The next morning, Mary told her parents and Aunt Martha what she had seen and felt. Her mom and dad dismissed it as a dream, but Aunt Martha knew it was a sign that her son had died in battle. News traveled slowly then, so it was a few weeks before Aunt Martha received the news confirming Orville's death. Mary's experience comforted Aunt Martha in her loss because it confirmed her belief in life after death.
The loss of her son took its toll on Aunt Martha, though. That autumn, when all the leaves died, Aunt Martha died, too. Mary was heartbroken. She came home from the funeral, ate an early supper, and went to bed right away. She was sure that Aunt Martha would pay her a visit that night, but nothing happened. Mary was disappointed because she had wanted to see her aunt again.
Autumn turned into a very cold winter, and Mary's thoughts turned to Christmas and her birthday. She was hoping for a white Christmas, and she was delighted when she looked out the window on Christmas Eve morning and saw that her wish had been granted. Huge snowflakes were falling fast and sticking to the ground. The snow would surely be around for Christmas morning and beyond. Mary's father had gone into town very early to pick up some gifts and groceries so he could get back home before the roads became impassable. Mary and her mother were home alone.
After breakfast, Mary went to play in her room. Suddenly, she knew she was not alone. She looked up and saw Aunt Martha's face outside, looking in the window. She was very agitated, and it was clear she was trying to tell Mary something. In Mary's mind, she heard Aunt Martha say, “Help Ralph now!” Then it looked like she just melted into the falling flakes of snow.
Mary felt her sense of urgency. Her cousin Ralph was Aunt Martha's youngest son. He had been living alone on the farm next door after Aunt Martha had died. Aunt Martha had made it quite clear to Mary that something was wrong with Ralph. Mary knew she had to make her mom believe her.
Mary had not been sleeping when this happened, so her mother couldn't say it was a dream. She went to her mom and told her what had happened. Mrs. Sinclair could see how upset Mary was, so she decided it wouldn't do any harm to ride over and check on Ralph.
She and Mary bundled up against the cold and saddled the horses for the ride over. It was a good thing for Ralph that they did. As they approached, they saw someone on the ground in front of the barn. As they got closer, they saw it was Ralph. His leg was broken, and he couldn't get up by himself. Together, they managed to get him inside and get help.
Ralph had started to the barn to milk the cows, but he slipped and fell on ice. He would have frozen if nobody had come along to help him. After that, Mary's mother believed her little chime child had special powers.
The rest of the winter and the entire springtime passed without further paranormal incidents. One summer night brought a dramatic change, however. Mary had another experience.
The Sinclair family had gone to bed early that night. A summer storm raged outside, and Mary hadn't been able to sleep because of the thunder. She listened for her big brother Andy to come home and put his horse away, but he didn't come. She thought that he might stay at his girlfriend's house to wait out the storm, but she'd really feel better if she knew he was safe. She always slept better when she knew that all the family was home safe and sound, especially on a stormy night like this one. She lay quietly and worried. The storm showed no signs of letting up. She tossed and turned as the storm continued, pounding the house with wind and rain. The beat of the rain finally made her drowsy, but she was still awake when it happened.
As before, she realized she was not alone in the room. Something was staring at her. She looked at the foot of her bed, and there stood Aunt Martha's ghost. She projected her thoughts very clearly to Mary this time.
“Your brother is hurt,” the ghost told her. “He's by the old oak tree down the road near the creek. He needs help now or he will die.”
Having completed her message, the ghost faded away in front of Mary's eyes.
Mary never doubted for a second the truth of what Aunt Martha's ghost had said. She jumped out of bed, ran to her parents' room, and woke them.
“Andy needs help right now!” she told them. “He's hurt down by the creek near the oak tree.”
Her dad was still groggy from sleep and not too happy about having his sleep interrupted.
“What are you talking about?” he snapped.
She repeated what she had just said.
“You had a nightmare because of this storm,” he said. “Now go back to bed.”
“No!” Mary insisted. “Aunt Martha came to me and told me!”
“You're not starting that psychic nonsense again, are you?” he asked, sitting up and glaring at her now. “Andy wouldn't come out in a storm like this.”