The Wizard and The Artist - Supernatural Signs and Events

The Wizard and the Artist: Supernatural Addition

For my fellow woohoo people, or want to enjoy elements to this story that are a lot less "heavy" and a bit more fun, was that during the events of this situation - there was a noticeable "spike" of unexplained phenomena that I started to notice and later began to take as a sign that none of this was random. As we reached the end of the order, I noticed that there were actually signs from before he had even arrived in the US and in our early months. It's interesting to think back and see that we had been making choices to bring us to these conclusions, even if we didnt know it. 

1. The Souvenir

Though I did not put together the significance until much later - when he had crossed the border and entered into Texas, an acquaintance hired him for a few hours hours for a basic carpentry job and as he was paid $140 in cash, it was the first time he had ever held US currency was disappointed that each denomination was the same collar. Since he had been picked up at the bus station directly to the house, he still had not seen any part of San Antonio and wanted to explore it. He walked around in the city in majestic, unstoppable glee and joy. As he finished his walking and exploring and began to make his way back to his Airbnb, he passed a souvenir store and decided he was going to be his first US purchase. He wanted it to be special and symbolic - he eventually decided on a portable bluetooth speaker  - there were about 20 in various shapes and sizes and he eventually went for the lock. He liked that it could easily fasten on to shower rods so he could listen to music while showering. He left it behind the night he left, and I held onto if for a few weeks because I remembered the importance of it - but when I decided to toss it with the remainder of the things - I later remembered it and wondered if he had somehow known this being locked in was going to be his fate. 

2. Premonitions 

Housing

When we had determined he would relocate to Charlotte - I had just moved out of the apartment I had lived by myself for 3 years as I had wanted to live in a house. I realized only after we confirmed he would be coming that for some reason I chose a 3.5 bedroom, house with a converted garage to office. It was like I knew someone would be living with me, despite living alone for 8 years.

Lighting in the Bottle "
His birthday is mid January - I was in airbnb as I waited my house to be ready. I had still not really accepted or processed that this was actually happening and that in March he would be coming to Charlotte. That this man who had been such a strange and volatile and intense part of my life would not only be in y presence again, but we were going to live together. We had lost touch in April of 2024 when he was in Mexico City and I didn't know anything about him until the first week of December when he had been living with his friend Pipe in Orlando and eventually reached out. We were sort of still in a "rediscovering each other" but were also trying to manage and think through the plans we were talking about. 

I decided to send him an email on his birthday - wondering at the strange situation that had started on a chilly night in Bogota and had gone through so many twists and turns and here we were - with him 800 miles away - not only in the same continent, but the same country. We were making plans that we would be seeing each other for the first time since 2019. 

The biggest element of our plan was revitalizing the Wizard and the Artist and both of us investing our businesses and offering the capabilities of the other to drive success. I recently reread the note and had forgotten the last paragraph  - I found it so unusual: 

"Have we not been dancing around this eventuality for years?  The ease at which we exit and enter our lives functioning as so many labels. So come Proud Capricorn, come and meet the Driven Taurus. And we will see what is in store for us. We will go through hardships and obstacles and see each other at our worst. Combining our unique strengths, experiences and resolve - we will live a path that neither of us will believe and it might not be what we want, but it will be what we need. So come - see what awaits you in Charlotte - can you feel the storm coming as the year starts? The intensity? The promise? Lightning is in the Bottle with us, waiting to be unleashed" 

When he received the card he sent me a video message being choked up and saying he had never had that reaction before to a letter or a card as it felt like he was part of something that was so intense and couldnt describe it - that this was his destiny and he couldn't wait to live it,

Warning  
A small one, but my nerves and anxiety went through the roof the night he was going to arrive. I could not accept that this person that I had only known digitally for so long - I was going to see them that very night. As he arrived at the airport he sent me a series of very warm and touching texts - at how excited he was, that he couldnt wait to have a life together and that he was so fortunate to have me and that only good things were going to happen. In my cynical humor I wrote back "Haha I promise that one day you will regret those words" 

Hands-Up! 
As mentioned, his command of English was very beginner and he had very little understanding of pronunciation. Even one syllable common words were said in a manner that was very clearly someone with no practice of how English sounds and syllables come together. 

The last week of February as I was working, I heard a loud commanding voice say "FREEZE! THIS IS THE POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP! I freaked out and almost had a heart attack - 100 things running through my head at the same time and what had happened and what the trouble was, so when I turned around and saw him, grinning like a child, hands outstretched as if to make a pistol. It was how clear and concise the English was, it didn't even sound like him. He looked over to the side of the room and said in very clear English, "Go Ahead" 

He did this maybe 6 times before he left, the entire scene in the exact same way. I asked him how he learned that phrase, was it from a show? A movie? podcast? A TikTok trend? But he just always laughed a little and said he wasn't sure - probably from a show.

