Journey with Zeke: Choices

Chapter 1

M oving? questioned Zeke.

Zeke anxiously awaited a response. Did he really just hear his dad say that they were moving? At dinner when his dad told them they would be having a family meeting that evening, he wasn’t concerned. They had had plenty of family meetings before. Sometimes they were about an upcoming business trip his dad needed to take or sometimes they were about a sporting event, or sometimes they were just to coordinate their schedules during busy times of the year, like the holidays. Yes, they were definitely used to family meetings. But never, ever had they had a family meeting where his father announced that they were moving. Zeke was stunned by the announcement. He shot a quick look over at his older brother Griffen and wondered what he was thinking.

Dad was expecting this kind of response. It had been a hard decision to make. They had lived in the same house since their oldest son, Griffen, had been born. Sixteen years was a long time. There were lots of happy memories: birthday celebrations, holidays, and of course the annual 4th of July picnic they hosted for friends and family.

Griffen sat quietly, taking it all in. Maybe Dad is joking, he thought. What concerned him is that his dad did not appear to be joking. And why was Mom being so quiet? He turned to look at her. She smiled at him, but did not say anything.

Dad shifted a little bit in his chair as he continued. I know that this is a bit of a surprise for you boys.

You can say that again, stammered Zeke. If we move that means that I have to say good-bye to all my friends, my school and sports. He quickly looked at Griffen again. He was waiting for Griffen to say something to back him up. Griffen glanced back, but remained quiet. Completely frustrated, Zeke continued to spit and sputter out reason after reason as to why he did not want to move. His dad knew he would have a long list and interrupted him.

I know, Zeke, your mom and I have thought about all of those things and much, much more. Moving is not easy, I understand that. But sometimes there are things that come up in life that are more important than everything that you just mentioned.

Zeke could feel the tears starting to form. He was trying very hard not to yell, but he sure did feel like it. After all, what could be so important that they had to give up their home, friends, school, sports, and everything else they were used to? He blurted, I don’t care. I don’t want to move!

Mom reached out to touch Zeke’s hand, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He knew that this was his mom’s way of saying it’s going to be okay. He wasn’t ready for that. He was angry and responded by pulling his hand back. No, Mom, I don’t want to move, he repeated sternly.

Mom pulled her hand back to herself. Zeke, I know that you are upset, but your dad is right. We put a lot of thought into our decision and it’s not been an easy one. Glancing over at Griffen, she continued. We need you to be strong, and not fight us on this decision. We all need to be strong. It’s not going to be easy on any of us.

Finally, Griffen could no longer stay quiet. He agreed with his brother. He didn’t want to move either. Mom, Dad, have you really thought about everything? I mean everything?

Yes, Griffen, we have, answered his dad. The part you haven’t heard yet, or even asked about is, where are we moving to?

For the first time since the announcement there was laughter in the room. Zeke hadn’t meant to chuckle out loud. In fact, he didn’t know why he did at all. He was upset over the news, but realized that they hadn’t asked one of the most important questions of all. Aware that everyone was staring at him, he shrugged his shoulders and responded. So, are you going to keep it a secret forever, or are you going to tell us?

Normally his dad would have addressed his attitude, but he let it go and answered. We are moving to the farm.

Stunned, Griffen immediately responded. Really?

Yes, smiled his dad. Really!

Zeke was not convinced yet. He wanted to know why? He loved the farm. He loved to explore, hike, fish, camp, all of that stuff. He had met some good friends on his visit to the farm the summer before. He had met Al and his granddaughter Cat. They had become fast friends and were in contact often. Actually Zeke talked far more to Al than he did Cat. Cat usually talked to his brother. As much as he loved seeing them in person, he still wasn’t convinced that it was a good enough reason to move.

Griffen felt a sense of excitement. Ever since he had met Cat he felt there was a connection between them. They texted every day and talked on Skype once a week. He enjoyed those conversations. It would certainly be good to see her in person again. He visualized her beautiful, long, dark hair and big, brown eyes, the mischievous smile on her face when she teased him. He loved to hear her giggle. Maybe this move wouldn’t be so bad after all…

"You’re mom and I will be meeting with a real estate agent tomorrow about putting the house up for sale. We know that the housing market has been slow, but we’re hoping that the house will sell within the next couple of months. Even if it doesn’t, we plan on moving as soon as you boys are out of school. I talked to Grandma Cook yesterday and told her that the decision has been made.

