I own a flower shop. I have been a florist for 43 years now. My shop and home is located right next door to our small towns funeral home. We get alot of business because of where we are located.
Alot of grieving people walk in here straight from the funeral home. The funeral home is about 30 feet away from my shop so its very close by, the only thing seperating us is an alley. Alot of people ask me if I ever encounter any ghosts, spirits or any thing out of the ordinary. I always tell them, I can sit here and tell you stories all day long and you probably wouldn't believe me. Some don't care and still want to listen. So I usually choose the one I that stands out the most to me. I invested alot of time into figuring out what exactly had happened that one day that I experienced this. I call this one, "Frank's lost".
It was August 1985. It was a Saturday morning I remember. The funeral home was going to be closed for the first time in 2 months. They had been on a long streak. Services after services and no days off. Finally the boss over at the funeral home decided to give every one the day off including himself.
So I woke up, got my coffee ready, and walked through the back yard into my flower shop. The smell of artificial flowers as I enter is always pleasant. I didn't have any work for the day as of yet. I turned on the open sign and unlocked the doors and turned on the radio lightly. I walked on over to light a candle that I always light up first thing in the morning. There was a purpose and a reason why I always lit the candle, you will find out why later.
I began working on some small fresh arrangement, Saturdays are always known for people walking in, in a rush , usually for birthdays. I glanced and noticed the funeral home parking lot was empty, usually filled with at least the employees vehicles. There was not one car in that parking lot. The entrance door chime went off, I had a customer. I walked up to the front as I usually do to greet them. But no one was there. I walked up to the door, opened it and took a peek outside to see if any one was out there, no one. It wasn't windy. I did not think anything of it. I noticed the smell of burnt something. I looked around , and the candle was out. I thought maybe it went out with the ceiling fans. So I grabbed the box of matches and lit it back up.
As I went back to my work station and continued to work on the arrangement I was working on, the door chime went off again , I could hear the door open and as if some one was fondling with their car keys as if they were putting them away in their purse or pocket. I walked to the front again to greet the customer and welcome them in. Just as I walked out of the work station and onto the main floor, there was silence. Only the light music playing in the background from the radio playing oldies. Confused, I again walked towards the door to check if some one was outside. Nothing. I glanced over at the funeral home and everything was still empty. I started thinking maybe some one was just walking by and opening the door. Could have been one of the neighborhood kids messing around. As I walked back to my work station I noticed the smell of burned something again. I looked towards the candle I had just lit not even 10 minutes ago, there it was , off.
The fans had never been known for turning off any of the candles I had lit for over 20 years. It was odd to me as outside it wasnt windy and the door opening wouldn't have caused the candle to turn off. I told myself, I need to drink my coffee a little faster today because it seems like I am still on the drowzy side. I lit the candle back up and went back to my work station. I'm there for about 10 - 15 minutes just humming along to a song on the radio working my hands when I hear knocking on the door. The knocking was kind of hard. I would hear the glass on the door shaking , I pictured some one knocking with the bottom portion of their fist to make the door shake and rattle like that. I rushed up to the door and spoke loudly " The door is open!" I could see a figure of a person through the glass standing at the door knocking as I walked out of the work station and onto the floor to the door. I walked up to the door, suprisingly, it was locked. I don't remember locking it? , I told myself. I unlocked it and opened the door to welcome the customer in. There was no one at the door. The figure I saw was merely a shadow, through the glass on the door, but it was gone. I assured my self I saw some one there, some one had to have knocked on the door. I walked outside looked both ways , left and right. I walked around the corner to see if some one was down the alley, there was no one.
I was starting to feel wierd. For some reason I didn't think it was kids messing around any more, not after seeing the shadow at the door. I walked back inside and made sure the door was unlocked. I looked around and proceeded to walk towards the work station, when I smelled it again. The burnt smell. I looked towards the candle. It was off, but smoking as if some one had just that second turned it off.
I could see the smoke twirl up into the air. I began to feel as if some one was in the shop with me. There was no one. I stood there thinking, what is going on?
I walked up to the candle, looked around, grabbed the matches, lit the candle back up. I thought to myself, its early in the morning , I need to snap out of it and wake up. So I went back to my work station and proceeded to do what I was doing. I walked into the walk-in refrigerator for about 10 seconds to get some fresh roses for the arrangement I was working on. When I walked out , I began to clip one of the roses when all of a sudden I looked up and saw an old man dressed in a black business suit standing by the front counter on the main floor. I quickly said "hello" and walked out of the work station and onto the front.
There was no one there! I swear I saw some one there, clearly I saw an old man dressed in a black and white bussiness suit standing right there. I called out "hello? hello?". No response, no one there. I went to where I had seen the man and noticed that smell again, I quickly turned and look at the candle and sure enough there it was, the smoke twirling up in the air as if some one had just turned it off. I freaked out! I thought I was going crazy for a moment there. I ran back to my work station and thought to myself, I swear I saw some one there, I didnt hear the door chime because I was in the walk in fridge, but when I came out , there was a man standing right there. I swore to myself what I had seen was real. How could I explain to myself what I had experienced in that hour since I opened wasn't really happening?
