The mind is tricked by grief, but this? This actually happened. Kelly had just heard her husband’s voice—from her daughter’s room—and she recognized it. A shiver went through her body. Two years had passed after Jeremy’s d3ath. What or who was speaking in his voice, then? Then she entered, and she froze.
My name is Kelly. My life has been a rollercoaster of love and grief, and I am thirty years old.
Two years ago, my husband, Jeremy, di:ed in a vehicle acc:ident. Sophia, our daughter, was eight months along when I became pregnant.
That moment seems like it happened yesterday.
“Miss Kelly?” the voice on the phone was gentle, practiced. “This is Officer Reynolds…”
“Yes?”
“There’s been an acc:ident. Your husband…”
“No,” I whispered. “No, please…”
They told me the cra:sh was bad — so bad that I shouldn’t see his body.
I was never able to bid them farewell. At the funeral, there was only a closed casket.
Then something occurred two days ago that caused me to reevaluate everything.
It was merely another typical afternoon. I had placed Sophia to sleep in her bedroom and read a book while cuddling up on the couch. There was silence in the house.
Until I heard it.
The sound of a window shutting. Oh my God… when I heard JEREMY’S VOICE:
“I love you forever.”
I sat frozen, my breath caught in my throat. My ears were ringing.
“Jeremy?” I whispered into the silence, my voice trembling. “Baby, is that you?”
No. No, no, no. Jeremy was gone. This was NOT POSSIBLE.
But I heard it. Again.
“I love you forever.”
It was coming from Sophia’s room.
Was Jeremy ALIVE?
I pushed open Sophia’s door.
The room was just as I had left it. No open windows. No shadows in the corner. Nothing.
But then, I heard it again.
“I love you forever.”
I swore my heart stopped.
“Jeremy?” My voice cracked. “Is this some kind of cruel joke? Please… I can’t… I can’t take this…”
I ran my fingers across the glass. It was closed. locked. A tiny tree branch outside was leaning against the pane, shattered as if it had fallen on it.
“Dada,” she murmured in her sleep, and my heart shattered all over again.
And then it hit me.
The bear.
I dropped to my knees beside her crib, hands trembling as I reached for it. Pressed it.
“I love you forever.”
I sat on the couch and looked at the bear as if it were alive.
I didn’t remember purchasing this.Had Sophia received it from someone?
Then I recalled.
I gripped the bear tighter. “Did you know this thing plays Jeremy’s voice?”
Silence.
Then, a quiet, almost hesitant, “Oh… did it finally play?”
My stomach twisted. “Finally? What do you mean FINALLY?”
Gloria sighed. “I was wondering when you’d hear it.”
I sat up straighter. “Gloria. What did you do?”
“Kelly, please,” her voice wavered. “Just let me explain…”
“Explain what?” I demanded, my voice rising. “Explain why you thought it was okay to… to…”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Gloria swallowed. “After Jeremy di:ed, I kept thinking about how Sophia would never know her dad’s voice. So I took a recording from your wedding video. You remember his vows?”
My throat closed.
“‘I love you forever,'” she whispered.
Oh my God.
“I remember,” I choked out. “He… he practiced those vows for weeks. Said he had to get them perfect…”
She clasped her hands together. “I had it sewn into the bear before her birthday. I wanted her to have a piece of him. To know he’s always with her.”
“I miss him so much,” I sobbed. “Every single day…”
“I know,” she stroked my hair. “He would be so proud of you, Kelly. So proud of how you’re raising Sophia.”
I didn’t know what to say.
I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t relieved. I was just… overwhelmed.
That night, I sat in Sophia’s room, watching her sleep.
I pressed the bear one last time as a familiar voice filled the room and my heart:
“I love you forever.”
I missed him.
Sophia stirred, her eyes fluttering open. “Mama?”
“Hey, baby girl,” I whispered, reaching to stroke her cheek.
“Bear?” She reached for the teddy.
“That’s your daddy,” I told her, my voice thick with tears. “He loves you so, so much.”
“Dada?” She looked at the bear with wide eyes, then back at me.
“Yes, sweetheart. That’s Dada.”
She hugged the bear tighter, closing her eyes. “Love Dada.”
And I believed I had lost everything for a very long time. But a part of him was here, in my daughter’s arms.
The sadness persisted. It would always be.
However, I didn’t feel so alone for the first time in a very long time.