Are we moving into the farmhouse? asked Griffen.

Yes, we are. The farmhouse has been in my family for many years. And as you know is plenty big enough for all of us, answered his Dad. You will each have your own room, so Barley will have to make a decision about who he is going to sleep with.

Everyone laughed. Barley was their grandparent’s blonde Labrador Retriever. The boys had instantly fallen in love with him the summer before during their visit to the farm. He was just a puppy and so much fun to watch and play with. They had made a quick connection and from the very first night that they had stayed at their grandparent’s house, Barley had slept in their room. Being able to live with Barley was definitely a plus.

One more question, said Zeke. Does Al and Cat know that we’re moving?

We haven’t told them, replied his Dad. We wanted to let you boys know before we shared our news with anyone outside the family.

Okay, said Zeke as he stood. I’m going to go and let Al know.

Griffen quickly added, And I’m going to let Cat know. Both of the boys headed to their bedrooms.

As soon as Griffen reached his bedroom, he grabbed his phone and sent the following text to Cat. Moving

Cat immediately responded: Where?

Griffen: Farm

Cat: Where?

Griffen: Farm!

Cat: No way?

Griffen: Yes, way!

Cat: When?

Griffen: Summer

Cat: Wow. Can’t wait

Griffen: Me either!

Cat: I will let g-dad know

Griffen: Zeke wants 2

Cat: k

Griffen: later

Cat: k

Griffen shut his phone. Now he would start letting his friends know.

Zeke decided he wanted to talk personally with Al instead of sending a text. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about everything. He wanted to be happy, but it was hard. In some ways he was excited and in other ways he was not.

He dialed Al’s number. The phone rang and rang. After the sixth ring the answering machine picked up and Zeke heard the familiar recorded message. Hi, you’ve reached Al. I can’t come to the phone now. Please leave a short message and I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank You. He had heard this message many times. They had even joked about it.

Zeke’s recorded message was so different. He chuckled to himself when he remembered what his first recorded message had said. Zeke here, leave a message, later peeps. Al had pointed out that he actually thought this could sound better. Zeke had taken Al’s opinion to heart. His message now said, It’s Zeke, leave a message, Thanks! Hearing the beep of Al’s answering machine, Zeke left a message requesting that he call him back.

While waiting for Al to return his call, Zeke decided that he would start letting his friends know that he was moving at the end of the school year. He sent several texts and the replies were mixed. Some didn’t believe him and thought he was joking. Some were sad. Others said they were happy for him. Others wanted to start planning a going away party.

Before he knew it, thirty minutes had passed. He still had some homework to do in Math. Not his favorite subject, but he knew that if he wanted to get into college he needed good grades. He had just opened up his math book when his phone rang. It was Al. They talked for the next ten minutes. When Zeke hung up the phone, he felt better. Al always seemed to put everything into perspective for him. Al reminded him that everything happens for a reason. Not that he would understand it all now, but down the road when he looked back, it would make sense to him then. That he needed to trust in his parents and their decision. And he told him how happy he was that he would now be able to mentor him on his dreams in person instead of over the phone or Skype. This upcoming life change would mean that they would be working more closely together. Hearing all of this brought Zeke comfort.

He met Al the previous summer while visiting his grandparent’s farm. Griffen and he had gone camping with their Grandpa Cook. Grandpa had wanted to show them an old Indian Burial Ground, which was really nothing to look at. It looked just like a big, ordinary hill with grass and trees covering it. But it gave him this strange feeling, knowing that many people had been buried there. Grandpa told them that lots of people had reported seeing ghosts or spirits in that area. They had not seen any on their trip, but then again, they went during the day. Those who had reported seeing these spirits or ghosts had gone after dark. One of the reasons that Grandpa had taken them there was because Zeke had been having dreams about an Indian Lady named Moon Willow.

