Paradise Found

As I open my eyes, I feel a cool breeze on my skin. The smell of the ocean is so strong, so it must be close.

Just a moment ago I was sleeping in my bed, so this has to be a dream, but as I look around, I come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter if it’s a dream. This place is so beautiful. I feel my body, pressed against the soft sand. I’m not ready to get up yet, so I take a moment to feel my new world.

I start to sit up, and with immense anticipation, I look around hoping that I’ve found a new paradise that will rescue me from the harsh reality of my existence. As my eyes gaze upon the scenery, I find myself on a beach, and look over to the left to see the wide open ocean that goes on indefinitely. It’s not just the ocean that goes on forever though, it’s the beach too…. It’s an island of infinite sand and trees.

Completely secluded from humanity, I start wondering if I’ve been sent to a “Paradise Lost” situation, wondering if I’m destined to be here alone for all eternity. To give myself piece of mind, I start walking, and although I’m barefoot, the sand is soft and unexpectedly cold. So the fact that I have no shoes didn’t bother me at all. What is this place? It’s not hot, but it’s not cold either. I keep walking, wondering what I’m going to find along the beach. To the right of me, is a deep jungle full of tall trees and the greenest plants I’ve ever seen, but I’m too nervous to go in, scared that I’ll never come out.

As I keep walking along the beach, I continue looking out across the ocean, hoping to see a ship or plane within a close distance so maybe they’ll see me. To my surprise, I see something. Far out in to the distance, I see a ship beyond the horizon. It’s small and I can barely make out what it looks like, but I know it’s there. While maintaining the site of the ship, I continue to walk in hopes of finding something useful. I’m not tired, nor hungry. I’m still just existing and I don’t know why. Where the hell am I?

I blink for just one second, and the ship is within only a mile from the beach. How did it get here so fast? Just a second ago, it was so far away that I could barely tell what it was. Then…..darkness.

I must of past out, because I wake up to see someone standing over me. My vision is blurry so I try to regain my focus to find out what mysterious person ended up at this mystery island with me. Then…. I see him.

My husband.

How can this be? My husband died 10 years ago, and I’ve been floating through life just waiting to see him again ever since. “John?” While still laying on the soft sand, I reached my hand out, hoping he’ll reach back out and pull me up and out of this crazy dream I must be having. “Meg….” He softly whispers, as he grabs my hand and pulls me up.

“How are you here, and where are we?” I asked, while stumbling to gather my thoughts. “It’s time,” he says, while still holding my hand.

“Meg, I know you’ve been through a lot, and this must all be so confusing,” he continues, while we walk together on the beach. “Well….” I say, while keeping eye contact with him, never wanting to blink again. “Where are we? Why are we here?” I have so many questions!”

“You don’t remember what happened do you? What’s the last thing you remember?” His eyes look sad, and I’m starting to worry something bad happened before I got here.

“I was in bed, listening to music…. What happened?!” I started to cry, scared of what he was about to say. Then he comes right out with it, as direct as he’s ever been. “Meg… you’re dead. I’m sorry.”

How can this happen? What did I do? Was I so sad and lonely I did this to myself? Did I end my life early because I missed him so much? But that wasn’t the case… that wasn’t the case at all. He lets go of my hand, and holds on to my face gently, and says “I’ll show you… just close your eyes.”

I close my eyes, and my mind starts going in reverse, back to reality, back to that night. I’m not in my body though, I’m looking over it from a distance on the other side of the room, while I watch myself sleep. I looked so peaceful, in my unicorn pajamas, holding onto my bear. I may be 33, but I still sleep with a bear; there’s something really comforting being able to hold onto something while you sleep. Then the front door to my apartment slowly opens, and a shadowy figure slips through the crack, careful not to make any sound.

I watch this mysterious person creep through the apartment, tip toeing through each room, while stuffing things into his pocket that hold any value along the way. He’s robbing me…. I can’t believe someone broke into my apartment while I slept and robbed me. He moves into my bedroom, and I’m still fast asleep. Even though I know the reality of what happens in the end of this, I secretly hope that I don’t wake up, but what he does next is the reason why I woke, and the reason why I’m in my new paradise. He sees the ring on my finger. The wedding ring. I swore to myself long ago I would never take it off. The mysterious robber kneels down, and attempts to take it right off my hand, and that’s when I woke up.

I began to scream and kick while attempting to get away, but he must've had a backup plan just in case things went wrong, and that’s when he took out his pocket knife, and stuck it right through my stomach. Shocked and in pain, my screaming stopped and I fell to the floor. I lay there, for what feels like forever, feeling the warm blood against my hand as I try to keep the wound closed with my hand. While I lay there, the robber finishes taking everything I have, and runs out of my apartment without looking back, without checking to see if I’m going to live or die. My life….. Came to its end. I drift into a deep sleep while still laying there, wondering what comes next.

Then I open my eyes, seeing my husband looking back at me. As tears run down my cheeks, he’s still holding my face, reaffirming that he’s there to stay, forever… with me. “I’m scared,” I whispered, knowing that I’m never going back to my life. “While I ever see any of them again? What about my parents? My sisters? My friends?”

“I know you’re scared, but just know this…. I’m here with you, and always will be. You’ll see your friends again, and you can watch over them, as I have done for you over the years.” As he gently let go of my face, I knew I was safe and loved. I knew that I would be okay. While taking his hand again, we began to walk, together looking over the horizon as we watched the same ship sail away. We’ll see that same ship again, once we are reunited with more of our loved ones, but for now, we’ll just keep walking.... together. In our paradise.