak in some etoufee.” Taylor knew better than to divulge her real intentions, her mother would have a stroke!
“Taylor, they have a regimented dietary plan for the residents, you shouldn’t get your grandfather excited; you know they won’t let you bring outside food in the facility. It’s a liability for them, if a resident got sick from food brought in by relatives, I’m sure that would cause legal problems.”
“All they would have to do to protect themselves is have the family members sign a waiver of liability if they chose to bring in outside food. Don’t worry, I won’t upset the balance.”
It was around 7:30 in the evening when they arrived back at her parents’ home. “Taylor, it’s getting pretty late, do you still plan to go into the office tonight,” asked her father.
“I think I’ll only stop by and pick up some notes, I can work on a few things at home,” she responded.
“I’ll definitely feel better if you aren’t there after dark.”
“Did you guys worry this much when I was away? I’ve been on my own for a long time now and I definitely don’t intentionally do things to flirt with danger.”
“We are worried in general, but since we didn’t know what you were doing it wasn’t as stressful,” added her mom. “We know that you can take care of yourself but you’re still our ‘little girl’.”
“Mom!!!”
“It’s true,” laughed her dad. “I still remember you in ponytails learning to ride your first bicycle.”
“Okay, it’s definitely time for me to leave and rejoin the adult world. I’ll give you a call when I get home. Will that make you feel better?”
“Definitely!” they both shouted together. All three of them doubled over in laughter. Taylor hugged them both and got into her car before her parents could bring up any more childhood memories. They were still laughing as she drove away.
It only took about fifteen minutes to reach the faculty parking lot on campus nearest her office. Taylor decided to take her parents’ advice, so she quickly gathered her notes from the previous night and her favorite reference books on Celtic folklore. She packed everything into an empty backpack and headed for home.
She sensed that whatever her grandfather wanted to talk to her about had something to do with the strange sensation she experienced the night before and that somehow it was related to the old tales. She tried not to get too excited, but the thought that all the years of research spent on ancient folklore and her grandfather’s old tales could be linked to something real and tangible was more than she could imagine. “Stay grounded Taylor. It could all just be coincidence and circumstantial. Just wait to see what Granddad has to say tomorrow. He probably just wants to reminisce and knows that I’m the only one who listens to him to talk about the ‘old ways’,” she said to herself.
Taylor spent the night going over old notes of her grandfather’s stories, the legends contained in the folklore texts, and the new notes that she drafted. She decided that having the information fresh in her mind might be helpful if her grandfather really did have information that could substantiate the legends. It was well past midnight when she finally broke away from the stories and went to bed. She had two early morning lectures to conduct and a department meeting to attend before meeting her grandfather for lunch and she needed a good night’s sleep before facing a classroom full of college freshmen.
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James knew that he had to share the real story of the family link to the Fae prince with his granddaughter. He was sure that if in fact the prince or someone of his line planned to contact a Duncan, it would be Taylor. He was too old and his disease was too advanced for him to be of any use to a Fae prince. He had to prepare her for the possibility; he just hoped that she would be receptive and not dismiss what he had to say as the ramblings of a senile old man.
As soon as his family left, he asked an orderly for a pen and a writing pad. “I want to make some notes for my granddaughter before I forget them. She’s coming by tomorrow and I may not remember by then,” he explained in response to the questioning look that he received. Once settled in his room, Duncan spent the next two hours diligently describing how the Duncan family line was also a part of the bloodline of a Fae Seelie prince. He omitted the ‘fairy tale’ version that was passed down through the generations and described the real story as it was told to him by his grandmother so many years before.
When he was satisfied with the story, he wrote a cover letter to Taylor telling her how the information was passed to him and why many of the details were never included in his old stories. He warned her that although the contents seemed to be part of a fantasy that they were in fact actual events and that there was a strong possibility that she could encounter some very strange occurrences in the near future. He described his experiences of the previous night and explained that it was an omen and she should be prepared. He told her that he hoped to be able to tell the story in person, but he couldn’t guarantee that he would still be lucid when she arrived the next day and the message was too important to leave to chance. He placed the papers in an envelope, sealed it and wrote, “Taylor Simon, ‘Eyes Only’” on the top.
