THE MOVING GREEN LIGHT

It was 9:00 p.m. Tuesday evening and Jamie and Steve were enjoying a nice evening watching television before going to bed. It was October and it was pleasantly nice outside. Their cat Toby enjoyed looking out the front door. He liked to watch for any movement, especially another cat roaming the yard or a flying bug. But tonight Toby was not at the front door. Jamie did not give it a second thought because she knew cats did what they wanted. While Jamie and Steve were watching television, they heard a crash and then a thump. It sounded like something getting knocked over in the bedroom. They both jump up to see what the noise was all about. They knew more than likely it was Toby getting into something, but the noise sounded like he may have hurt himself. Jamie opened the bedroom door and turned on the lights. There was Toby sitting on the floor looking up at them. Steve looked around and saw some of the objects which were on the dresser now lying on the floor. He then looked up at the shelf above the door. “Was he just trying to jump up to that shelf?” he asked Jamie. “That’s what it looks like. He has never done that before,” said Jamie. “Strange,” they both thought to themselves. They kneeled down to see if Toby was alright. He did not appear to be hurt and got up and ran out of the bedroom. Toby did not have the stealth body he once had. He had gained a little weight over the three years he had lived in the house. Toby soon resumed his position at the front door while Jamie and Steve sat back down to continue watching their television program. That was enough excitement for the night.

Jamie, Steve, and Toby were sleeping soundly in their bed one week after Toby’s jumping incident. It was 2:00 a.m. when suddenly Jamie opened her eyes. Toby was sleeping at her feet. She remained on her back as she focused her eye sight. She looked up at the ceiling where the smoke detector was. The smoke detector was off to the left of the shelf above the door. Jamie saw a green light about the size of a small apple rapidly moving around the smoke detector. “I must be dreaming this,” she thought to herself. To make sure this wasn’t a dream, she slowly propped herself up on her left elbow. The light continued to move in circles around the smoke detector. Steve remained asleep. “This can’t be a dream,” she thought to herself. Jamie sat up in bed. Toby raised his head and looked at her. Jamie continued to look at the green light circling the smoke detector. She slowly pulled the covers off her body and sat on the side of the bed still watching the green light. It continued to move in circles. “This is no dream,” she thought to herself. She stood up and walked towards the door below the smoke detector. As she approached the door the green light disappeared. Jamie stood there in the dark looking up at the smoke detector. All that was seen was the small green light indicating the battery was working. She knew she was not dreaming. She stood there for several minutes looking around the room to see if the green light moved somewhere else. Jamie could not see it anymore. She walked back to her side of the bed. There was still no moving green light. She sat down on the bed. “Now that was strange. I know I am not dreaming,” she thought to herself. Toby had a concerned look on his face. He did not move from his position at the foot of the bed. Jamie went back to bed and pulled the covers over her body. Toby resumed his position at her feet. Steve was still sleeping soundly. She could not get back to sleep. Her eyes continuously scanned the room. There was no moving green light. Eventually she fell back asleep.

The next morning Jamie and Steve were getting ready for work. She thought about the moving green light earlier that morning. She made the decision not to mention it to Steve. Maybe it was a dream that just felt more real than usual. Steve fed Toby and made sure he had water. The moving green light stayed on her mind. She looked at Toby wondering if that was what he saw the week before when he tried to jump on the shelf above the door. He looked at her and then continued to eat his breakfast.

Jamie woke up frequently during the early morning hours for several days after she saw the moving green light. She had not seen the light since, but knew it was not a dream. It was too coincidental with Toby’s experience. She still had not told Steve. It probably would be better if she kept it to herself unless it happened again. Then she would talk to him about it.

Jamie was sound asleep with Steve at her side and Toby sleeping at her feet. It was 3:00 a.m. It was three weeks after the moving green light incident. All of a sudden Jamie woke up. She laid there trying to focus her eyes. She automatically looked up at the smoke detector. There was no moving green light. Her eyes scanned the room. Then she saw a man standing over Steve as he slept. He had a knit cap on his head and wore a bright green jacket. Her heart started to pound in her chest. “Did somebody break into the house?” she thought to herself. She knew where the gun was and how to use it. “What should I do?” she thought. She knew she had to do something. Why was he looking down at Steve? She sat up in bed and looked at the man standing over Steve. The man looked at her and smiled. “This is not a dream,” she thought. Her heart was beating hard and fast. As she started to get out of bed the man in the knit cap and bright green jacket looked at her. Then he walked through the bedroom wall and disappeared. Jamie stood in the bedroom. She looked at Steve as he slept. She looked over to Toby who remained on the bed watching her. “If somebody broke into the house, Toby would not be that calm,” she thought. Jamie walked towards the bedroom door out to the hallway. She walked into the next room carefully watching for any movement. The man in the knit cap and bright green jacket was nowhere to be seen. Quickly she walked to the spare bedroom. She did not see anything. The entire house was dark except for a few night lights. Jamie quickly went to the back door and looked outside. She saw nothing. “I know I saw something,” she thought to herself. She walked to the living room and stood there. Her eyes scanned the room looking for anything unusual. She saw nothing. “Maybe he went back into the bedroom where Steve was?” she thought. She now panicked. Quickly she walked back to the bedroom. The room was dark. She saw Steve in the same position as before. There was no man in a knit cap and bright green jacket. Jamie knew she had to get some sleep because she had to get up in a couple of hours to go to work. Her heart was still pounding through her chest. It would be difficult for her to go to sleep now. But she needed to try. She walked back out to the hallway and started to check every window and door making sure they were intact and locked. She then walked back to the bedroom and got back into bed. Toby watched her as she pulled the covers back over her body. She positioned herself on her back and watched. She watched for anything that moved. Jamie remained awake when the alarm clock sounded at 5:00 a.m.