Months later, as he was lost in Alligator Alcatraz, I was able to see the evidence of his arrest through a body cam and my skin went cold. The scene played out exactly - Enrique scared out of his mind and the cop in the exact same pose - "Freeze! This is the Police! Put your Hands Up! Even if I could accept that it was a common thing said prior to an arrest, I got an overwhelming sense of dread when he gestured to his partner "Go Ahead" and proceeded to arrest him.  

"He's Going to Suffer"

When he left originally - I figured, true to his word, that he just needed some space and was going to stay at a hotel or airbnb for awhile and come back. By the fifth day - I began to get nervous and as Sunday night - I began to get an overwhelming feeling of dread that I couldn't explain. The next morning, as I got up and heard the overwhelming silence that had previously been his loud music, watching IG stories in Spanish or practicing English words. I became overwhelmed. He had left. He wasn't in Charlotte, he wasn't even in North Carolina. A wave of nausea hit me and I remember saying out loud "what have you dome? You are going to suffer"  And unbidden, my minds eye showed him sitting on something that seemed like a boat. His legs were cuffed - a burly man was looking at him with hatred but he was ignoring it, just staring down, wearing an orange jumpsuit. A small bruise covered one eye and I could HEAR him thinking "I never should've left Charlotte. I was so bored at that house, but I would give anything to be there with Daniel again, playing chess, listening to music. I wonder if I will ever see him again?" 

I remember coming out of it like a reverie almost like a dream and immediately laughing at myself - what am insane bout of drama just because someone decided to strike out on their own, what is this? Wanting wistful regret stories? How silly. Enrique was a goody-two shoes rule follower, and he was also very intuitive - he would never break the law or get arrested or do anything to get arrested. The thought was preposterous 

3. Signals and Messages

Lights

He was obsessed with colored lights" smart bulbs, LED strips, the whole thing. He showed me how ambient and incredibly powerful colors lights could impact a room when we were in the Airbnb - and we got 10 of them to place in various rooms - including my bedroom. Despite us doing everything possible to connect the app - the lights would never work. They just glowed white and ignored any of the color changes. They never worked. Not one turned on while he lived here. Months later - when I went to turn on a light it came on a bright blue, I flicked the hallway light that also had one and it lit a deep purple. I checked his old bedroom and it was a very mellow green. I stood in disbelief, I hadn't even remembered these bulbs. And all were now fully functional - they stayed on all night like this and I was excited to try different things and color setups the next day. I redownloaded the app and installed them and excitedly turned them on, but they went back to just white. I later learned this was the 3rd night after he had been arrested. 

4. Hauntings

Good Morning, Muthafucka
Fourth of July weekend was when it was went from interesting and unexplainable to creepy and a bit scary. One morning I woke up early than usual as it was indescribably hot - I checked the AC box and it was the same 68 degrees, but the internal temp read: 89.  Not understanding what the issue was I went into the kitchen to the control box, but then saw the immediate problem. The back door, heavy and double locked for a month given the huge insect population from the backyard and unbearable humidity of a Charlotte Summer locked and heavy was wide open, and worse the bottom lock was still activated, as though someone had somehow kicked the door wide open. 

Knock Knock. Bitch 
After my friend had moved in with me, we eventually moved his dog, a boisterous and huge 3 year old Black Labrador Luna, into the house as well. He had gone out to meet a friend and run some errands - (at this point I had become accustomed to his compulsive and unplanned and oft-times excessive shopping sprees that usually resulted in amazing decorations, house upgrades or occasional construction items such as small steel beams, large porcelain tile blocks, and concrete planters. 

At 11 at night - I was in my room with Luna keeping me company and a song came on shuffle that I had not heard in months. "Hayman's Theme" - I had discovered it the night before Enrique left and it would often make me feel a weird sense of nostalgia, relief, some anger and sadness together.  It was maybe the fifth time I had heard it and it surprised me to see how quickly it brought me back but my reverie was cut short as it was interrupted by a barrage of knocks on the door. This wasn't a polite knock, it was POUNDING. Luna took off, barking and charging and stopping to make sure I was okay. As she turned the corner into where the front door was, I heard her bark grow more excited and the door knocked a few more times. I was at the front door in 3 seconds, and I had assumed Christian had gone on one of those shopping sprees and his hands were too full to open the door so he had just been aggressively attacking the door. Time seemed to freeze as I made those last steps. Luna cocked her head in confusion and then backed off immediately, happy barks turning into growls and whines. I reached for the door and I saw her almost bite me as if trying to stop me. I looked out of the window to see if Christian was there needing help - but I didn't see him - or anything, the porch light had been turned off which was unusual - I turned it on as I opened the door. There was nobody there. I lived on a tiny suburban street with 4 other neighbors - its a very quiet street so even if you are in your house on a normal day, something like a car pulling up and idling in front of your house is very noticeable - additionally, I loved this house because of the huge driveway. on an small incline. to get from the curb to my front door it's about a half-block...and then climbing 8 wide stoop doors. There was no possible way that this had happened. I looked at Luna who looked at me like we were both saying "Ok, you heard that too, right?"

