Finding Sophie

“He's gone,” I cry lying on the sand cold and wet, the first rays of sunshine peeking over the horizon. Pushing to my knees, I rip the little black book from my jacket pocket, shred it, and throw the pieces into the ocean while screaming at the top of my lungs. If only we'd never found that book, John would still be alive. Exhausted, I look around and see the reason I lost John. I get to my feet, stomp over to the briefcase and wrench it open to stare down at the stacks of money inside. Enraged, I kick the case over strewing its contents along the sand. I grab a couple stacks of money, intent on punting them into the ocean, when I spot something black. I drop the money and fall to my knees, mortified. “I just shredded this thing and threw it into the ocean!” I think aloud, grabbing the little black book from the sand. I open to the first page and realize it is a different book. I let the book fall to the ground and close my eyes, feeling overcome with exhaustion. “Come with me.” I open my eyes to a beautiful woman in a long white dress with brown hair and blue eyes reaching toward me. Knowing I can't stay here I try to stand but my body refuses. I feel her arms wrap around me as she guides me to the base of a nearby tree, away from the waters edge. I lie down and try but fail to convince my eyes to open again.

“This was my fathers,” John exclaims as he pats the side of the sailboat “She will get us where we need to go.” “Are you sure you know how to, um, drive this thing?” I laughed. “Of course, I sailed with my dad relentlessly when I was younger! This will be fun.” We set sail that afternoon. A week ago we hiked to one of our favorite places not many people know about and discovered an old box buried beneath a bench John and his father built. That’s where we uncovered this little black book, with directions to an island.

We made it to our destination just as the sun was getting to the middle of the sky the next day, only there was no island. “Maybe the book was mistaken,” I shrug. We decided to anchor for the night and go spearfishing to catch supper. On our dive, we realized the small island was underwater! After two hours of searching, we came back with a waterproof briefcase. Upon taking a quick peek inside and discovering piles of cash, we decided to wait until back on dry land to investigate further.

Not long after falling asleep, we were startled awake by thunderous booms. Before we were even to our feet, the water began to bubble around us, and a bright orange light burst from the water's surface turning night into day. The smell of sulfur filled the air, a volcano! John was at the sails in an instant. “Bree,” I could faintly hear him yelling, “Hold on!” A tsunami of hot waves sent the sailboat tumbling overtop of the water's surface. When everything was still, I looked up from the ropes I was clinging to and realized the sailboat was in pieces. “JOHN!” I could barely hear myself scream over the ringing in my ears.

“JOHN!” I woke screaming, the sun half way into the sky. Scrambling to my knees I looked around for the woman in white, but she had vanished. I staggered to my feet. Beside me was the briefcase with the little black book placed on top. I grabbed the book and flipped to the first page forcing my eyes to focus:

“My dear Sophie,

I will find a way to get you back. I don’t want to be a part of this world if you’re not a part of it too. I will never stop looking.”

I flipped to another page:

“My dear Sophie,

I’ve heard rumors of a doorway for souls to enter back into this world.”

I slammed the book shut unable to read more. Still exhausted, I curled back beneath the tree and fall into a deep sleep, thankful the nightmares didn’t return.

I woke the next morning realizing, as I stood, that my arms and legs are wrapped with seaweed? I remove the seaweed to find burns that are beginning to heal. I notice my clothes hanging on a nearby tree. I grab them and slip them on, thankful they are dry. “Where am I?” Glancing around I see the little black book again. What was it I read, something about souls and a doorway? Plopping into the sand, I think aloud; “If there is a doorway for souls, could John be there? I would do anything; even sell my own soul to get him back. “No, I can’t possibly be thinking about finding a doorway for souls, that’s a fool's errand.” I grab the book and turn it over and over in my hands. “No, I will not have false hope.” Despite my best intentions, I find myself thumbing through the pages. Half way through, I find instructions and a map. It's a map of Alaska, with details of how to find a mountain in an ice cave, “How bizarre, a mountain in a cave. How would I even get to Alaska?” Closing the book I place my head in my hands. Realization dawns on me and I look back at the briefcase full of money. I Get to my feet, grab the briefcase and begin walking; Maybe, just maybe, I can save John.