He felt a huge sense of relief that he had documented the family history as much as possible. Before falling asleep, he said a little prayer asking the Lord to allow him to share the message himself but if
that wasn’t to happen, then let his granddaughter receive the information with an open mind.
The next day was gloomy, a persistent drizzle greeted Taylor as she walked out of her apartment. “Just what I need, a bad hair day,” she mumbled to herself as she twisted her hair into a ponytail and secured it with one of her ever present black hair bands. No sense attempting to wear it any other way on a day like this, she mused to herself.
Her morning classes were uneventful and breezed through very quickly. Even her most dedicated fan, the gangly freshman who hung on her every word as if she were an Oracle, didn’t interrupt with his usual bevy of questions. The courses was designed to educate the students about the myths, legends, and folklore that originated primarily in the British Isles as well as spark meaningful discussions regarding their influence on the modern customs. She enjoyed encouraging her students to think ‘outside of the box’ when it came to discussing how much of the lore was based on actual occurrences. Throughout her many years of research, she had never been able to find solid evidence linking many of the legends to fact. It made for interesting discussions and often the fresh ideas offered by the students provided a different perspective to approach well researched ideas.
She was able to leave campus fairly quickly after her department meeting. She brought some notes and a basic outline that she made the night before. After going through all of her previous research, her family history and old texts, she made a general outline of things that seemed to link together. She wanted to be prepared in case she needed to ask questions. She was thinking about asking the nursing staff if it would be possible to take her grandfather to lunch off-site. If they agreed, she knew just the place, Pat’s of Henderson; it was one of his favorites. She hadn’t dined at Pat’s since she returned to town and the thought of some of the items on their menu made her mouth water.
She stopped by the front desk to check in. The receptionist greeted her with a warm smile. “Hi, I’m here to visit my grandfather, James Duncan. My name is Taylor Simon,” she smiled back. “Just a minute, I’ll page a nurse from his wing to come out and bring you back to his room,” the receptionist replied as she called the nurse’s station. “Someone will be right with you, please have a seat in the waiting area.” “Thanks,” Taylor replied and took a seat on the comfortable couch in the waiting area.
Less than five minutes later, Taylor heard approaching footsteps on the tile floor. She looked up to see the nurse who greeted them yesterday. She thought the lady’s name was Sandy. Her demeanor was professional but warm. “Hello Ms. Simon, it’s good to see you again,” she said. Taylor shook the nurse’s hand and replied, “It’s nice to see you again as well. How is my grandfather this morning? I was hoping to take him off site for lunch if it’s allowed.”
The nurse, whose tag on her uniform confirmed that her name indeed was Sandy, paused in mid-step. Taylor could tell from the change in Sandy’s expression that the news was not good. “I’m sorry Ms. Simon, but Mr. Duncan isn’t so lucid today. This is typical with our Alzheimer’s patients. One day they remember everything and things are fairly normal and the next day, they don’t remember close family members. Your grandfather is lucky that even though he can’t remember things, he can still conduct basic functions for himself. The orderly is helping him with his lunch now. Do you still want to see him or would you rather come back another time?”
“Please, let’s go see him. My grandfather was so looking forward to seeing me today; I wouldn’t want to disappoint him even if he doesn’t recognize me. Maybe my presence will help him ‘come back to us’.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too high; things are so unpredictable with patients in Mr. Duncan’s condition. I’m glad that you still want to see him. Some family members are very uncomfortable visiting their loved ones in this state. We try our best to make our patients as comfortable as possible and they seem to be able to sense when family members are ill at ease and it upsets them as well.”
“Thanks for the advice, call me Taylor please. Even though he’s losing some of his outer shell, he will always be my grandfather and the core of his essence will be there. He’s just lost touch with it for a while.”
