True Tales of the Unexplained

This short account was sent to me via social media by a woman named Brianne Collins. The story recounts a few odd occurrences that followed the death of her grandfather. While it's possible that the incidents she related were merely a series of odd coincidences, owing to his close bond with a particular species of bird, she and her family believe otherwise.

Brianne's Grandpa Burt passed away at an impressive ninety-two after enjoying a long, full life with little regret. He and his wife, Alice, had raised six children and seen them off into the world. All in all, his had been a good life.

Burt had spent his entire existence in the country home he inherited from his father. The place was surrounded by nature and that's just the way he liked it. Neither Burt nor Alice had ever had much use for city living or groups of people. They had each other after their children moved out and that had been all the company they needed.

While Burt had not been particularly fond of animals in general, he did have an affinity for crows. Even though they had a tendency to wreak havoc on his crops, he still couldn't bring himself to harm them. Alice would often chastise him for letting the crows get away with behavior he would never tolerate from other creatures. She never had, and never would, understand why he gave them a pass.

At one point, Brianne remembers her grandfather having a pet crow she swears could talk. She says that when the phone would ring the bird would squawk, "Telephone!" at the top of its lungs. Burt had let the bird have run of the house until one day when it flew away and never returned.

After Burt's death, Alice was left alone on the property. Although she was well into her eighties by then, she was still as spry as ever. Even so, the family worried about her being out in the country by herself. Alice, however, had no such fears. She assured them that she was not, by any means, alone.

Brianne recalls her grandmother telling stories of a large crow that would fly up onto the porch and light on the chair that Burt used to occupy. The bird showed no fear of Alice as it rested on the rocker. It would simply turn its head and make chortling noises as if trying to communicate with her.

Alice also told her family that the bird would follow her every day when she walked the path that led down to their old chicken coop. She no longer kept birds there, but she did enjoy the walk down the hill to where the chickens used to be. In any event, she was never alone on her excursion. The crow stayed with her the whole time, always making sure she made it back into the house before it flew off to parts unknown.

Even though her grandmother never said it outright, Brianne believes that she took the presence of the crow as a sign from Burt that he was still watching over her. Alice was never afraid of the crow; truth be told, she looked forward to spending time with it. According to Brianne, the bird remained by Alice's side until the day she died.

Is it possible that the crow had been sent to look after Alice until she and Burt could be reunited? Is it just as likely that Burt had found a way to return to his beloved wife by assuming a form he knew was significant to her? In the end, anything is possible in the mysterious shadow realm that exists between this world and the next.

Source: Brianne Collins