The Disappearing Girl – Part III

Posted on by Victoria

Hello there! As we focus on gratitude in the month of November here at Heart of the Matter, let me say this: I’m grateful to you for reading and allowing me the privilege of sharing a very personal family story. Thank you so much for joining me for the last two installments of the “Disappearing Girl”.  If you missed last week’s introduction, you’ll want to take a quick peek at the background about my mysterious experience:  Part I and Part II.

Continuing the story…

Our four-year old sweetie pie, daughter Delaney and hubster Paul were the last two to have an encounter with the strange photo and the apparition tied to it.  After their experiences seeing a mysterious floating lady, I was on high alert.  Expecting more shenanigans.  But none came.  No falling on the floor in a clatter, no strange sightings…just a persistent cold spot near the photo, which I chose to attribute to the poor placement of heat ducts. 

Jumping ahead nearly fifteen years, we left that house and found another while Delaney was in college.  The new home was hard to resist and I wrote about it because that house…our current house… called to us in a strange way.  An unrelated but equally odd tale. Take a look because we had no idea that the hubster, Paul, had a connection to the home. 

But the point?  We moved.  Although it’s unusual for we, the soon-to-be-empty-nesters to trade up, size-wise, in housing, we did so because the house in question spoke to us. It needed a lot of love and Paul and I were too captivated (or deluded) to say no. So, we moved to a larger home that needed LITERALLY one of everything replaced or refurbished. 

We loved the two-story entry way and the idea of showcasing beloved family objects, artwork and books on the towering second-floor bookcase, overlooking the stairs.  In the hustle of moving in, we did a lot of slapdash work – just plopping things here and there – but when the “France photo” was unpacked, I decided to take a risk and I placed the frame on the highest shelf of the bookcase.  If some new antics were going to unfold, she’d fall in a splashy crash…no hidden messages:

I distinctly recall the placement of the photo on the shelf…but the obsidian statue – situated just to the right of the photo?  I didn’t put it there and neither did Paul. 

The dear hubs purchased the Aztec totem, carved from lava stone, on a whim when we were in Tulum a few years prior and upon our return, it sat proudly in his home office.  With all the other chaos of moving, he lost track of it but knew for sure that he had nothing to do with placing it next to the funky photo. Not him.  Not me.  In fact, we had no idea it was there, because it was tucked in so stealth-like on the shelf, disappearing from view.  Especially if you looked at the bookcase and that shelf from the entry way below. 

How, then, did we learn the whereabouts of the statue?  This is the last strange story and I needed to get full permission from daughter Delaney to share it.  The only aspect I’m changing from the following account is the name of her highly intuitive friend.  The rest?  Another head scratcher, for sure. (And Delaney says hi, btw 😉.)

DeeDee & Delaney

Three years after we moved in, Delaney returned from college, moving in with us as she planned her next steps.  We were thrilled to have her home and our new house gave her more space – her own bedroom and a spare room that we turned into a tv room/sitting area. 

About a month after she was home and settled, Delaney got a late-night phone call from one of her friends, “DeeDee” who still lived in their college town.  I knew Delaney missed DeeDee and they spoke often, trying to eclipse the 2000 miles between them. 

It was almost midnight when Delaney popped into our bedroom and unlike the twenty-something night owl that she was, her parents had been asleep for hours.  When the door creaked open, however, my momma’s ears were attuned to Delaney’s footsteps as she approached, phone in hand, poking me and asking, “Mom…mom…where’s the weird photo from France?”  It took me a minute to understand what she was asking about but I figured it was about THAT photo and I told her it was on the bookshelf – in the hallway.  “Far left at the top”, I said and rolled over.  She seemed okay – just insistent and the house wasn’t on fire, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

The next morning Delaney shared her spooky interaction with DeeDee, catching me up. As soon as she began the replay, I wished I’d had coffee first. Bleary-eyed, I listened as Delaney recounted the night’s events, starting with DeeDee’s urgent question. “Delaney…wait.  Do you feel safe?”  I don’t know what else they’d been discussing.  Probably catching up about music, other friends, who got jobs where and when, etc.  The “Do you feel safe” query was met with a giggle.  Delaney said she laughed at DeeDee and carried on, but DeeDee would have none of it.  Again, and in a more serious tone, DeeDee demanded: “I’m not fooling around.  Serious question.  DO YOU feel safe?”

