In my little world live a curious bevy of characters, all with interesting stories and tales. Some mysterious, some boisterous, some sneaky, some intense... I am always blown away at some of the things that have gone on in my family, now and in the past. (warning - this is a long double post)
(My great grandfather, from France)
This man's daughters are some of the most lively, lovely women I have ever known. He was my Grandmother's Father (on my Mom's side). They all sing and dance. And, they all happen to be around 80 years old or older & most are still alive... (all the people I mention in this post are on my mom's side of the family)
I looove hearing people's tales within their own families, and revel in the moments I get with my grandparents. For they hold the key to all the tales... I have shared a little about my grandparents before. I was lucky enough to know both sets of grandparents and didn't lose my father's father until I was a teenager. Besides him and the tragic loss of an aunt a couple of years ago, everyone else is still ticking along.
Everyone gathers at my grandmother's table (some live faraway and come to visit every now and then). But others, make daily visits. All interjecting stories in Spanish, before anyone gets to finish. And all laughing, and patting eachother on the arm saying, remember this, or remember that... I look at them in awe. They all have such a youthful glow. They hold a sense of peace and genuine happiness... My grandmother's sister, Loli, was here visiting recently from far away...
My grandmother on the far left holding the jug and her sister who was just here, on the far right...
Our Tia Loli was here for a few weeks. And when she left, my mom said that the parting between her and my grandmother was terribly sad. So many tears shed... They both realized that at the age they are, they might never see eachother again... My heart just broke when I heard that...
My Grandmother (above) is, I don't kow, there are no words to describe her. She is so kind and sweet. Sweet as can be. But intense too, and tricky and mysterious... Her name is Josephine. Everyone calles her Josephina or Pini (pronounced as Pea-knee). I just love everything about her. Her curious ways and her crazy stories...
I happen to be the keeper of family photos, stories and treasures (known to everyone else as junk, but no to me, no sir).
The reason I am telling you this, is to shed a little light on some of my adventures to Granny's house. She shares this very very old house (about 100+ year old house) with my granfather, Pedro. He is some character, I'll tell you that. He does not hold back. His character is on "green light" all of the time. I am learning as I get older, that I got all of my treasure hunting passion from him.
Now on his side of the family are a whole other cast of outrageous characters... Including, real life witches. Witches who would pay my mom and her siblings a quarter when they were children, to find them horny toads & other spell grocery list items... Eeeek!!
My grandfather has a whole warehouse of treasures. I mean piles and piles and piles. Vintage cars, airplane parts, bike parts, motorcyles, metal for making sculptures, oh the list is endless... He really is a real life Monsieur Tutli Putli, if ever there was one... He keeps treasures for me, knowing I will love them...
On my last trip there, he told me a story about a wee armoire he had hauled home for me. But everyone told him it was junk and he had to get rid of it. So guess what he did? He removed the door for me. And saved it. You will see it in this blog post. It is now sitting right by me. I love it!!!! Mr. Lovee thought it was as precious as I did (thank goodness)...
So, if you can, try to imagine a very old, two story brick house, almost two miles up a steep hill, in a tiny little town... A home where Josephina & Pedro created a little world... A home where once you park at the top of the hill, you must descend many many stone stairs, to get to the house, that teeters at the edge of a green jungle like cliff...
A house with many pathways of stairs, and outside corridors... A place with a witches house, and an abandoned playground... A place that has heard the voices of many many children... A house that now stands, old and worn, barely whispering all of the secrets it holds...
If you can imagine this place, then come along with me, and I will tell you what happened there just a few days ago... While I eagerly attempt to collect and bottle all the bits and pieces this place has yet to share...
You see, my grandmother has so many ghost stories about this place, that you can't help but be a little bit jumpy while there... And, I dare say, I do not think I would spend the night at Nana's house... I might die of fear... With sightings of little old ladies (long gone) and ghosts of witches, roaming the area... Well, that added to the list of double attics and mean fairies... I'd say, it rates, as, yep, scary, goosebumpy ;)
So, On Sunday, my young cousin and I set off to make you a bit of a documentary. It was perfect because both of us thought we heard strange noises coming from inside the witches house... She was game for going out and checking it out, if I was...
So, we set off to crack open the rarely used gate, a remove all the boards blocking passage, down to the abandoned stairway that lead to this place...
You see, to get to that area down there, you must pass the very very old rickety cesspool doors (in the ground). Where, my grandmother has told that once drained many years ago, held the skeleton to the woman who used to live in this very house (who by the way was murdered in the early 1900's)...
Still, off we went...
We almost went back, when the swings started swinging very aggressively (by themselves), but we turned around and kept going. Both of us die-hard ghostbusters :)
Once we were down there, my little helper decided to stop the swing from moving...
But that is as far as we were going to the abandoned Witches house. We were just feeling a bit strange... Then all of a sudden we heard a slight humming of an eerie tune... And just as fast we both saw a flash of light sparkle above us... We ran out of there, trying to find whatever it was that was taunting us... We followed so many paths...
Up some little stairs...
Down others, following the tune...
We climbed rock walls in search of something we didn't even know...
We decided to make our way to Grandfather's treasures... The little helper suggested we build a flying machine, so we could look down upon the place, and see what we could see...
Just then, we heard a loud thump. She was certain it was coming from inside the Attic. We were looking at the attic window. Yes, she was certain it was in there... Off we went...
Jumping over boulders and rock walls, back through corridors, down 50 stairs... Into the house, up many more stairs. And then... A Fairy like creature, flew around us... The little girl held the teeny tiny door to the first phase of the attic. She wasn't sure...
She opened the door with much trepidation... This part of the attic leads down a wee hall, to another door to the larger part of the attic. Which has an even tinier door, that is always blocked shut...
She took deep breaths. She slightly wimpered, I said, "close it, let's go," she peeked in...
She was mesmerized by something. I heard faint giggling of a child... Something came towards us, and we slammed the door...
What was it, we both asked, wide eyed. We sat at granny's dressing table. I was stunned, she calmly played with powder...
As she put powder on her cheeks, she said, "we have to go back outside and find out what that is. I think I know where it is..." I looked at her, raising one eyebrow very high... I am not so sure, I thought... It is all fun and games until real ghosts and fairies start appearing...
Before I knew it, she was down the stairs, out the door, and headed down another pathway...
We were headed to the forbidden breezeway. But first we wanted to get some tools, like a little flashlight and such... So, we headed to Grandpa's stash... And came upon the most enchanting little mirror. My helper asked "Do you want to see me go in it..."
No, not really, I said. And gently nudged her away from the mirror... I said, weren't we on a mission??? To find that little creature making those sounds, taunting us... She looked at me, like the memory of our task had flooded her mind... Oh, yes! So we grabbed our little tools, and went off... Down another hundred stairs..
And, to the forbidden breezeway...
There she was, the fairy that was taunting us all along... It was her making those giggly little noises... She flew all around us... She told us there was a secret the wall held... She wanted us to climb up the wall, using the old vines...
But we couldn't reach inside the secret pocket in the wall...
It was impossible. So, we continued down the stone corridor... Where the activity was at its peek... There is where it happened, we found a wee creature...
The fairy said that the little girl was the only one who could save the magic creature... The creature who guarded over the grandparents... The one who kept the witches away...
The creature had once been the Great Rabbit King. He needed a light touch of a very young hand... To breathe life into him again... The witches wicked wolves had gotten hold of him...
So the little girl reached to touch him...
Magic swirled all around... Our hair flew in a magic fairy dust wind... And, then what happened, I will never be able to forget... But, that, that is left for your own imagination... Or perhaps, simply, To Be Continued...
See you soon, xoxo V
