I AM NOT GOING BACK

Until a couple of years ago, actually not until I started blogging, did I learn about Dia de los Muertos aka Day of the Dead. But as I met fellow blogger and artists, I became introduced to this day of celebrating the lives of our deceased loved ones. I think that I first discovered it over on Pam's blog: http://yoborobo.blogspot.com/ she's a fabulous writer and artist and whenever I see a "Skelly" I think of her. You should drop in and visit her blog, she just created this wonderful shrine in memory of her pets that she has had through the years. I intended on making a shrine this year too, but as it usually goes in my life, I put it off until last minute and I ran out of time. But  I remembered commenting once to Pam that my sister had gone to the local cemetery last year on Dia de los Muertos and how she said many of the graves had candles, flowers and decorations. So Pam had said that I should try to get some photos THIS year.
I called my sister and we planned to go. She said that we had to wait until it was dark. Now I'm about 99% sure that you are not supposed to go into cemeteries after dusk but as I've mentioned before, she's fearless. So I said OK, I'll be over!
The cemeteries that we planned on going to are two different ones separated by a main street. At that time of night there isn't much traffic, just the occasional car.  Two of my nieces came along, they are both adults in their early 20's, so NO we weren't dragging little kids along with us. My niece drove and as she pulled into one of the tree-lined gravel lanes into the cemetery, she cut the lights to the car. Branches dragged across the top of the vehicle as it rolled slowly deeper into the dark. We parked and got out. We had our cameras ready and a couple of penlights and my sister and I headed down towards some lit-up grave markers. She was walking fast and I wanted to go slower because it was hard to see the ground. The earth felt soft and thick with leaves and it seemed like we were making alot of noise swooshing through them. A car's headlights would come up the main road and we hunched down behind some tombstones. After it had passed I turned to my sister and whispered "I can't believe I'm hiding behind a headstone much less holding onto it." Then I said "Where are the girls?". My sister replied "They ditched us, does that surprise you?"....well yeah, it did.
We walked some more but then realized that the lit graves were very much out in the open and visible to the main street and the intersecting one. So we decided to back track.
We got back up to the main street and my sister wanted to cross over into the older cemetery with the statues and mausoleums. We stood next to trees along the road until cars passed and then ran. When we got to the other side we scurried behind some statues. My sister whispered that no one would probably even notice us anyway. The drivers would be busy concentrating on the road and not looking off to the side into the cemetery. I whispered back, "What about a little kid looking out a back window? Poor thing, the parents wouldn't probably believe them."

http://claytmiller75.com/UniqueIndividuals.html

So we walked deeper into the cemetery. We started to try to take photos but I'd hold up my camera and see NOTHING. I had the flash off, so I turned it back on and I got the photo that's up on the top of this post. The act of taking the picture kinda freaked me out. It flashed bright, like Lightning.

My sister was flashing her penlight around and I told her to be careful because every once and a while a car would go by. She said to quit worrying and I replied "What if it's the COPS?".

She chuckled and said she didn't think they would do anything to us anyway, after all we're just a couple of 50 year old women, not some punk vandals.

I whispered back to her that Yeah, she was right. I had forgotten that we were old.

She had me hold the light on a few stones in an effort to get a better photo and I told her to HURRY. Now I was more worried about some WEIRD LUNATIC who liked to wander around cemeteries. She told me that there's strength in numbers but unfortunately OUR numbers had ditched us. I was worried about THAT too.

Where were the girls?

My sister pulled out her cell phone and called one their phones.

"Where are you?" she asked.

Then she said. "OH, Never mind, FORGET IT!"

I asked "What did she say?" and my sister said. "She said she's on the couch watching TV"

WHAT?

Actually my youngest niece had answered the phone. it was in the charger in their living-room at home. So that meant they had no phone but my sister didn't seem concerned. She kept taking photos, momentarily lighting up the area where we stood. I hurried and took some photos of the darkness and tried to get one of the Moon, but I wanted to go. I said that we needed to find them and I wanted to leave. My sister said I was a scared-cat and I replied

"Yeah?! Well, you've always know THAT!"

So finally we started back. There were so many leaves and the sound of swishing through them was SO loud. Then we stopped. What was THAT sound?

Now we were running, why in the Hell did I wear my Crocs?

Then we heard voices. "WAIT!"

We turned around.

It was the girls. We walked back again and now went deeper into the cemetery.

 I WANT TO GO!

But I was ignored and they followed a noise.

Is that a bird or what is that up that tree?

After some more lallygagging around we headed back.

We were just to the road and a car came by. Me and one of my nieces huddled behind a tree. It passed and I asked where my other niece had gone. Then I realized that she had dropped to the ground and then she was up and both of them were running across the street. I followed and they continued through the night towards the car. I loudly whispered

"WAIT! Your Mom is still over there!"

I could see her in the darkness and then random flashes of light.

HURRY UP! I hissed.

As she came towards the road I tried to take her photo.

This is what came out.

Where IS she in that? and what is that round ORB thing?

She was dead center when I took it, and that is NOT her to the right!

When we got back to their house and sat at the dining room table, I looked at my photos in the camera.

The Angel statue, the one of the street and then nothing.

Just blackness except one with a faint image of a tree and the Moon.....

So I came home tonight and loaded them onto the computer.

Maybe if I brightened them up in the editing I could see something.

As I slowly lightened up the image I started see all these ORBS.

What the H?

I called my sister and left her a voicemail.

"I just uploaded those photos and I am NOT kidding. I am totally SERIOUS. This is NOT a joke. There are globes or circle things, like Orbs showing up in the once black photos!....

I'm just calling to say I am NOT ever going back there again".

Later she called and asked what they looked like, I said I'd post them but since she doesn't usually read my blog, maybe email them to her. She said that I sounded SO FUNNY on her voicemail. She even had one of my nieces listen to it a couple of times,

it was that funny.

Ha, HA!

Whatever.

I AM NOT GOING BACK.

She said if it hadn't started to rain, she and her girls would probably go back to see what they could see tonight. I don't want to SEE anything.

So here's the photos. I did not edit them in anyway except to "brighten" them up a bit. What do you think?