They chatted a little more about her grandfather’s condition while walking to his room. When they reached his room, Sandy said that she had other patients to attend to but encouraged Taylor to stay as long as she wanted with her grandfather.
She walked quietly into the room to find her grandfather finishing his lunch. The orderly was helping with some of the things that he couldn’t accomplish on his own, but he was doing a good job considering that he didn’t have full cognition. The window shades were open and she could see that the morning’s persistent drizzle was fading away and the sun was trying to make its way through the clouds. She sighed and thought about the horrendous humidity that would come once the rain ceased. She walked over and gave her grandfather a deep hug. He smiled back at her vacantly. The orderly cleared out the lunch dishes and nodded to Taylor as he left the room.
She pulled up a chair closer to her grandfather’s bed and took his hand in hers. She sat silently for a long time just happy to spend time with him. It seemed as though he was trying to remember something. His expression was more confused than blank. She began to talk to him, telling him about her new job as a professor, her apartment, and how she was adjusting to small town life again. She told him about her research and time in Vancouver and her friendship with David.
She rose and walked around the room adjusting items here and there and then returned to his bedside. She started to talk about her recent research into the family’s history and her attempt to try to tie his old stories to fact. The look of confusion on her grandfather’s face seemed to dissipate slightly but there was no other reaction. As she looked around the room again, Taylor spotted an envelope on the desk near the window. She walked over to get a better look at it and saw her name scrawled across the top with “EYES ONLY” in large bold letters beside it. She picked up the envelope and turned to her grandfather. She wasn’t sure if she saw the hint of a smile on his face or not, but she knew that whatever was in the envelope had something to do with why he wanted to meet today.
She sat down, opened the envelope and pulled out several pages of handwritten text. She began to read immediately. First she read her grandfather’s cover note encouraging her to keep an open mind and then she delved into the contents of the pages. When she finally finished, she was speechless. The story was so fantastic, more vivid and unbelievable than any of the watered down versions that she heard over the years. It was remarkably similar to many of the legends that she was so familiar with in years of research.
The pages told the story of a Fae prince named Tristen who paid frequent visits to the British Isles centuries ago. It appears that he fell in love with a young girl, they were betrothed and she had a child, a son. The prince was called back to the Fae Dominion when the child was still young, but promised to watch over him and his progeny. The truth of the child’s parentage was never disclosed outside of the immediate family. Through the generations, the child’s descendants exhibited certain traits, the ability to see things that others couldn’t and sense the presence of creatures who were not human. Not everyone in the line inherited the sensitivities and the family members developed a method of passing the history through those who inherited strongest traits.
Tristen’s presence and intervention through the decades was sporadic, but it appeared that in times of crisis or potential danger to the family line, he was there to guide them. It was an intervention of this sort that sent a Duncan ancestor to France where he met his bride. They later immigrated to Nova Scotia. Taylor was familiar with this part of the family story.
He grandfather seemed certain that the midnight disturbance the other night, if you could call it that, had something to do with an impending visit from the Fae ancestor or some other entity. This was all so difficult to grasp, she would never have imagined such a turn of events and und
erstood her grandfather’s earlier admonishment to keep an open mind. She needed time to digest all of this and try to better understand the story if she was in fact to prepare herself for a meeting with an ancestor from another realm. She never considered the possibility that there were truly other entities besides humans in the world. She had always assumed other explanations for the tales.
She wished that her grandfather was able to talk to her, there were so many questions. But she would have to wait until he recovered again. No one else, not even David would believe such a farfetched story. She looked at her grandfather, squeezed his hand and thanked him for having faith that she wouldn’t think he was just a crazy old man. Although it was a fantastic tale, there were too many similarities in the lore and legend that she had studied so long for it to be a total fabrication. This was the kind of link she had been searching for, something that tied actual occurrences to the legends. But now that she had something, it didn’t seem appropriate to broadcast to the world. The facts were kept secret for a reason and even though mankind had progressed significantly since the days when Tristen walked the earth as a human, she didn’t think the world was ready to accept the presence of other beings.
