Print Page - Shadows of a distant memory

BismEm

The vague memories of childhood are never easy to straighten out and read. Particularly if they involve the paranormal, that really makes one think over and over again if "what I saw was real." I'm talking about a time when I was five years old and my older brother was ten. My parents and the four of us, siblings, were staying in a portion of a rented double-storey house. I recall it being a comfortable house with spacious bedrooms. I also remember that outside my parents' room (which was the largest of all the bedrooms in the house) was a balcony that overlooked a field occupied by gypsies who frequently arrived and left with their caravans pulled by horses and camels.

Also I recall, I began my first day in school when I was living in this house :) My kindergarten days were spent here that lasted for almost a year till we left this house for a much larger one in a different city that I've mentioned in my post "Graveyard spirits or gas? True personal story." (http://muslimvilla.smfforfree.com/index.php?topic=719.0)

I was around four years of age when I arrived in this house with my parents and 3 siblings. Such distant memories usually run along the mind in bits and pieces. Based on these recollections, life was generally happy for us in this house. I recall my mother inviting her lady friends for snack-lunch parties very often. I would watch these elegant ladies dressed in costly silks, tafettas and velvets, coming to our home. I recall being totally fascinated by the lovely clothes, jewelry and cosmetics my mother wore while attending the get-togethers with these old school friends of hers. My brothers would normally return home from school early in the afternoon, me around 12 noon and my fourth sibling (who's a couple of years younger than me) was too young to go to school. My father returned home from office later in the afternoon around four. By five in the evening we would all be together. There would be a lot of noise and laughter in the household. It was only during weekends that we went out, either to the movies or to visit relatives and friends or simply for a long drive in our big old car. The week days would be spent at home. My two older brothers would usually get busy with their homework for an hour or so. From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. (that is, until dinner time) our entire family would get-together, chatting cheerfully.

It was during one of these evenings, at about 8.30 (it was pitch dark outside) when we all sat in our parents bedroom, talking and chatting. My (immediate) older sibling who was enjoying a few moments of fresh summer air in the balcony, rushed into the bedroom, half amused and half scared, saying that from the balcony he could see a white figure like a horse walking as though smoothly gliding in the compound along the driveway. I recall, neither my parents nor my eldest brother took his words seriously. They simply ignored him and continued chatting. But my 10-year-old brother kept insisting on what he saw. Not getting any attention from them, he asked me to come to the balcony and watch what he just saw. Very playfully, I went along with him and we leaned against the balcony railing, overlooking the gypsy field ahead and our driveway below. True enough, until this day I recall seeing a strange white figure moving smoothly across that driveway. I cannot be sure whether or not it was a horse or any other animal, but the shape looked like an animal of the size of a horse. It was impossible to see the details as it was too dark outside and that part of the driveway didn't have any lights either. I had a very eerie feeling inside of me .. a feeling of deep fear of something totally unknown to me. I must have stood there looking at the white apparition (or whatever) for about 5 or 6 seconds with my brother. Then, we both ran back into the bedroom, frightened and shaken. My parents noticed our fear. They presumed that we simply got scared of the dark or perhaps must have seen some shadows reflecting from the main street ahead. That might have been so, but what we saw didn't at all resemble a reflecting shadow. It seemed a lot more real. I'm sure about that.

Anyhow, my parents shut the bedroom door that led to the balcony. We went downstairs for dinner and the story was forgotten. Neither my brother nor I ever had the courage to stand in that balcony again after dark. No other paranormal activities were felt nor seen by anyone in or around that house.

Only Allah knows what that white figure was. I am quite convinced it was a jinn.

This one is scary as well as enthralling. According to many psychologists, paranormal citing by young children is more likely to be true because of 2 reasons.

(1) Kids below the age of 10 are supposedly more prone to seeing paranormal activities in the house or within the premises than grown-ups. This is supposed to be a natural phenomenon. However, Allah knows best.

(2) The minds of young children are usually not pre-conditioned. The concepts of fear, exaggeration, lies etc. are not so much the accompaniments of a child's mind as they might be that of an adult. So when a child that young says that they saw such and such thing, they most likely did. That citing can be analysed for finding a plausible reason. But if no reason is deduced, as in the case of you and your brother, children are more worthy of being given the benefit of the doubt than adults in similar positions.

Thanks for sharing Sis Zeynab!

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Category 9 => Personal experiences of members or their relatives - => Topic started by: Zainab_M on December 16, 2007, 01:25:12 am