Kind Grandpa

I was staying overnight at a friend's place once—I was in town on business (I live in the regional center) and missed the last bus. Well, what could I do? I asked to stay with a former classmate, with whom I've kept in touch since graduating. My friend willingly let me in, gave me some tea, and put me to bed on the couch in the room farthest from the hallway.

On the wall opposite my bed hung a large black-and-white portrait of an elderly man with an unusually kind and peaceful expression. I fell asleep fairly quickly, but in the middle of the night I woke up with a vague, uneasy feeling. Raising my head and squinting sleepily, I looked around the room, and it was as if boiling water had doused me: THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE PORTRAIT! I closed my eyes, shook my head, and opened them again. Nothing had changed. The portrait was empty. I curled up under the covers and heard someone's hoarse, labored breathing right above my head. Someone (I even had an idea who) was standing right above me. I lay there in terror, not daring to move or open my eyes, and then I felt a touch on my hair through the covers. A hand was gently, almost weightlessly, stroking my head. This continued for about a minute, then suddenly it was over: both the sound of heavy breathing and the touch of the hand disappeared. The nervous tension I'd experienced sent me into a deep, fortunately dreamless sleep.

The first thing I did in the morning was glance at the portrait—sure enough, the man was there, smiling just as easily and brightly. When I asked my friend who was depicted in the portrait in the back room, she told me it was her grandfather, who had died several years ago. He was very kind, and whenever he went outside, he would treat the kids in the neighborhood to chocolates, a small bag of which he carried in his pocket. Until his death (he died of asthma), Grandpa remained a bright and kind person, and his death was a heavy loss for his family.

After this story, I wasn't surprised or even particularly frightened when, while making my bed, I found a slightly dented chocolate candy under my pillow.