A Strange Homecoming

By: Bill W
(© 2020 by the author)

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BW@tickiestories.us

I left my parents and the house I grew up in when I left to attend Cornell University in upstate New York so I could major in math.  I only returned home for the major holidays, because I also tutored math at a high school in the same community as the college.  I didn’t go home over the summer either, because I enrolled in summer classes and supervised a summer program for ‘at risk’ children. 

The program was supported by the local recreation department and not only offered arts and crafts, games, and drama activities, but we also taught computer classes.  We did this because most of the kids we dealt with didn’t have a computer at home.  While we were doing those things, another organization delivered bag lunches for the children every day, since most of those in attendance were also ‘food insecure’ due to a chaotic and unreliable home life.  The job didn’t pay a lot, but I made up for it in the immense satisfaction I received from helping these children grow and develop. 

During my junior year, two of my professors approached me with a proposition.  “Adam, we’re here to urge you to apply to become a Rhodes Scholar.  Your grades and G.P.A. are outstanding, along with your work ethic, and we’re also aware of the program you supervise during the summer, as well as playing on the University’s soccer team.  Those are the precise qualities the committee looks for when selecting Rhodes scholars.”

“It’s not an easy process, though,” the other professor stated as they alternated speaking to me.  “First, you’ll have to apply and you’ll find the application online starting in early July, and then you’ll need to fill it out and submit it by the end of October.  You’ll also have to be nominated by the University and approved by the state’s Rhodes Scholarship committee, but we’ll do everything we can to help.  We’ll go to the Dean of the Math Department and the President of the University and urge each of them to write an endorsement letter for you.”

“We’ll also write personal letters of recommendation for you and get the other professors who’ve had you in class to do the same.  We’ll even ask for a letter of recommendation from the Director of the Recreation Department, so he can explain the work you’ve done for them.  However, we can’t help you write your personal statement, which will need to be submitted with the application.”

“Once that is done, you’ll be interviewed and required to attend a few other functions as well, and we think you’re perfect to do this.  There are only 32 applicants accepted from the US, and if you’re chosen, you’ll spend two years at Oxford University in England and be able to earn a Master’s Degree in Mathematics or another Bachelor’s Degree in a different discipline.  The scholarship also provides a stipend that will cover most of your expenses, and being a Rhodes Scholar is an enormous honor that will help you in whatever you choose to do later in life.”

“I’m willing to consider this, but when would this have to be done – this year or next year?  From what you’ve told me so far, it sounds as if I’ll have to graduate first?”

“Yes, you’ll be required to graduate before you actually go to Oxford, but you’ll apply in your junior year.  If selected, the University will then have to certify that you’re on schedule to meet all of the requirements to graduate with a Bachelor Degree.  We strongly urge you to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.”

I heeded their suggestion, and to my utter surprise I was one of two students chosen and was soon on my way across the pond, as the Brits like to say.  After finishing my two years there and earning a Master’s Degree in Mathematics, I decided to take a little more time to travel around the United Kingdom and Western Europe.  It was the chance of a lifetime. 

I returned home in early October and spent as much time as possible with my parents, while at the same time trying to determine what I wanted to do now that I had my degrees.  I thought about which types of jobs I wanted to apply for, because my degrees in math would provide me with a wide range of possibilities.  Now, I just have to determine what I want to do for the rest of my life. 

During this time, I also ran errands for my mom so I could get out once in a while, because I didn’t want to be cooped up in the house all day long.  I was disappointed at first, because I didn’t run into any of the other students I went to high school with.  I wasn’t sure if they’d taken jobs in other parts of the country, joined the military, or just didn’t happen to be out and about at the same time I was, but that was all about to change. 

After I finished lunch on Halloween, my mom asked me to run a couple of errands for her.  I said I’d be happy to do it, and after I parked the car, I entered the grocery store to pick up the extra candy my mom wanted for tonight, since Dad and I had eaten some of the candy she’d purchased earlier.  When I got to the candy section, I encountered one of the people I’d been looking for – it was David Watkins.  We’d graduated together and I was extremely glad to see him. 

“Whoa, here’s the star of our graduating class, Adam Cummings,” he said when he first saw me.  “I read all about you in the local newspaper.  They wrote a huge article about you when you received the Rhodes Scholarship.” 

