A few years ago my godfather, Patrick, died. He was my best friend...saw him several times a week and talked to him every day. His death was sudden and a devastating loss for me. After he died, I walked around in a daze for several months. Right after he died my brother started dating a girl named Becky. Becky would later become my closest friend. Patrick died in October. That Christmas, my brother and Becky came to my parent's house. The weather was terrible. There were white out conditions. So none of us could drive home and we all stayed overnight.

Becky staked her claim on the couch in the living room, right next to the Christmas tree. The house quieted down and we all went to sleep. Becky had just turned out the light and was looking at the dark Christmas tree, thinking about how much fun we had all had that night. All of a sudden, she saw a stark white hand appear out of thin air. It was moving through the air towards the tree. She was scared to death, but too frightened to move. She watched as this translucent hand went among the branches and extended its index finger. It stayed that way for several moments (she was so scared she said it felt like hours, but was only maybe 10 seconds), then disappeared. She kept her eyes on the spot where the hand had been and slowly got up and went over to the tree. She saw an ornament that was directly in front of where the hand had been. She said she swears on her life that the extended finger was pointing to this ornament. She was hesitant to tell me which one, but when I pestered her she finally admitted it was the ornament that had my name on it. I went to the tree and saw an ornament that I had made when I was about 5 years old. It was my favorite one, because I was so proud when I made it and was able to write my own name on it.

I felt a sense of peace settle over me because, for some unexplainable reason, I knew for certain that Patrick had been there and was trying to give me a message. I knew he was telling me that he was okay and that he was close to me, even in death. The funny thing is that Becky never knew Patrick and hadn't even known about him or that he had died. When I told her about it, she was certain that he had been there instructing her to give me a message.