I guess some hauntings never end. When the actual haunting ends, your memory is still haunted by the details which come back now and then in your dreams. Maybe to remind us that they are still trying to reach us.
Trying to start some new ventures in life, I decided it was time to pack up and move. The last of my children went into the service, so it was now time to spread my wings.The home and location I had decided on had a history and legend all of it's own.
It was an old run-down estate that was set on three hundred acres. A huge ten foot stone wall sealed the property from the rest of the world...At one time the two hundred year old estate had stone pillars which were on either side of a nine foot iron gate. This picturesque old dwelling was set almost a half mile off the road. Stories were plentiful about the place,depending on who was telling the story.
The real story, according to the town historian, was that
in ninteen hundred, the son of the owner, was very distraught
over his failed marriage. Johnny jr. had a nervous breakdown and returned to the estate. He brought his gold with him "couldn't see Valerie getting a cent of it" and hid his
stash of the glitter somewhere on the property.
One Christmas eve, he wondered into the wooded area that surrounded the estate. A little two much of the egg-nog, which he spiked with his favorite Scotch, didn't leave Johnny two steady on his skinny pins. He fell, broke his leg and couldn't drag himself back before the blizzard set in. Next morning his frozen body was found just a few feet from one of the walls.
The Austin's brought the estate in the early Ninteen Forties. Helena Austin put her whole heart and soul into turning the old place into a lovely Country Inn. It was the only regal place near the town, which held on of the most prestigious colleges. Many a cotillion was held in this grand setting. The registration book held a lot of notable guest.
When Mr Austin passed away in the early Seventies, Helena closed the Inn to the public and the estate was converted into apartments.
I was one of the first tenants to move into the apartments. Theresa moved in soon after. We became close frinds right from he start. Helena became more like a surrogate mom to us,instead of a landlady. We were only there a year when this sweet, careing woman passed away.
It wasn't long before she started haunting us in our dreams. At first we thought it was delayed grief. Both our dreams were almost identical when we would compare the details of our dreams. She began showing me a piece of gold that was sticking out of a rock. One night she pointed to a brillant diamond, that shimmered in an array of sparkle.
Theresa and I decided we would start walking over the
property and Helena would show us some sign of where the gold
was. We rented a metal detector and walked for hours in the
enormous wooded area. Everytime we tried to go to the wall
where John was found; something always got in our path.
We would walk around felled trees, flooded swamps and end up right where we started.
One night I had a dream of seeing a wall that was tumbled down on the right side of the wall. A strange man was pointing to the wall, just behind him, stood my friend Helena. She was smiling and nodding her head in agreement with what the stranger was showing me.
The next day we headed out to continue our search. We followed the brook and ran right into a wall that was tumbled down on the right hand side. We crossed over the crumbled debris, and saw the wall just as the man had pointed it out. We had found remnants of tools. There in the wall was a gold ring, with the stone missing. It was sticking out half way between two rocks. We retrieved the ring. The missing diamond must have been awesome. Though we searched many times, there was no gold to be found. Was this the gold the legend had spoken of, or a sign of more to come.
The property was sold and both Theresa and I had to move. Whenever I drive through that area I would always feel Helena's presence. The song Like a Diamond it Shines, would come to mind and would stay the rest of the day.
A few years later three men who were hunting on the property, had stumbled upon a hidden gulley. Climbing down had proven the smart thing to do. They had come up with enough gold coins to put themselves on the right side of the track, so to speak. Helena is still pointing to a large diamond in my dreams. It's Out There, and I Will Find It.
Submitted by: Gloria
Background by: Nancy
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