“What now?” I question standing in front of a magnificent stone archway on top of the mountain in Alaska, briefcase still in hand. Not seeing anything useful I pull the little black book from my pocket, but it has nothing more to give so I pocket it again. “I don’t understand, what am I supposed to do?” I sink to the ground with my back against the archway. Feeling defeated I let my hands fall to the ground. “What is this?” wiping dust from the ground, “If your love is true ,take a leap of faith through the arch, and find out if theirs is too.” Standing to my feet again I look around, ”But there is nothing through the arch?!” Frustrated and confused, I sarcastically leap through the arch. My breath catches in my throat as the air becomes alight with an orange glow, and the ground falls away revealing a massive chamber. My screams pierce the air as I realize I am falling straight into what looks like a magma pool in a volcano! Plunging into the pool below, “I’m okay!” I think to myself. It's warm, but not burning. I try to swim to the surface; but I'm unable to figure out which way is up. I'm nearing unconsciousness, when I feel an arm wrap around me and pull. We reach the surface and the burning in my lungs has me gasping for air. We swim to what feels like a sandy beach, as I frantically wipe my eyes trying to regain my vision.

“Bree,” I hear a voice, the only voice in the world that feels like home. “JOHN!” I shakily climb to my knees as my vision returns. My body lunges forward, wrapping around him before I even know I am moving. “How?” I sob. “You,” He whispers calmly, pulling back to look at me. “I remember being in darkness and then I saw you.” “But how?” I stuttered. “When you walked through the arch, it opened a gateway for us both. I stepped through mine onto this beach and watched as you fell into the soul water. Then I heard a voice. It told me you would not be able to find your way out; you would drown. The voice said I could jump in and save you; however, if I jump in and I don't love you we would both drown.” “ What is soul water?” I questioned. “It's what the voice called this,” he shrugged, running his hands through the waters edge. I did not care to hear anymore, I wrapped my arms around him with no intention of letting go. John moved his hand to the briefcase and opened it, “why did you bring this?” “ I found a little black book inside, I wasn’t sure if I would need it for some kind of payment for your soul, minus the little bit i used to get here.” He looked puzzled. Realizing he doesn't know about the second book, I explained how I found it and how it led me to this place here in Alaska. “Do you still have the book?” I pulled it from my pocket and handed it to him. He thumbed through the pages and gasped when he got to the last page. “What?” I asked. “My mother!” I knew John’s dad, Hugh, left him when he was young to set out and find his mom, but neither of us knew he potentially planned to bring her back from the dead. Looking over at the book I gasped at the picture of a beautiful brown hair blue eyed woman. “Don’t tell me she is your mom too,” John said jokingly. “That is the woman who helped me when I washed ashore after our incident! She hung my clothes to dry, made sure I was safe from the rising tide, and wrapped my wounds with seaweed while I was sleeping!”

Standing to his feet, John pulled me up with him. We turned and froze upon seeing Sophia walking toward us with Hugh close at her side. Their smiles welcoming, “Hello son,” Hugh said as Sophia reached out her hands for ours. As they led us through a long tunnel Hugh explained that he and Sophia accepted the task of guiding people out of the caves as it allows them to be together for eternity. He left the box beneath the bench where he hoped John would find it someday; the trail was, after all, their favorite place to hike. The briefcase of money was all Hugh had to give John, and he knew John could retrieve it using their sailboat. “The money I received from selling the house, and I left the book hoping it would bring you comfort. I never imagined you would have to use it yourself.” “How did we get here?” I question as we step out of the tunnel to a snow-covered mountain side. “This tunnel is hidden, you can’t see it until you have walked through it,” explained Sophie. I turned to look and saw nothing but miles of snow covered ground. “Just like the arch on top of the mountain,” I realized.

John and I built a home in a town, just south of the mountain, with the money Hugh left. When the aurora borealis is at its brightest, Hugh and Sophie can exit the cave for a while. “The cave glitch,” Hugh calls it. When this happens John and I bring little John and Anna up to see their grandparents. We share stories and argue about who has the best one; then laugh until our stomachs ache. Looking at my little family, my two kids, my John, and my In-laws I smile, because I know my story is the best story of all.