Sunny Armstrong has a “Nick story.” In fact, she has a book full of Nick stories.
So who is Nick and why is this Seal Beach woman insisting on telling his stories?
Nick Armstrong was Sunny’s son. He died June 5, 2013, of an overdose of heroin. He was 26.
The Los Al High grad told his mother that he tried heroin in late 2012 and quickly became hooked. When he confessed to his mother he asked for help and she complied. He was “happy, healthy and looking great” in the spring of 2013. But one night in June he didn’t wake up. There were traces of heroin in his system. The drug he called the “demon” had finally won.
His mother’s “Nick stories” started soon after his death and continued. Sunny, 71, believes that Nick is contacting her and other family members in strange ways to let them know he is OK. She started a journal—the first of many—and put them into a book called “I Have a Nick Story.”
Some of the stories capture small moments: looking at Nick’s framed picture and seeing him winking. Seeing a vapor-like object move through the house. A warm spot on the bed, despite the fact no one was sitting there. Doors opening; objects misplaced; a picture in her wallet moving from one side to the other. Each time one of these unexplainable events occurred, Sunny would write about it in her journal.
Strange things happened with other family members, too. When they would tell Sunny she would write them down. More “Nick stories.”
“My grief felt like blood red tears bleeding from my heart,” Sunny said, “but when Nick comes to me these are wonderful, happy stories.”
When she has visions of Nick, like the time he was in the room while her grandsons were playing, she feels comforted, not afraid.
Her faith in God, and her belief in the afterlife, are reaffirmed by Nick’s “visits.” And Sunny, a counselor and community college teacher, knows that not everyone thinks these things have happened, or that Nick is really visiting from beyond.
“At first I thought I was crazy,” she said. But as time went on, she came to believe that all the strange things that were happening were just Nick, showing up. “I think God is telling us He is real. He is telling us to be good to each other. Be kind.”
It’s OK there are doubters, Sunny says.
“There will always be doubters, but my job is to get this information out.”
Sunny thinks she may be a “conduit” of sorts, because she has had this experience before. When she was 9, her father died suddenly at age 38. Later, he came to her in a dream and said he was sorry for frightening her when he raised his voice. They shook hands and he promised not to scare her anymore.
Sunny says the journal of Nick Stories has been a comfort to write and reflect on.
“I knew when Nick died I had two choices: 1. Go to bed and cry forever, or 2. Try to find some way to handle the grief.” Her journal fulfilled the second option.
Time has passed and it has been nearly three years since Nick died. But he is still sending signs to his mother, and she is still writing them down. Another book of Nick Stories just may be in the works.