Al had explained to Zeke that Moon Willow was his Spirit Guide. He said that everyone has their own Spirit Guide who is with them since birth and at all times. He also learned from Al that there were many mysteries in the universe just waiting to be discovered. If you had the type of mind that was open to learning about these mysteries, you would unlock for yourself an understanding that would help you throughout your lifetime and in many cases, allow you to help others. Zeke and Griffen both agreed that they wanted to learn more. Zeke thought the main reason that Griffen had agreed was because Cat was also learning how to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Since meeting Al the summer before, his dreams were beginning to change. In the past it seemed that all of his dreams had something to do with family. His Grandma B and her cancer fight. Then there was his Grandpa Cook. He had had several dreams about Grandpa having a heart attack. His grandfather had been rushed to the hospital for heart by-pass surgery. The day that dream came true was one of his scariest, one that he would rather not repeat again. Even though Al had explained to him that it was actually a protection dream, he still needed to learn more about appreciating these types of dreams.

He had had dreams about his Dad, his mom and even Griffen. Nothing really scary and nothing like a protection dream. Just of something that was said and then soon afterwards, he would actually hear the person he had dreamt about say the exact same thing. He never mentioned it to any of them. What was weird is that not once had he had a dream that said anything about them moving. He wondered why? He would have to remember to ask Al that question.

Remembering his math homework, he sat down and spent the rest of the evening making sure it was complete. Just as he closed the book he noticed a dark shadow move across his room. It was fast, almost like he didn’t see it at all. He looked quickly around the room to see what could have cast the shadow. The bedroom light was on, as well as the desk lamp, which were the two lights that were always on when he was in the room. Not being able to figure it out, he decided it never actually happened at all. He was just imagining things because he was tired. He changed his clothes, turned off the lights and crawled into bed.

He was just about to doze off when he felt a chill. It was the type of chill you might feel after you have bitten directly into an ice cream cone and it sends a shiver down your spine. Zeke had felt this kind of chill before and knew what it meant. Slowly he opened his eyes. Standing next to his bed in the dark room was a dark shadowed figure. Even though he was getting better at not being afraid, it was still scary. Startled, he sat up in bed.

Who are you?

The dark shadow was just that … a dark silhouette. There was no face, yet Zeke knew this shadow belonged to someone. He watched as the dark shadow shifted ever so slightly. Then he heard a high pitched male voice answer, Austin.

Zeke waited for the dark shadowed silhouette to say more. Not hearing anything, he pressed on. Why are you here?

This time the voice seemed louder. Need your help.

Zeke followed Austin’s dark silhouette as it floated slowly to the center of the dark bedroom. After there appeared to be no more movement, Zeke only had one thought. How can I help you?

He had barely finished this thought before he heard in his mind. Tell my parents I’m okay.

Another mystery that Al had helped Zeke to understand is that when you were communicating with spirits, you didn’t need to talk aloud like you usually did. They could hear you and you could hear them through your mind. He hadn’t explained how this all worked exactly, but Zeke knew that when the time was right, he would.

Puzzled by Austin’s request, Zeke thought. I don’t know your parents.

Yes, you do.

This was the confusing part, telling the difference between your own thoughts and the thoughts of the spirit that was communicating with you. When he asked Al how he knew, he had answered that with experience he would learn to tell the difference. One of the main ways was just trusting that you could. He had also mentioned that you needed to be aware of all your senses. Hearing thoughts was just one way of communicating. Sometimes it might just be a feeling, a smell, a vision, a dream. There were many different ways of communicating and each person’s experience would be unique to them. The one thing that had stuck in Zeke’s mind was when Al had told him to never pay attention to any voice or event that told him to hurt himself, hurt others or hurt animals. Luckily Zeke had never experienced anything that negative.

Zeke climbed out of bed. He felt like he should be communicating with this spirit named Austin standing up. What are their names? questioned Zeke.

Dan and Mary

Recognizing these names, Zeke was both startled and amazed. Thompson? he thought.

Yes.

Just to be sure that he understood correctly, Zeke stared at the dark silhouette standing in the center of his dark bedroom as he thought. You’re Austin Thompson?

