Ghosts, intuition, clairvoyance: a DNA family affair

It all began with our maternal grandmother Leokadia, born in Łódź, Poland, in 1898. Until the end of her days in 1986, and despite suffering from Alzheimer’s since she was 60, she continued to foresee many terrible and actual events. Thanks to her predictions, she repeatedly saved the lives of her family during World War II.

We will share these extraordinary, even if slightly eerie, stories of our grandma in the upcoming months. Today we’d like to tell you about a clairvoyant dream.

Perhaps some of you have heard that on March 9^th, the earth shook again in Umbria, Italy. Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.4 and 4.9 on the Richter Scale. It was since 1997 that the earth had not shaken with such intensity. Deep fear is a fear you don’t know until you experience it yourself. Well, like everything in life.

In 1997 I had a dream that gave me irrefutable proof of my genetic heritage. My grandmother’s genes, on that occasion, have done a great job. At that time, I was living in the historic center of Perugia. On a sweltering night at the end of August, I dreamed of a strong earthquake in Perugia. I was alone at home; my mother had gone shopping. Suddenly I heard a loud rumble, and shortly after, the room I was in started to swing, to move back and forth. I saw debris falling from the ceiling. It seemed like forever, then everything stopped. With a racing heart, I slip into my Nikes, pull my jacket over my pajama, open the door, and fly down the third-floor stairs. When I went outside, people ran crazy up and down the alley. I ran up the street that crossed Via dei Priori, then ran down the road. I went to the baker and asked if they had seen my mother. I ran to the tobacconist and asked there too. Ran across the street to the jeweler and the fruit store. Nobody had seen my mother. I ran back up the road to Corso Vannucci. I looked right and left. My mother was nowhere to be seen.

I finally gave up and ran down Via dei Priori again to go back home, and as I slipped into the alley, I finally saw my mother. She was walking down the alley as if nothing had happened. She was wearing her blue perforated cotton jacket and her denim skirt. In one hand, she had her cane, and in the other, her white cotton shopping bag. I woke up, and that dream felt darn real.

The days passed, but that dream remained hidden in the maze of my thoughts. Why was it still so vivid and present? It was creepy.

On September 26, at 2:33 am, it started with an earthquake of VIII-IX degrees on the Mercalli scale, of magnitude 5.7. At first, it was considered the shock of greater intensity of the whole swarm, and for the immediate future simple “aftershocks” of lower intensity were foreseen. My mother and I both woke up that night. We weren’t sure; it seemed to us that there had been an earthquake. The lamp in the kitchen swayed slightly; the cat slept soundly on the chair. Since there was no internet to look up information then, we returned to bed. We would know more the next day.

We got up around 8 in the morning. I had to go to work but wasn’t feeling well, so I decided to stay home. Mom left the house around 10 to go shopping. I was leaning over an armchair in my room, trying to find a phone number in the directory. Suddenly I hear a loud droning noise. I thought of thunder, but it was sunny. It was 11:40 when the room began moving back and forth; a scraping noise came from the walls, and rubble fell from the ceiling. I remained motionless as I continued to lose my balance. And!

With a racing heart, I slipped into my Nike’s, pulled my jacket over my pajama, opened the door, and flew down the stairs from the third floor. When I got outside, people ran like crazy up and down the alley. I ran up the street that crossed Via dei Priori and ran down the street.

I went to the baker and asked if they had seen my mother. I ran to the tobacconist and asked there too. Ran across the street to the jeweler and the fruit store. Nobody had seen my mother. I ran back up the street to Corso Vannucci. I looked right and left. My mother was nowhere to be seen.

I finally gave up and ran down Via dei Priori again to go back home, and as I slipped into the alley, I finally saw my mother. She was walking down the alley as if nothing had happened. She was wearing her blue perforated cotton jacket and her denim skirt. In one hand, she had her cane and her white cotton shopping bag in the other.

Oh, crap! Unbelievable. Everything was identical to the dream.

My mother asked me, “Do I remember it wrong, or what happened this morning exactly mirrors your dream about a month ago?” – I replied, “Yes, mom, I think grandma’s genes were particularly active that night.” Despite the circumstances, we laughed, amused, and tightly hugged one another.

Ghosts, telepathy, intuition, predictions, and clairvoyant dreams might be scary, yet it is a DNA family affair for us.