Potomac, Maryland
(Montgomery County), 1988
I had a major immune system
breakdown on April 22, 1988. The challenge had attacked my liver, spleen, gall
bladder, and stomach. I was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, hemochromatosis
of the liver, and fibromyalgia, which created extreme chronic pain and fatigue.
I literally
lived in the library of my home for almost seven months. I could barely walk,
could not take the stairs to my master bedroom, could not drive a vehicle, and
was told by 12 of my 16 doctors that I was dying.
My first
marriage had become estranged, and had already been a challenge for 14 years.
So I was left to take care of myself, cook my own meals, and care for our
seven-year-old daughter, Kristen.
The
situation was overwhelming at best, plus I had employees with Prudential I was
trying to manage by phone, mail, and through personal visits to my home. This
went on until the summer of 1990!
One night
in May 1988 at approximately 11 p.m., I was preparing to go to bed on the
library sofa. One of our dogs, a Yorkie named Tasha who never left my side, was
with me.
My father
appeared to me in a mist above my favorite rocking chair, which I still have. I
was not on medication at that time, I promise, and my first thought was
actually, "Well, now I'm also losing my mind!" But when Tasha reacted to my
father's appearance—she jumped up on my lap, her ears standing straight up,
clearly also seeing what I was seeing—I took the moment more seriously.
I heard my
father say, not out loud but almost inside my head, "Don't worry. Everything
will be alright." Then Tasha whimpered a little. After a moment, my father
vanished with the mist around him, and Tasha settled down.
Tasha died
later that summer, while on that same sofa bed in the library. She must have
known something was wrong with her, as she jumped up to me and died in my arms.
I buried her in the backyard, near the woods. May she and Dad both rest in
peace.
–B.W.M.
"My Dad in My Home," copyright 2018 Bernard W. Masino and Amelia Cotter (first appeared in The Haunted Letters: True Tales from a Ghost-Storied Life, 2013)