Th3Novelist Thread

My mom committed suicide years back (I was just out of college) and about two years later, her mother (my grandma) passed. I was having a really rough day at work and had just gotten off the phone with my dad, who reminded me that even though she was gone, there wasn't anything stopping me from talking to her - I never felt the urge other than to scream my anger and obscenities at her prior. I put my iPhone on top of my wallet, face-up on the left side of the coffee table, sank into the center of the couch and started to cry. I felt silly but was willing to try anything to make it stop. I remember taking a deep breath, wiping my eyes, and looking up, saying, "I love you, Mom. You know that, right?"

I thought it might have been the drama of the moment, but the best way I can describe it is that the air suddenly had a vacuous quality, like all sound had been taken out of the room. My phone's screen, without call, text or push notification, came alight, thrice flashing between the bell symbol with and without the cross through it (which requires the silence knob on the side to be flipped, rapidly back and forth in this case).

I was shocked and immediately skeptical. In my biggest smart-ass tone and smile to match, I looked up and said, "What, are you going to tell me that was you?" More silence. I turned my head to look at my phone. Nothing, black screen. Suddenly, my car horn beeped from just outside our driveway, pulling my head to the right. THE longest two seconds of my life (and I know it was mine - I drove a used '94 Accord. It had a very distinct high-pitched/nasally horn bc it was so worn-out. And it did not come with a remote so you had to lock it manually). I looked back at my phone, that smart-ass smile wiped clean and eyes wide. As if she were waiting behind the black screen, it came alight again, without push, waiting a moment before flashing the bell symbol once. I wanted to say something but the ambient noise in the room was back. I remember thinking to myself, "And just like that, she's gone again." I went to bed and fell asleep immediately, smiling.

Now, my Aunt (her sister) is a little...touched? She's always claimed that there are two ways the dead speak to people: through electronics, and (despite science/logic) by leaving groups of pennies for you to find, especially around significant items. When I walked out the next morning, my phone was still on top of my wallet, but literally, a disjunct ring of pennies, almost all face-up, surrounded them. I asked my roommates about loose change on the table when they got home - nothing but puzzled looks as to why I would ask.

I've only told that story to people very close to me, for fear of others thinking I was going crazy from the stress of family dying. Even now, I'm welling up retelling it. So, thank you, Redditors :) Remember that even when they're gone, they're not.

I Love You, Mom.