Delaney answered and said, “Yeah, sure. Fine. Whyyyyyy?”  And it was DeeDee’s follow-up that sent Delaney to wake me up, asking about the funky photo.  DeeDee calmly said: “There’s strange energy in the house but I think you’re okay because the obsidian is blocking it.  I can see it – it’s close to you, like really close.”

Well, that got our girl’s attention.  Delaney was in mild panic mode as her thoughts turned to the photo.  It had been years since she’d seen it…we’d moved in between…but she knew immediately.  DeeDee’s talking about the photo…the lady, she thought.

After I told Delaney where the photo was, she turned on every light in the house (darn near) and looked at the bookcase.  The bookcase that shares a wall with the room she was in – her tv room.  At the very top, she saw it and then spied the black obsidian statue.  Paul’s statue that we’d lost along the way in the move.  (And no – please don’t question my housekeeping.  It’s a tall bookcase and out of sight out of mind…I’m not very good about dusting but if I had been, I might’ve discovered the statue sitting next to the photo long before DeeDee’s vision.)

Delaney began Face-Timing DeeDee, showing her the bookcase, the photo and yup. The little statue.  DeeDee was relieved.  She concluded the obsidian was doing its job…because “The wonky energy from the photo was kept in check” and, according to DeeDee, it explained why Delaney felt no threat or concern whatsoever. 

As a mom and daughter duo, Delaney and I share a few traits and one of them is an openness to accepting things we cannot see, allowing for the magic of the Universe to behave as it might.  God’s will, nature’s way.  Some things are not meant to be understood.  And that’s what we concluded about DeeDee’s late-night revelation.  The photo and the antics were calmed by the protective statue?  Maybe so. 

Black Obsidian – We Had No Idea

DeeDee shared details that were new to us about the legend and lore of black obsidian, including some of these tidbits:

  • Some believe black obsidian has spiritual power capable of clearing away negativity and potentially toxic, unsettled energy.
  • Some believe black obsidian facilitates and conducts energy between spirit guides and guardian angels, enhancing communication.
  • Aztecs believed obsidian had spiritual significance and the capacity to ward off evil spirits.
  • Queen Elizabeth I used a black obsidian “spirit mirror” adopted from Aztec culture.  It was a recommendation from one of her advisors to help her connect with spirits and make decisions.

All of that was fascinating to learn and we did a little reading to educate ourselves further.  I’m not saying the tiny bit of volcanic glass shielded us from hijinks with the girl…the lady…the energy that was active, on and off for years.  I just don’t know what to think.  And yes. I’m not proud of it but the skeptic in me grilled Delaney heavily about DeeDee and I learned that while she was a believer in crystals, spirits and the ‘unseen forces’ she was also a sober, hardworking honor student with a blossoming career.  In other words, about as sane as the rest of us.

And today?  Nothing new to report and it’s been five years since the DeeDee/Delaney encounter.  I still give the photo a meaningful glance now and then (and yes, occasionally I bark at Paul to get the Swiffer duster ‘way up there’) but there’s nothing more to report.  Well, unless the odd a-ha about my dad’s ancestors in France qualifies.  It’s been not quite two years, but I’m still stunned by the family connection…to the sweet little village where the ‘disappearing girl’ greeted me and vanished.

I’ll share…just pop over to Victoria Ponders.  Whether the girl was an ancestor or not, I’ll never know, but the fact that my dad’s people walked those very streets?  My dad would’ve loved that and I’m grateful that I can tell the story. 

Vicki ❤

47 thoughts on “The Disappearing Girl – Part III”

  1. Pingback: The Disappearing Girl – Part IV – Victoria Ponders

  4. Wow wow wow. What a story! You’ve done such a beautiful job of keeping your feet on the ground all the while presenting a mystery that is way beyond comprehension. So fun – and captivating!! Love it! ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. Thanks for that, Jennie! Neither did Delaney and I know…but learning about its use in history was fascinating. There world is an amazing place. Appreciate you for reading and commenting. 🥰

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  7. Wow! Fascinating and a little spooky story. Ever since having an unexpected spiritual awakening a dozen years ago, I’ve learned a bit about the unseen world (the world of energy) and from what I know, obsidian is grounding and can be protective. How cool that the statue mysteriously ended up by your photo. If you ever want to know more about the girl – who she was and why she’s been hanging around, I know a professional intuitive (a woman who was born with her abilities and has become a dear friend) who does this sort of thing (and more).