It was real. I walked back out to the main floor... the candle was on! I didn't turn it back on. How was it on I thought to myself. I starred at the candle for a second or two, then the knocking on the door began. I could see it , the dark figure standing on the outside of the door, knocking. I almost automatically assumed it was the man I had seen dress in back. The dark figure seemed to resemble the same shape as the man I had seen. Quickly I ran to the door. I tried to open it, it was locked! I had left it unlocked, I was 100% sure of it!
As I opened the door, an old man standing there, looks to me and says " Are you open, I noticed your sign was off but it is urgent that I order some flowers for my wife." I was startled , sweating and very shaky, but I withheld all of that and slapped my self back into reality. I said " I am open, I thought I had turned on the open sign, but I guess not". I helped him in as the door is pretty heavy. I walked past him and stood behind the counter and asked him how I could help him. He looked very distressed, sad and really really bummed out. He then replied " Well I am going to see my wife, and I would really like to take her some beautiful flowers, it has been a very long time since I have seen her". The man could barely walk, barely talk, he reminded me of an old rusty vehicle that is on its last gas fumes, pushing and pushing to keep going. I told him I could make him something very beautiful and that she would be very happy with them. He then asked me if I could make him something for $20. I said sure! He then grabbed his wallet and took out what seemed like the last of his money. He placed the $20 on the counter, I placed it in the cash register. I them took out a card and asked him to fill it out with whatever personal message he would like to put on the card so it can go with the flower arrangement. I then informed him that I was going to go work on the arrangement for him in the work station and he could have a seat and wait if he wanted to. He replied by saying " thank you, I will just sit and wait until your finished, thank you".
So I went back to the work station and grabbed a really nice little vase and walked into the walk in fridge to grab the flowers I would be using for this arrangment. I walked out and began working on the arrangement. I noticed it was very quiet out on the floor. I spoke loudly" Sir , would you like a glass of water?". I got no reply back. I thought well maybe he just didn't hear me. I continued to work on the arrangement. That is when I smelled it. This time , it smelled strong! I smelled as if some one was bbq-ing right in the main floor. I immediately rushed out the main floor. There it was again, the candle was off! The smoke was circling up in the air as if some one had just blowed air on it and turned it off just that second before I walked out on the floor. I looked around quickly and said " Sir? Sir? Are you there?" . There was no one there. The seat was empty. I looked towards the door and I could see the dark figure again on the outside of the door. I francticly rushed to the door and just as I was about to open it, it was locked! I unlocked it and looked to where the dark figure was, and there was nothing there, just the heat and sun blazing on the side walk.
I was very very confused. I walked back in stopped at the counter, glanced at the candle, glanced at the seat where he was sitting, glanced at the counter and register. I noticed the card sitting on the counter, I walked up to it, The card read " To my beloved wife of 50 years, I have missed you so much, we will finally be together again .... Love , Frank
I then thought to myself, Frank. hmmm. It rang a bell.
The funeral home director had called me the night before to let me know that they would be closed on Saturday, but on Sunday afternoon they would be having a service for a Frank Williams that had been killed the day before when his house catched on fire and burned to the ground. He had mentioned to me that the body was toasted and in terrible condition. Apparantly he had been depressed because his wife had died last month from a heart attack while they were at a dance. Investigators thought he has lit the house on fire himself as a part of suicide.
Could it have been the same Frank? I thought to my self, no. It couldnt have been him, the man I saw looked alive, but the smell. The smell I recalled, burned wood, bbq , smoke.
I thought to myself. Quickly, ran home, grabbed the newspaper off the front porch. Opened up the obituaries section, there he was! Frank Martinez. He has died 3 days ago.
How could this be? Why would he have come to my flower shop? Why me?
I walked back to the flower shop. As soon as I walked in, the smell of smoke. I rushed to the main floor, there was a group of customers grieving and there was one individual who came up to me and said " We would like to see if we could order a casket arrangement for our father who passed away, his services begin tomorrow.". He then goes to the group of people and takes a picture frame from them that they were grasping in their hands. He then tells me, We would like a casket spray arrangement, if you can please leave a gap or a small space in the center, so we can place my fathers picture in the center of the arrangement. He handed me the picture frame, as I looked at it, it was him. It was the old man, it was Frank.
I was in such distress but I kept it all in for the sake of the family. After they made their arrangements and left. I stood there in suspense, confused and spooked. I walked to the counter and noticed the card Frank had written to his wife was gone, I opened up the cash register, the $20 bill was gone. Was I dreaming? No. I looked at the order pad where I had written the order down that his family has just placed. I looked at the newspaper showing his obituary. I stood there confused. I then looked towards the candle, it was on.
The only thing I can think of now is what one of the funeral home employees told me once about candles. He told me they have candles in every corner of the funeral home because the flames help the lost souls find their way out. Whether this be true or not, that day, Frank was dead, he visited my flower shop. RIP Frank.
Submitted August 22, 2015 at 11:38PM by flored61 http://ift.tt/1JceqB5 nosleep
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