Love Stories - A Collection

Shadow Bride

Can true love continue in the afterlife?

When Allison died, she thought the love she had for Jonah died with her. Could there be a way for their love to overpower the sting of death?

Originally titled "Until Death," this is a reworking of Allison and Jonah's story.

~~❤️~~

The change in my environment was gradual. It didn't happen the way you hear in the movies, with a bright guiding light. Instead it was more like the lights had gone out, little by little, and the air became heavy. As the weight of the air increased, the weight of my body became lighter.

A sense of relief washed over me. The pain was gone. My suffering, and the suffering of my loved ones, was also gone. The burden of cancer was finally lifted. But the realization came upon me that the cancer had won.

It had won and stolen the most precious gift of all.

It had robbed me of time. And after everything else is gone, that's all we have anyway. Time with family, with those we love. Time to see the unbelievable world we live in. I certainly hadn't had enough of any of it and I was greedy for more.

But it was too late. My time had run out.

My vision seemed to be altered somewhat because I could only vaguely make out a figure  in front of me. I felt myself begin to panic, but then the feeling was gone. It had vanished as suddenly as it began.

"Welcome, Allison," the figure said.

"Who are you?" I wondered aloud. Even my voice seemed different.

"I am Micah, your guide. We find it helps new arrivals to have a guide when they cross over."

"Oh." Cross over, is that what they called it here? I guess it has a better ring than "dead." Dead seems so final, crossed over sounds like there's more to do and be.

I knew logically that I should feel sad, missing the life I left behind, but it was such a small feeling in comparison to the joy I was starting to experience.

Slowly, my eyes continued to adjust to my new surroundings. It wasn't like anything I had experienced before. There were no recognizable structures and the atmosphere felt...thick? I wasn't sure how to describe it actually. It was strange. Moving took hardly any effort, it was like my new existence was part of the atmosphere. I was one with my surroundings, but at the same time still separate.

I looked behind me and gasped. I could see what had been my life, playing like a movie. It was fascinating. I turned around to fully take in the view.  When Jonah entered the scene my fascination changed, becoming a sense of longing. He had been the love of my life, the man I was to marry. He would have married me even with the cancer but I begged him to wait until I beat it.

I never did, and we never married.

"Micah, what about Jonah? How can I leave him?" My thick voice tinged with desperation.

The panic that had been so easily overcome earlier was back in full force. How could I have forgotten about him?

Micah looked at me through furrowed brows.

"You are concerned about him?" He seemed confused.

"Of course I am! I left him there, alone! What will I do without him?! How can we already be apart? It's not fair!"

"This is very unusual. It's rare for a new arrival to have feelings of worry or concern for others. The euphoria of this side usually puts negative emotions aside." Micah sounded shocked.