Zeke gulped hard when he heard the next thought in his mind. Yes! Austin Thompson had died in a car accident several months back. He had been good friends with his brother, Griffen. They had started kindergarten together, played sports together and had hung out together. Zeke’s entire family had attended the funeral. Never in a thousand years did he think that he would be communicating with Austin Thompson now, in his bedroom, in this way!

His own thoughts were interrupted when he heard Austin say, I need you to tell my parents that I’m okay.

The realization of what was happening baffled Zeke. How in the world would he ever tell Austin’s parents that, even though their son had died in a car accident, he was okay?

Please!

Zeke once again watched as the dark silhouetted spirit of Austin Thompson started floating. He continued to watch until the spirit had floated over to the bedroom door. For a moment Zeke thought the spirit would open the door and then float out, but that didn’t happen. Instead as the shadow reached the bedroom door, it stopped. A white light appeared behind him and for a split second Zeke saw the familiar face of his brothers’ friend. He was wearing his U of M ball cap with a sweatshirt and blue jeans. As Zeke started to move closer, he noticed that Austin was beginning to fade away.

Where are you going? thought Zeke.

It’s time to go. Remember…! As the thought finished in Zeke’s mind, he noticed that Austin was now gone, but the white light had remained. Continuing to watch the white light, he watched as another dark shadow started to appear.

He recognized her immediately; it was his spirit guide, Moon Willow. He smiled as he heard her voice. Hello, Zeke.

Zeke felt completely comfortable with her. When she had first starting to appear to him he was confused as to who she was and why he was seeing her. But now he was accustomed to her showing up and disappearing in different ways. Sometimes she would present herself in a long tan Indian dress with beading. She would also be wearing a beaded headband with a tall Eagle feather sticking up from the back of the headband. Other times she would appear as a spirit orb. A small ball of energy that could move ever so fast and as fast as it appeared, it would disappear. It amazed him at all she knew and what she could do. Even though he knew that she was always with him, he had to admit that he missed her when she didn’t contact him on a regular basis. He also understood that this was they way it was supposed to be. She was there to just guide him and was never allowed to interfere with his life lessons. The one thing he always felt from her was love. Pure love!

He asked Moon Willow. Was that actually Austin Thompson?

Softly she answered. Yes.

With this validation, Zeke wanted the answer to only one question. Why me? he asked.

Moon Willow quickly answered. You can see him and hear him. His parents cannot.

Well, if I can, why can’t they? thought Zeke?

You have the ability because you trust and believe that you can. Many people living on the earth’s plane do not believe or understand what you believe and understand. Some call your ability a blessing. Some call it a curse. As long as you keep an open mind and believe, you will have many more experiences like this one. Many spirits want to let their loved ones know that even though they can’t see them, hear them, feel them, or smell them, they are still around them. They are just in spirit form, instead of a human form.

Zeke was feeling a little freaked out and wasn’t sure that this was a responsibility that he liked. For clarification, he asked. So, I’m supposed to go to his parents and tell them that their son who died in a car accident is okay, when clearly he is not!

From within the white light, behind Moon Willow once again appeared the dark silhouette of Austin. Zeke listened carefully as he heard. I am okay.

Zeke was quick to reply. I know that and you know that, but you have to know that your parents may not believe me when I tell them that their son, who died, visited me in my bedroom and asked me to tell them that he was okay!

Zeke thought he heard Austin laugh. Communicating with a spirit could certainly be hard. The hardest part was believing…and then having to trust in yourself to know the difference between your own thoughts and the message you were receiving. He continued to listen as he received another message from Austin. My parents are coming to your house. Please deliver my message.

Feeling as though a heavy weight had just been placed on his shoulder, Zeke questioned Moon Willow. I hear what Austin wants me to do, but is this something that I have to do?

No, softly replied from Moon Willow. This is your choice. You do what you feel is right for you.

Zeke felt this overwhelming feeling come over him. He wanted to do the right thing, but what was it? If he told Austin’s parents and they did not believe him, he might be made fun of, or worse yet they would think that he was lying to them. He did not want that. If he didn’t say anything then no one would ever know. And what if he did say something to Austin’s parents and they did believe him? Then he would have delivered a very important message from a loved one. As he continued to mull through and rationalize his options, he once again heard Austin. Tell them that I said thank you for the blue balloon.