When Being Subtle Isn't Enough

Several weeks later, a mutual friend, Andrew was visiting Charlotte - he would only be in town one day and night and we were eager to see him. He arrived around 11pm, - we ate, drank, caught up and at some point during the night, I must have started to doze. At 4:19 in the morning, I woke to both of them calling my name and telling me to come out. I rushed out of the house thinking that I had accidentally blocked him in with my car or there was a funny looking deer in the front of the house -  but it was neither of those and as I stepped out, I saw Christian looking worried and sober and Andrew was by his car, examining his trunk. I asked what had happened and he told me "you dont see it?" I looked and gasped myself - not seeing how I had missed it. All four doors of his car were wide open with the internal light on. "Wait - was he rob-" "Robbed? Christian interrupted me? No - take a few steps closer. I did and noticed the console of his car was also wide open, Andy=s expensive GoPro's was on top of the of his seat - light blinking. Nothing stolen - but showing that robbery was very possible. We later realized the Ring light had been active all night - when we reviewed the footage, about an hour before he left it just said "Unable to Record" 

The Voice
One evening, Christian and I were watching TV when a voice started speaking from the kitchen. It wasn’t a shout—just a steady stream of words that didn’t make sense, going on for fifteen seconds. Then silence. Then that same heavy door slammed open again. We didn’t even move. Just stared at each other, waiting for the house to decide what it wanted to do next.

The Cristian and Enrique Connection

The night I confessed my feelings to Cristian was the night I met Enrique and had been left with a curious impression. What I didn’t notice until later was the pattern. Every time one of them disappeared, the other would show up. After we broke up in mid 2020, Enrique and I began talking in late 2021, and after that I noticed it was impossible for them to be in my life at the same time, I even joked with Cristian once that apparently they were like Superman and Clark Kent

When Enrique and I would lose connection -Christian reappeared. When Christian vanished, Enrique would pop up within the week.  It kept happening that way with increasing frequency and intensity with more time.  The night I found out about Enrique was in Alligator Alcatraz and remembered the cold horrible way he greeted his Mom "HEY MAMII! HOLA!!! QUE MAS?!!

That night Christian texted and asked if we could talk - I wasn't in the mood and after a small greeting I put my phone down. 20 minutes later I picked it back up and I saw Christian had sent me a message, but deleted it. I asked what he had erased  He’d deleted his first message. When I asked what it was, he said, “just some dumb greeting. its very specific to a region , I dont even know why I said it." - I said "Hey Mami! Hola! Que Mas?" and he rolled his eyes and asked why I asked what he deleted when it was clear I saw it. I didnt bother to try and explain - but an hour later he sent me a quick video telling me a small funny story - I couldn't even pay attention to it. I was starting at his new hat, a bright green cap with 2 alligators on it. 

Contigo 

And then there was that Contigo song. He used to sing it constantly, the kind of soft Latin love song you can’t escape in taxis and that everyone just belts at bars. I only heard it one time while in Peru, and maybe 95303521 times while Enrique lived with me. After he left, I never heard it again. I almost played it once, out of nostalgia, but decided not to. Months later, I was with someone new. Random playlist, ten thousand songs, all club music—and suddenly Contigo came on, remixed into a house track. I didn’t skip it. I just stood there and let it play. Some things follow you until you stop fighting them.

Find Johan 

During the worst of it, when he was still inside, he started yelling about a man named Johan Daniel—someone rich who could help him get out, who had helped put him there. None of it made sense. Raff went to visit him and said, “Don’t take everything literally. Some people in there say things that matter, they just don’t know why.”

A few days later I met a guy named DJ. Venezuelan, newly legal, sharp, funny, immediately kind. We hit it off fast. Months later he told me, “I trust you now. DJ stands for Daniel Johan.” I laughed and felt my stomach drop at the same time.

Last week his lawyer told him he needed to renew his passport immediately. She didn’t want him to go to the Austin embassy she said Mexico City or Bogotá would be safer. He’d never been to Bogotá. He flew there anyway. He landed the day after Enrique did. His hotel was two blocks from his Airbnb