Chapter 10

The last scene faded in Luke's memory and he reached up to touch Mace's cheeks, gently wiping her spilling tears.

"Do you know how much it pained me to see you crying when you realized you couldn't feel me anymore? Or when I couldn't appear as much as I want to in your dreams? I saw you cry, I heard you call me, I was there beside you when you begged for me to come back and stay. I cried as I watched you helplessly because there wasn't anything I could do to make you feel me anymore. It was beyond anything that I could do."

"I asked Isra what was happening. Why can't I make you feel my presence? Why can't I visit you in your dreams anymore? He said it was because we have somehow been able to tell each other everything we wanted to say after my sudden passing. I was able to tell and show you how much I love you and the same goes for you. Despite death, we were still able to surpass this seemingly hopeless barrier. Isra said in the language of humans, it would mean we have no more unfinished business and what borrowed time we have been given to spend time with each other has reached its end."

"But I didn't give up," he continued. "I still talked to you hoping that you could hear me in your thoughts. I kept telling you I'm here by your side. And forever will be until we will be together again. I was with you in all of your pain, in your loss, in your joy, in your laughter… everything that you went through what's destined to happen in your life."

He paused and looked at her painfully, the tears still falling down his face. "When I found out how you would leave this world, I begged the Almighty to have it another way. To please not let it be as painful as that. I know you loved your husband and son so much. You gave them all that you had and you didn't deserve to die that way."

"But then again, I could not change destiny. What's meant to happen will happen and as the days drew near, the more that I stayed close to you. I know I couldn't alter fate but I told God that I'd be with you till the end, to protect you from the hurt and pain that the accident will cause."

Mace continued to sob as she looked at Luke.

"I never left you Mace, not even once," he whispered. "At the dimension I was at, time did not matter. I had no problem bearing the years of wait so long as I could see you and know that you were okay, that you were happy, that you were smiling and laughing. This was enough for me."

Mace kissed his lips tenderly. "I couldn't feel you anymore Luke," she said. "But in my heart, I still continued to believe that you were there. Just there, silent but still watching over me. That thought served as my comfort and solace every time I went through something difficult in my life. I told myself I was probably crazy for even thinking, much more for believing such, but deep inside, I felt it to be true. The odds were against me but I still felt connected to you."

She laughed helplessly. "As crazy as it seemed, I couldn't get you out of my mind and out of my heart. I didn't even want to."

Luke framed her face with his hands. "I love you," he said tenderly. "God, I love you… so, so much."

Mace looked deep into his eyes and felt absolute happiness fill her entire being.

"I love you too… so, so much," she whispered achingly with all the love she felt in her heart. "And I… I never stopped.

Luke touched her cheek and smiled lovingly at her. His voice shook, overcome with all the emotions he was feeling. "I know, I felt it every day."

He pulled her again into his embrace, his head resting on top of her head. As he felt her arms go up to his shoulders to lace around his neck, he breathed a sigh of absolute peace and content. He closed his eyes and gave the Almighty a whispered prayer of pure gratitude.

They've come a long way and a long time for this day to come.

But they were both finally home.

In heaven and in each other's arms.

Dear Mark,

For everything I was not able to say
in your lifetime,
I hope to be able to do so with this story.
Perhaps forever late for you
to know and hear,
but a legacy I hope to leave behind
in my lifetime and beyond.

Always,
Hazel
08.14.18