Blue balloon? questioned Zeke.

Yes answered Austin, as he began fading away.

Zeke watched Austin fade into the white light. At the same time the white light slowly began to fade, and just before it disappeared altogether he heard Moon Willow’s voice. Believe Zeke, and all will be okay.

Zeke walked back to his bed. He had just laid his head down on the pillow and covered himself with the blanket when he suddenly sat straight up in his bed. He felt around the above his bed to turn on his reading light. All the while he was thinking, Wow! That was some dream. I better write it down in my journal before I forget it. Then it hit him, it wasn’t a dream. He had been awake! Didn’t matter, he was still going to write it down so he didn’t forget about it. He didn’t think that he would actually forget about it, but he might forget about some of the details, so just to be safe, he would write it down.

Zeke kept his dream journal on his night stand right next to the bed. Al had taught him to always write down his dreams or anything that he wanted to remember the details about. He could still hear Al when he said. I have been writing down my dreams and other details for years now. It is a good habit Zeke. You most likely will not remember you dreams after you have been awake for awhile, but if you write them down, not only do you have a log of those dreams, you also have a way to compare if a dream is repeating or changing. Same holds true when you have spiritual activity around you. It will get to the point that you will not be able to remember them all, especially the little details.

He reached up and turned on the light that he had connected to his headboard. Last Christmas when his parents asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he had a long list. One item on his wish list was this light. When his parents had asked why he wanted a light connected to his bed he told them that he needed it for reading in bed. Which was the truth, but more importantly, he was tired of getting up in the middle of night to turn on his bedroom light so that he could write in his dream journal.

He grabbed the dream journal and made the following entry. Austin Thompson; Dark shadow form; this weekend, tell parents he is okay. Blue balloon! After he had written blue balloon he underlined it three times to make sure he remembered to tell them.

Slowly he closed the journal. This was actually his third journal. Once in a while he would glance back through them. Some of his entries were funny. Like the dream he had about Griffen’s pants falling down while he was mowing the front lawn. There were smiley faces everywhere in red and yellow. Two of the neighbor girls saw it when it happened and had laughed and laughed. But Griffen wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t sure why he dreamed this dream. Most of them didn’t make sense to him.

Then he thought about a dream that he had had the week before. Re-opening his journal he found the post.

4-12-12

School in background.

6 on all the clouds in the sky.

2 friends - left side of the road

7 friends -right side

Riding unicycle

Carrying several suitcases, stacked straight up, can’t see the end.

He read what he had written twice. Could this mean what he thought it meant? Maybe he had had a dream about moving after all? Because the unicycle moves, perhaps that meant he was moving? The suit cases would mean that he would be packing all of his stuff. Then there were the sixes that appeared in the clouds. Could that mean they were moving in June? Dad had said they would be moving right after school was out, which would be in June. The school was in the background and he would be moving away from his school. Slowly a smile appeared on Zeke’s face. He was beginning to piece one of his dreams together. The only thing that he wasn’t sure of was what the friends on the two sides of the road meant. Guess he would figure that part out in time. Looking at his clock he saw it was 3:30 am. It was time to get back to sleep. He had school in the morning.

Chapter 2

Zeke was wide awake at 6:30 am. He was surprised that he wasn’t really tired. He clearly remembered the spirit visit from Austin Thompson, but could not remember what he dreamed after he had fallen back to sleep. He jumped out of bed and quickly prepared for school. He could hear voices down in the kitchen. Grabbing his books and his backpack he headed downstairs.

Griffen and Dad were seated at the kitchen table eating their usual breakfast cereal. Mom was standing at the kitchen counter sipping on her morning coffee.

Morning everyone! said Zeke as he headed to the cupboard to get a bowl.

Morning Sunshine replied his mom. Did you get your math assignment done last night?

Yep!

Good. I have to commend both of you boys. Within 12 hours of your learning that we are moving to the farm, I have received three text messages; four phone calls and six emails from people asking me why we’re moving, where we were moving to and all kinds of other questions. Your dad has received text messages and emails as well.