“Yeah, that was kind of a big deal.  I finished up my Master’s Degree at Oxford University in May, but then I did some traveling before returning home.  I just got back a couple of weeks ago.  What have you been up to?”

“I got my degree in accounting and now I’m a C.P.A. (Certified Public Accountant).  I came back here to help my mother out after my father died and opened my own business.”

“Congratulations about your business and I’m so sorry to hear about your loss.  I would like to offer my sincerest condolences.”

“Thank you.  I appreciate that.”

“You’re the first person I’ve seen since I’ve been back that I knew in high school.  Is Mickey still around?” 

Dave, Mickey Welch, and I used to play pick-up games of basketball against all comers at the local playground.  Dave and I were ok at basketball, but Mickey was a star on the high school basketball team and made us look good when we played together.  Besides being a slick ball handler, he also had one hell of an outside shot. 

“No, after Mickey got his degree, he landed a job in North Carolina.”

“That’s too bad.  I would have liked to see him again.”

“Maybe he’ll come back for the ten-year reunion.  That will be in four more years.”

“Yeah, maybe he will.”

We continued chatting and getting caught up on old times, and when we were leaving the store, I spotted another person I knew from high school.  He was walking in the parking lot of the store on the other side of the street. 

“Hey, there’s Tom Baldwin,” I said as I pointed across the street and glanced at Dave. 

“It can’t be,” he said while looking confused. 

“Yes, he’s right over there,” I insisted, but when I looked back Tom was gone.  “He must have gotten into his car.”

“It must have been someone that looked like Tom, because he was killed in a car crash a couple of years after we graduated.  My parents called and told me all about it when it happened.”

“Damn, I could have sworn the guy I saw was him.” 

We talked for a little while longer, but then I said I had to go because I promised to pick-up a few other things for my mom.  After we said goodbye, I headed over to the next store.  While I was shopping, I saw another guy I knew from high school.  It was Joe Galutz and he was the fullback on the football team, but he turned down another aisle before I could get his attention.  When I finally got to where I last saw him, he was no longer there, so I looked around briefly, but never spotted him again.  He must have checked out and left the store. 

Once I finished up there, I headed over to the drugstore to pick-up a prescription for my mom.  I had to wait in line behind a couple of other people, but as soon as I had it, I walked to the front of the store to leave.  As I reached the door, I saw a girl from high school walking down the other side of the street.  I hurried outside to catch her, but a bus went down the street between us and stopped briefly, and then she was gone by the time it got out of the way.  I wasn’t sure if she got on the bus, hopped into a car, or entered another building, but I would have liked to chat with her.  She used to live across the street from us the entire time I was growing up. 

I had one more stop to make and took off for the mall.  I was walking around looking for the store my mom sent me to, one that wasn’t here when I lived at home.  That’s when I spotted Bob Glann going into the sporting goods store so I yelled at him, but he must not have heard me and went inside.  I doubled my pace in order to catch up with him, but before I did, I ran into some else I knew, Geoff Kritzberg.  We barely avoided a collision.

“Slow down,” he snapped before he recognized me.  “Adam Cummings, where are you going in such a hurry?”  Geoff and I had played on the soccer team together in high school. 

“I spotted Bob Glann heading into Dick’s Sporting Goods and I was trying to catch up with him.” 

“Do you mean Linda’s brother?”  Geoff was a year ahead of me in high school and Linda was in his grade, while Bob was in mine.

“Yeah, we were friends.”

“It couldn’t have been him then, because I heard he died of a drug overdose.”

“No way!  I just saw him.”

“There’s no way it was him.  He got hooked on cocaine after college and died about fifteen months ago.” 

“Then my eyes must be playing tricks on me today, because earlier I thought I saw Tom Baldwin.  Dave Watkins told me that Tom had been killed in a car crash.”

“Yes, I saw it on the nightly news after it happened.” 

I talked with Geoff a little while longer, but he could tell I was distracted thinking about the fact that I thought I saw two guys I knew, but they were actually dead. 

“Look, don’t let it bother you,” he said.  “You probably just wanted it to be them so badly that you thought you saw them when you didn’t.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it, because how else could I have been so wrong about seeing them?” 

