Ghosts, etc

earlier this afternoon, i saw a ghost. i was walking with a friend, chatting and planning to go get some coffee in the brief window of time i had before needing to catch a flight, when i glimpsed him out of the corner of my eye.

a jolt of electric shocks reverberated through my whole body. of course, i looked away instantly. i even kept on talking, as if nothing had happened. my mind was reeling. i was totally unprepared. despite my prior history of feeling haunted by visiting certain places, on this particular occasion my mind had entertained no thoughts of ghosts at all that day. in fact, i probably hadn't thought of said ghost in at least a week.

a few minutes later, my feeble attempts to sip a chai latte were revealed to be sorely inadequate at masking my discomfort. i was forced to admit that the sighting had shaken me, and, even more surprisingly, that i was filled with a strong and dreadful desire to try to catch another glimpse.

i realized later that the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was fear. evidently, i have a penchant for facing my fears. this feature of my personality has presented itself in the past through a variety of bizarre, entertaining, and sometimes dangerous escapades. you know, stuff like exploring abandoned houses by myself after dark, jumping off 60+ foot cliffs into water, making eye contact with people that are obviously crazy, etc. (aside: this is one of those "don't tell Mom" blog entries.)

at any rate, the fear was for naught, as there was no longer any sign of the ghost. i sighed in relief, but not without a twinge of disappointment.

later tonight, as i was sitting on the plane, listening to music and pretending to sleep, a stray thought crossed my mind as i fiddled with the celtic ring on my right hand. the ring i wear most of the time, which i've lost numerous times yet it keeps coming back to me. i suddenly remembered that it was not the original. i used to have a similar, but slightly different ring. i think somewhere in the back of my mind i'd gotten the idea that i'd lost the original ring, but that's false. i didn't lose it.

i sat and wondered about the ghost, and pretended to sleep.