Griffen and Zeke looked at each and smiled.

Anyway, continued Mom, Don’t make any plans for Saturday evening. I talked with Mary Thompson last night and they are going to come over for dinner.

Zeke stared at his mother, as she continued, We’ve been meaning to get together ever since Austin died and it just hasn’t worked out. As you can imagine, his death has been extremely hard on their entire family. So I am going to put together a taco buffet and we are going to have some fun. It may be the only chance we get before we move. With putting the house up for sale, getting things sorted out and packed, we are going to be pretty busy the next couple of months.

Zeke was still staring at her. It was like he was in a trance and his mom noticed the strange look on his face. Worriedly she asked, You okay, Son?

Mom knew the sudden death of Austin Thompson had been hard on a lot of people. She turned to look at Griffen. Austin had been a good friend of Griffen’s. They had known each other since kindergarten, had played sports together and had spent the night at each other’s houses. The families had become close friends. Austin’s sister Beth was in the same class as Zeke.

Zeke looked down at his bowl of cereal. Suddenly he wasn’t hungry anymore. He pushed the bowl away. Yes, Mom, I’m okay. I just had something kinda weird happen last night, that’s all. He really wasn’t sure how to describe it because it wasn’t like he had had a dream. So how could he say… ‘Another one of my dreams is coming true’?

Do you want to talk about it? asked his mom.

Not yet, he replied as he picked up his cereal bowl and headed for the kitchen sink. I’ve got some stuff I have to figure out first. What he wanted to say was I have to figure out how I’m going to tell Austin’s parents that he is okay!" Of course, he didn’t have to. Moon Willow said it was his choice. At least he had a day to think about it.

You ready, Griffin? he asked.

It was Friday, the day that Griffen was allowed to drive his mom’s car to school. He had turned sixteen the October before. At first his mother went with them. Then as she became more confident in his driving skills she loosened the reins and allowed him to drive by himself. Griffen understood the rules really well. No speeding, no loud music, no piling the car with all his friends, no texting while driving or talking on the phone, no skipping school. He was to drive straight to school and then straight home after school. If any of these rules were broken he would have his driving privileges taken away. Mom and Dad were firm on their rules, especially after Austin Thompson had run a red light while texting on his way to school and had been hit by another car.

Griffen grabbed his backpack, gave his Dad and Mom a hug and headed for the car. Zeke followed. This was only the second time that Zeke had ridden with his brother to school without a parent present. His parents had wanted his brother to have more driving experience before anyone, other than one of them, were able to ride with Griffen. Zeke also understood the rules that applied to him when he rode with his brother. He was not to do anything that would distract his brother while driving. That included just about all the same rules that had applied to his brother. Even though he wasn’t driving, Zeke was not allowed to play loud music, text or talk on the phone. Sometimes this was hard because he would hear his phone and want to answer, but he had made a promise to his parents. Besides, what were a couple of minutes? His friends could wait a little bit. Nothing was so important that he would jeopardize his brother’s driving privileges or his riding privileges.

Twenty minutes later the boys entered their school. Zeke turned down the first hall to head to his locker. As he was getting closer to his locker, he noticed a small crowd had gathered in front of it. Zeke wondered if they were all waiting for him.

That’s strange, he thought to himself. Jason was the first of his friends to see him coming. Hey Zeke, still can’t believe that you’re moving. That’s all it took, and everyone started asking questions and joking around. Before they knew it the warning bell was ringing. The conversation abruptly ended as everyone took off for their classrooms.

By lunch the school was buzzing about Griffen and Zeke moving away. Even the teachers knew. Zeke’s second hour science teacher, Mr. Granger, had told him that he was going to miss him, as did Mr. Southwell, his history teacher. It was amazing how fast news travelled.

Not once throughout the entire day did Zeke mention that Austin Thompson had been in his bedroom the night before. That Austin had asked him to tell his parents that he was okay. He had decided a long time ago that it was okay to talk about his dreams and other strange happenings with Al, Cat and his family. He knew that they were not going to make fun of him; even Griffen didn’t pick on him anymore about it. He knew that his friends, as much as he liked to hang out with them, would not understand