We eventually said goodbye and Geoff went on his way.  A short time later, I located the store my mother sent me to and I collected the final item on her list.  Once I had it, I returned home, but my mind was still reeling about making such silly mistakes as I entered the house and gave my mom the three packages. 

“Thank you, honey.  I appreciate you doing this for me.”

“It wasn’t a problem and I got to chat with a couple of guys I knew in high school.  By the way, that reminds me.  I saw Erin McKinney too.  You remember her, don’t you?  She lived across the street, but I didn’t get a chance to talk with her.”

“Honey, it couldn’t have been Erin.  She died while you were in England.”

“What?  Not again!”

“What do you mean, not again?”

“I thought I saw Tom Baldwin and Bob Glann too, but I was told by the guys that I talked to that they had also died.”

“I’m not sure about them, but Erin was diagnosed with a brain tumor while you were at Cornell, but we were all hopeful that she would beat it.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.” 

“I thought I saw someone else I knew, but I didn’t catch up to him either.  Do you know anything about Joe Galutz?”

“I don’t think I recognize the name.”

“He was a star on the football team when I was in high school.”

“Then you might want to ask your dad when he gets home.  He knows a lot about many of the local athletes, both past and present.”  

“Ok, I will.”

I didn’t think about it when my dad first arrived home, but while we were eating dinner Joe Galutz’s name suddenly popped into my head. 

“Dad, do you remember Joe Galutz?  He went to high school with me and played on the football team.” 

“Yes, if I remember correctly he was the fullback that scored the winning touchdown in the championship game.”

“Yeah, that would be him.”

“He certainly had a run of bad luck.  He got an athletic scholarship to go to Notre Dame, and although he was a star fullback here, he didn’t cut it there.  They moved him to center, but he didn’t like playing that position and ended up dropping out of college.  He enlisted in the army after that, and I heard he’d been killed in Afghanistan.”

“Damn, that’s the fourth person I thought I saw today that was already dead.  What the hell is going on?”

“I’m not sure and all I can say is it’s Halloween,” my dad said dryly.  “It’s the day when the dead are said to walk the earth.” 

“Even if that’s true, why was I the only one who saw them?”

“You may have been the only one who recognized them or paid attention,” offered my mom. 

“Maybe, but it could also mean that I have some sort of special gift.”

“I guess it’s possible.  You might be what they call a sensitive,” she suggested.  “I watch a program on the Travel channel called The Dead Files, and the girl on that program can see spirits, so maybe you can too.”

“You mean there are people who can actually do that?”

“She apparently can, because the things she says she sees always matches up with the research her partner does about the area.” 

“Then maybe he tells her what he finds out.”

“No, they do their thing at different times.  She goes to the house at night and walks through it and we hear her comments about what she sees while they’re videotaping her.  Her partner does his research the following day and they say they never talk to one another during the investigation.  They only do that at the end when they’re ready to report their findings to the people who contacted them about the problem.  I admit that I didn’t believe in what they were doing at first, but the things she says during her walk through and the drawings she has an artist make about the things she’s seen are incredibly accurate.” 

“Then I must be cursed to be one of those people.”

“Have you seen other spirits?”

“I have no idea.  I might have and didn’t know it at the time, because the guys I saw today looked real, not like ghosts.”

“Possibly it’s just because it’s Halloween then.  The woman I told you about is always able to tell the spirits from real people, but you apparently thought the spirits you saw were real, so I don’t think you have the same ability that she has.  Either that or you just need more practice doing it.”

“I hope I don’t have her gift and I pray that I never see any more people I know that are dead.  To tell you the truth, when I discovered I could see spirits, I thought it meant I was going to die soon.”

“Don’t say that!  I’m sure something else caused you to see them, possibly just the fact that it’s Halloween.” 

“I hope that’s all it is.”

I was originally planning to greet the trick-or-treaters when they arrived at the house and give them their treats, but after the day I’d had, I talked my mom into doing it instead.  I didn’t want to take the chance that I’d see others who were no longer alive standing behind the kids in costume, walking down the street, or moving across the yard.  But then again, how would I know that was the case, if I can’t tell the living from the dead?

I stayed with my parents until I got a job, and then I moved away because the job was in another state.  As far as I know, I never saw any other spirits of the dead walking about, and that’s fine with me.  It was a very unnerving experience and one that I’d rather not repeat.

The End.

Posted: 10/23/2020