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    1. Thank you so much, Susan, for reading and for sharing more info about obsidian. Such a learning experience for us. Thanks, too, for your kind offer of a referral. I will absolutely keep that in mind! Grateful to you for reading and for your sharing about the “unseen world of energy”. I think there’s so much I don’t understand. xo! 🥰

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  8. We need the digging out of things, the glimmers of awareness of what might be, but we also need patience to sit with those bits and pieces and let them tell their story. Being impatient (a hearty trademark I struggle with even now) rather than letting life speak to us as it will proves to me anyway that there is a darn good reason we can’t or shouldn’t know everything all at once. Processing in slow and steady forward motion brings about deeper meaning in the end…

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    1. Gosh, how I love that point, Deb. I think I’m better off for having had these experiences over time, without rushing to “make meaning” and solve mysteries. “Letting life speak” is such a beautiful way of putting that. Thank you! 🥰

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  10. Wow!!! What an amazing story. You totally have me engrossed. I have to share a memory that your story make me recall. My husband got a phone call from a high school friend who said she’d had a dream about him at work. He had a corner office with huge glass windows. She dreamed he died from the glass falling on him. He pooh poohed it and thought his old friend was a little off. A couple years later, in another office, also on the corner — a car drove through his window, into his desk which became splinters and into the next office. A few minutes earlier, my car broke down and I called my husband who immediately left his office to help me. Nobody in his office knew he had left. After the crash that sounded like an earthquake, they were all afraid he was dead. The only thing left in his office was a photograph of our son, untouched on top of the pile of rubble. Our son was questioning his belief in God at the time. Signs, signs and more signs.

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      1. I also wonder how my husband’s friend from high school who he hadn’t talked to in decades had the nerve to call him up and share her premonition. She must have been frightened for him, just like Dee Dee was for Delaney.

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  11. Gah! Shivers and goosebumps again, such that I’m glad to be reading under very, very bright fluorescent lights. Under such lights, I’m glad part IV is next up in my reading queue!

    (Also? ❤️ to a shared “openness to accepting things we cannot see, allowing for the magic of the Universe to behave as it might.”)

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  12. You’re so calm and collected! I’d be a wreck! And I think I’d leave that picture in the basement with all the other abandoned furniture, pics of the ancestors, and grandpas rock collection. This Dee Dee is something else. What a visionary. I had no idea that obsidian had all those unique properties. We find a lot of it on the beach of our lake house as it sits at the base of a really old volcano. I’ll bring some inside next time. Looking forward to the final episode. Hugs, C

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl! (Sorry for the slow reply…your comment got swept up in spam…and I have no idea why.)
      I’m less of a wreck these days because I let all of it marinate for a few years. LOL. And goodness, yes. Delaney’s friend was so matter-of-fact about what she “saw” – it was nothing to her but it kept us in a fog for a while. How did she…without ever seeing our house in person or in pictures….?? And yes! I want to see some of your gathered obsidian! How amazing that you’ve seen it on the beach near your lake house. Love that! xo! 💕

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  15. I never got the chance to read parts 1 and 2 last week, but I’m all caught up now. I’m not going to offer some explanation, though it made for good reading. Though I’ve never had anything like this happen to me, I know of others I trust (My wife says her dad visited us once in the night shortly after he passed.) who have had unexplainable experiences. I’m open to the idea that there are plenty of things we don’t understand now but someday will.

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    1. I’m so grateful to you, Pete, for reading all the way through! Thank you so much. Oh my…your wife’s experience sounds wonderful and terrifying – wow! And I’m with you. One day we’ll understand it all. 🥰

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    1. So much…so much. And you, dear one….thank you for your early morning read of this post yesterday – catching an oops on my part. Grateful to you for being you…open hearted and caring…and always open to learning about the world and sharing. Happy Monday, Erin. Love ya! 🥰

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  17. I didn’t know all that about obsidian either — and what a wild tidbit about Queen Elizabeth I! Also, it’s wild that DeeDee was about to feel the “vibes” of the house — while not even being inside it.

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  20. This is amazing! As someone who loosely knows about stones and crystals, I’m positive that black obsidian helped! I CANNOT believe you unknowingly brought home a flipping spirit! Great storytelling, too, Vicki ❤

    The hubby needs a stern talking too, though. We need heads up if we see ghosts 🤣🤣🤣

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