Short Story

Gone Fishing

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

What I’m going to tell you is true; no part of this has been fictionalized or exaggerated. One thing you should know before we begin: I have no agenda nor do I have any desire to change your mind. This is an account of actual facts; whether you choose to believe is up to you. I will not give you grief if you choose not to believe; in fact, I wouldn’t blame you. On the other hand, I am not one prone to exaggeration in my personal life so if you do not believe, I simply ask you to be kind when commenting. Thank you.

As many of you know, my husband Bill had an identical twin brother who passed away very suddenly on April 2. Jim had some health issues which were all controlled; he was under a doctor’s care and had taken a stress test not long before his death. All his meds were up-to-date and he was in good shape, even having recently lost some weight.

An autopsy was not done …. an oversight my sister-in-law now deeply regrets …. and it’s unfortunate we do not know the cause of death. An autopsy may have revealed some unknown health risk for my husband to be aware of, especially being an identical twin. There is absolutely nothing we can do about that now.

Jim died on Tuesday, April 2. The wake was held Friday evening with a funeral Mass on Saturday morning. On Sunday, April 7, Bill asked me if I thought it would look unseemly if he went out on his boat the next day with his buddy, Joe. I told him I didn’t have a problem with it and he shouldn’t either. I knew Bill and Joe would spend their time on the boat fishing and sharing stories and memories of Jim. This would be therapeutic for them.

People grieve in many different ways and we all need to respect that. I know my husband very well; getting out for a quiet day on his boat with his friend would be good for him. Joe was also Jim’s friend and the three of them would go fishing together every weekend. Bill planned to bring one of Jim’s fishing rods with him to attach to the side of the boat; in this way Jim’s spirit and memory would always be with Bill and Joe whenever they were on the boat. I thought that was a beautiful thing, Bill wanting Jim by his side on the boat. As I’ve said many times throughout our lives: I am Bill’s wife but Jim was his other half.

Monday morning arrived and I was awakened by the sound of the garage door opening and Bill’s car starting up; I heard the garage door close. It was very early in the morning, still dark. I rolled onto my back and slowly opened my eyes. Immediately a dimly glowing oval shape, maybe about 2’ long, appeared at the foot of my bed, about 6’ off the ground. In the center of the oval was my brother-in-law Jim from mid-chest up. He was wearing the burgundy-colored plaid flannel shirt he loved so much, his hair was neatly combed, and he had the most radiant smile I had ever seen. His face and eyes just lit up and he smiled broadly at me. Then he was gone. I was transfixed but I was not scared. This all took about 3 seconds.

My heart started to race and I began to cry. I sat up in bed and sobbed. The enormity of what had just happened was beginning to register and I was suddenly overwhelmed. My friends, as I said earlier, I am not prone to exaggeration when talking about facts in my personal life. I was awake. I was aware of my surroundings. This was not a dream, nor was it a ghost. This was a vision, a visitation, and no one will ever convince me that what I saw was not real.

I had to ask myself why me? Why did Jim come to me? Later that morning, as I sat in my kitchen sipping my coffee, I came to the realization that I was chosen as a “messenger” to let Bill know Jim was OK. More than that, Jim was happy that Bill had not locked himself away grieving and was quietly living his life. It was ok that Bill had gone fishing.

When Bill returned home in the early afternoon, I told him what happened; needless to say he was stunned but he never once doubted me; we had a really good talk and a cry. Later that day I called our sister-in-law, Jim’s widow, and told her I had something incredible to share. As I talked, we both started to cry and she put me on speaker phone so her sister and daughter could hear me. None of them ever doubted me. My vision was so clear, my account unchanged every time I talked about it.

Until today, only a handful of immediate family members knew about my visit from Jim. Now you all know. To date, Jim has not visited anyone else. I believe I was chosen because, as much as I loved Jim, there was no way I could ever be quite as close to him as his wife or his brother and I would remain relatively calm throughout the visit. It’s impossible to say how Jim’s widow or Bill would have handled it. Bill did ask me why I thought Jim didn’t visit him; I said perhaps Jim thought it was just too soon to visit him, that he wanted me to be his messenger and that was enough …. at least for now.

If this account has given you peace, a reason to hope or to believe, I am glad. If you find this totally unbelievable, that’s fine also. I’m not on a mission to convert anyone. I’m quite sure I will never see Jim in a vision again but I do believe we will all be reunited someday.

Thank you for reading.

NAR©2024

This is “Believe” by Brooks & Dunn

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Ghost

Written for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts
Weekend Challenge – ‘ghost’. This is my story.

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

47 thoughts on “Gone Fishing”

    1. That could be true, Melissa. I’ve accepted that I was chosen to be “the messenger” and that is fine with me. It’s been 10 months since my vision and I recall every detail like it was this morning. I hope some day Bill is visited by his brother. A talk is long overdue. ❤️🙏🏼

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  3. I am just now reading this. I had an experience when my son’s father passed away. He was essentially missing for a month, no one knew where he was. I sort of had a feeling, because when someone using drugs disappears off the face of the earth, it’s never a good thing. Anyway, a whole month passed and I had not heard from him. His body was found January 3. I could finally grieve. That night I dreamt of him. I dreamt I went to see him in the morgue. There was a woman attendant and a male coroner there. I still remember it clear as day. I wrote it down just in case. Mason had passed four weeks earlier, and you can imagine his body had deteriorated. In my dream, I went to the morgue and I asked the people if I could see him. They pulled back the sheet and there he was, he looked well. He had a glow about him. I asked if I could hold his hand or if that was weird (haha typical me). They told me it wasn’t weird, so I stood next to him and took his left hand in my right hand. Immediately upon touching him, his body started convulsing like electricity was running through it. His eyes flickered open and closed a couple times. I asked the people if that was normal. They said no. Then I woke up. You’re a smart cookie. I don’t feel a need to explain my interpretation to you.😉

