Episode 41

Cottage Gen Assisted Living in Tooele. It’s a place that whispers its stories, not shouts them. I was there for a short while, just enough to feel the shift in the air, the subtle disturbances that signal a presence beyond the living. It wasn’t a place of grand apparitions or poltergeist activity that rearranged furniture with a bang. Instead, it was a more intimate haunting, woven into the fabric of daily life.

One afternoon, I was helping Mrs. Gable, a resident with eyes that held a thousand memories, get settled in her favorite armchair by the window. The sun was slanting through the panes, painting stripes of gold across the worn rug. As I adjusted her blanket, she suddenly clutched my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. Her gaze was fixed on the empty chair across from her.

“Oh, there you are, dear,” she murmured, a gentle smile gracing her lips. “I’ve been waiting for you.”