Two days later Steve and Jamie were sitting in one of their favorite restaurants for lunch. The incident two days before remained on Jamie’s mind. She knew she did not imagine it. She wanted to talk to Steve about it but did not know how to bring it up. Finally, she just came out and said it. “Do you believe in ghosts?” she asked Steve. He looked at her. “I thought I saw a ghost the other night,” she said. “Where?” he asked. “He was standing over you while you were sleeping,” she said. There was a slight pause. “I saw him about a week ago,” said Steve. “You did?” she said. They then talked to see if they saw the same thing. Both Steve and Jamie had seen the same man with a knit cap and bright green jacket. They determined it probably was a ghost as was the moving green light. They talked about where it could have come from. They had lived in the same house for five years and had never seen anything like it before. Their neighborhood was built on old farmland. “Maybe he died in the fields?” Jamie asked Steve. “Or maybe somebody killed him,” he said. Jamie felt so much better talking to Steve. What she did not feel better about was living with a ghost. It would be too stressful to know something was watching them while they slept. “What do we need to do about this?” Jamie asked Steve. “I think we need to tell it to go away and never come back. I think I read that somewhere,” he said. “So when one of us sees it again, we just tell him to go away and never come back,” she asked puzzled. “I guess. It couldn’t hurt,” he said. They sat in the restaurant and thought about what they just talked about. Both Jamie and Steve finished the rest of their lunch and left.

The next day while Jamie was at work she talked about the ghost she saw in their house. Brenda listened as Jamie told her story. Brenda knew Jamie and Steve were thinking about moving in the near future. “You know you have to tell the people moving in you have a ghost when you sell the house?” said Brenda. “You do?” asked Jamie. That sounded strange. She never thought about that before. She had not seen the ghost since the last time. Jamie was pretty sure neither had Steve because he would have told her. Telling people you have a ghost before selling the house. “That would not be a good selling point,” she thought to herself. They had to get rid of it and for good.

Jamie once again awoke suddenly at 2:00 a.m. It was three days since she saw the man standing over Steve. As her eyes focused she saw the moving green light circling the smoke detector. Steve was sleeping. She sat up and said in her normal voice, “Go away. You are not wanted here. Leave us alone.” Steve repositioned himself and went back to sleep. The moving green light continued circling the smoke detector. She repeated, “Go away. We do not want you here anymore. Leave us alone.” The moving green light continued to circle around the smoke detector. Jamie got out of bed and walked towards to door. The moving green light disappeared. She repeated what she said even though she saw no green light. Steve remained sleeping. She wished she could sleep that soundly. She found herself waking up in the middle of the night at least four times a week ever since the first time she saw the green light. She would tell Steve in the morning. She got back into bed and tried to get some sleep. She was asleep in less than five minutes.

The next morning Jamie told Steve about the moving green light and her telling it to go away. Steve had not seen the light or the ghost since they talked about it at the restaurant. They hoped they would never see it again. They both got ready and left for work.

The following morning Steve told Jamie he saw the ghost in their bedroom. He told her he did the same thing and told it they did not want it there anymore and to go away. “Did it go away after you said it,” asked Jamie. “Yes it did. As soon as I said it the ghost disappeared into the wall. Maybe it worked?” he asked. “I sure hope so,” said Jamie. They were getting tired of living with a ghost.

Jamie once again awoke suddenly. It was three days after Steve saw the ghost. She looked around and saw it. The ghost was once again standing over Steve. He had the knit cap and bright green jacket. She sat up and told it to go away and never come back. The ghost looked at her. She repeated it as she got out of bed and walked towards it. The ghost walked into the bedroom wall and disappeared. She repeated it one more time even though she could not see it. Jamie walked out to the hallway and into the other room. There she said, “Go away. We do not want you here anymore. Leave us alone.” She stood in the living room and watched. There was no movement. She hoped she would never have to see it again. Jamie walked back into the bedroom and got back into bed. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Six months had passed and neither Steve nor Jamie had seen the ghost or the moving green light. There were no more jumping incidents with Toby. They hoped the ghost had moved somewhere else, into the light, or wherever ghosts went. Both of them were happy they got rid of the ghost in the knit cap and bright green jacket. They could now sleep comfortably every night without the thought of a ghost looking over them. They also did not have to tell future residents their house was haunted when they decide to sell. The moving green light could remain their secret. That would be a good selling point.