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    1. That was an incredible account of your dream, Melissa. The details are amazing and I have no need for interpretation. When things like this happen, they are not to be dismissed lightly or treated as silly imaginings. My vision certainly wasn’t and neither was your dream. It happened for a reason and nothing anyone says will make me believe otherwise. Thank you for sharing this remarkable experience. 🫶🏼

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  4. Thank you for sharing this beautiful experience. I definitely believe we are granted visions and dreams of our loved ones who have passed on. Before my mom left us she told us of when she was in the hospital ICU that a priest or guide came to give comfort. We asked the nurses if there was someone like she described, and they said there was not. But she did see him. When my dad passed I had a dream right after where I heard him say, ‘there she is’, and he’d found my mom’s soul over on the other side.

    So I never doubt these, as I’ve had them too, about other things. There is a ‘knowing’ that is hard to explain, but it is real. 🙂

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    1. When I decided to write the account of my visit from Jim, I never expected so many people to write about their own experiences. Barbara, you have reaffirmed what I knew to be true. I am delighted to know your mom had a peaceful ‘visit’ from a priest while in the hospital and your dad found your mom’s soul on the other side. These accounts are meant to bring us peace in the knowledge that our departed loved ones are happy in their eternal rest; they are not meant to frighten us. You are so right in what you said …. “there is a ‘knowing’ that is hard to explain, but it is real. It IS real.

      Thank you for sharing your experiences, Barbara. Merry Christmas. 🎄

      ✨

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  5. Beautiful account of the vision you were given. I believe God allows us to have visions to encourage us, and it seems that is true for you and your husband. My dad passed away last summer at the age of 103. Before he left us, he sometimes would wake up from his nap saying interesting things. It seemed that he had been half in the next world, half in this one. Once he said, “My wife in heaven is happy, and pretty soon I’ll be with her and we’ll be happy in heaven together.” He talked about praying, about my brother with whom he lived for several years, and about love. It was so amazing to me. It was clear that he was ready to move on. I’m very happy for him even though he is missed. It is so comforting to know that your loved one is well and happy. God bless you and yours.

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    1. Thank you for reaching out and leaving such a warm comment! In fact, all my readers and the people I gladly call friends here on WordPress have been very supportive and accepting.

      The stories you shared about your dad were amazing; I’m glad you were able to experience them with him. At 103 he has certainly earned his reward in heaven.

      Seeing Jim was a great blessing for me and I am humbled by the experience. God bless you and yours, especially this Christmas and into the New Year.

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  7. A moving and beautifully written story, Nancy and I absolutely believe you because something similar happened to me when I was a child. Thank you for sharing your story and I am glad that the experience was a positive one for you and your family.

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  8. My FIL came to me in my dreams with a message for my husband, saying he had ‘found someone’.
    My own parents have come to me at different times, and when I was in hospital with a suspected heart attack, I was convinced my Dad was just beyond the curtain watching out for me. As the results came back, he smiled, waved, and disappeared.
    We cannot explain it, but we accept it, and yes, there is peace there.

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    1. Di, I love that about your Dad in the hospital! When I told my son’s mother-in-law about Jim coming to me, she told me her grandfather came to her when she was in the hospital very sick with Covid. You’re right …. we cannot explain it but we accept it and there is peace.

      Thank you, Di. ♡

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  9. First, thank you for being brave enough to share with your readers. Things of this nature are often scoffed at by those who it didn’t experience it. As I read your account, I thought of Scrooge’s exchange with the ghost of Jacob Marley:

    You don’t believe in me,” observed the Ghost.

    “I don’t,” said Scrooge.

    “What evidence would you have of my reality, beyond that of your senses?”

    “I don’t know,” said Scrooge.

    “Why do you doubt your senses?”

    A perfectly innocent question. You experienced this with your senses. You know what you saw, felt, etc… Why would YOU doubt your senses?

    I have only ever had visits from those who have passed away in dreams. I’m not sure if I could keep my wits about me if I experienced something like you did.

    Who am I to say whether or not you experienced what you did? Perhaps it was a “gift” that you were able to share with your husband and those than loved Jim?

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  12. There are more things in heaven and earth that we will ever understand…. I agree with you Nancy we will never know why Jim chose you instead of his wife or Bill. He had his reason, I tend to think he knew you well and that he knew you were the one not to be phased, the one to accept and explain to the others 💜💜… You are blessed 💜

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      1. What I mean is that I am not surprised by this, I expect those who have crossed to visit, to communicate, to offer consolation. It’s been a lifetime of such experiences for me and I am happy that you have experienced it.

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  14. Oh! How I wish I could experience the same thing with my dead wife. It’s been twenty-two years since she passed, and I have only seen her in a couple of dreams. Accept the gift your brother-in-law gave you and revere his memory.

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  20. I believe you, without a doubt. Sometimes the best way to overcome the freshness of grief is to do something as simple as fishing, or playing a round of golf, it’s different for each of us. Momo lost her only son in a car accident in 2008, and I lost my oldest son to a heart attack caused by drugs in 2012. I’ve had comforting dreams many times, and so has Momo, but none as warm and assuring as your experience, maybe in time, we will. Thanks for a touching recount.

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    1. Thank you, Phil, and my thanks to Momo. Please accept my sympathy at the loss of your children; there are no words for sorrow such as that. I’m pleased to know you were able to relate to my message; it still blows my mind when I think back on that morning and it will stay with me forever. I’m beyond grateful for those three seconds with Jim. Goodnight, Phil, and thanks again.

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