My life ended way too soon. I had feared it, but never thought it would happen - - not at 63. I had survived the loss of a husband and both parents, and had seen my son grow into a man. I had watched the birth of my granddaughter. I held her in my arms only minutes later, and I took her hands in mine when she took her first steps. We laughed and played together, and I watched her grow.
I had found true love again and he was a good man. I remember the last hug and kiss we shared together before I left. He thinks that only he remembers it, but I still dream about it almost every night. For so long, I wished that I could go back - - that I could have just one more day to tell everyone how much I love them and ask that they not cry for me. And now, having seen all that I have seen, I wish that I could share with them the beauty that lies beyond the world I once knew.
I stand here in silence, looking over this beautiful woman that God has chosen to give me life once again. Will I forget everything I knew before? Will I have to start all over, or will some part of me live on in this new life? She was destined for another. But as some of us have learned, destiny can be altered, even against the strongest of powers. For every season, there is a harvest. For every time, a work that must be done. For me, the end was only the beginning. But before I could move on, there was one last thing I had to do.
He was my son. I held him gently in my arms and kissed his head when he was born. He had done the same for me as I took my last breaths. The last words I heard were, “It’s okay mom, you can let go. They’re here to guide you home. I’ll be okay. I love you.” And then, a gentle kiss, a tear drop landing on my forehead, and a deep sigh as my final breath left my body.
I came to this place that I now call home, and I waited. I waited with those I knew, and with some I had never met before. Over time, we all became like family. They told me there was something I had to do before I could move on, but they would not tell me what it was. Even in the afterlife, there are some discoveries that we must make on our own. I soon learned that my son had a destiny, one upon which the fate of all mankind would one day rest. And that is where this story begins.


There was a sad emptiness in Richard's eyes as the December winds swept across him. The bright morning sun, which he had not seen in more than a week, gave little warmth against the unforgiving winds. He looked back at the double doors closing behind him, and then looked up at the quiet man dressed in white, and beyond to the tall building in which his very life had been held suspended in the hands of fate.
The yellow cab pulled into the circular drive as the driver caught sight of him. “Your ride is here,” said the young man in white as he bent down to lock the wheels of the chair. Richard closed his eyes and sighed as he searched for the strength to move.
This was his ride, and for the first time in a long while, he had no place to go. There were no urgent meetings, no cell phone ringing, and no impending deadlines. There was only nothingness as far as his heart could see. The young orderly helped him into the cab, leaned in to give the driver directions, and placed his hand gently on Richard’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, sir!” Richard looked up at the young man with an empty stare that flowed from the very depths of his soul.
The driver glanced through the rearview mirror as he studied his latest passenger. Their eyes connected for a brief moment before each turned to the outside world. “Are you okay, sir?” the driver asked. His question was met with silence. “I will have you home in a few minutes,” the driver added.
A wave of emotions flowed through Richard as swiftly as the outside world moved around him. He realized it had been a very long while since he had been still long enough to notice that the world never stands still.
“Why are you so sad? You are going home. This is a happy day, yes?” the driver said.
Richard continued his blank stare out the window. “There’s nothing happy about this day! I really don’t feel like . . .” Richard muttered.
“You are alive, so it is a happy day. Soon I will have you home and you can rest,” the driver said.
Richard turned toward the driver. He noticed the name tag hanging from the rear view mirror. “Look, Benedek, I don’t know you and you don’t know me. And you have no idea . . .”
“They call me Bennie. It is easier. Just Bennie. And you are Richard Landsford. See? I have your information here.” Bennie waved a small envelope in his hand. It contained the cab fare and his passenger’s name and address written on its face. “Tell me, what happened to you?”
Richard sighed and shook his head. He resumed his stare out the window as he watched other people going about their day. “How can they just keep …? It’s just another day to them,” Richard said.
“Everyone lives in their own world, my friend,” Bennie replied. “Your problems are of no concern to them, nor theirs to you. Until paths cross, it remains this way.”