Can true love continue in the afterlife?

When Allison died, she thought the love she had for Jonah died with her. Could there be a way for their love to overpower the sting of death?

Originally titled "Until Death," this is a reworking of Allison and Jonah's story.

~~❤️~~

The change in my environment was gradual. It didn't happen the way you hear in the movies, with a bright guiding light. Instead it was more like the lights had gone out, little by little, and the air became heavy. As the weight of the air increased, the weight of my body became lighter.

A sense of relief washed over me. The pain was gone. My suffering, and the suffering of my loved ones, was also gone. The burden of cancer was finally lifted. But the realization came upon me that the cancer had won.

It had won and stolen the most precious gift of all.

It had robbed me of time. And after everything else is gone, that's all we have anyway. Time with family, with those we love. Time to see the unbelievable world we live in. I certainly hadn't had enough of any of it and I was greedy for more.

But it was too late. My time had run out.

My vision seemed to be altered somewhat because I could only vaguely make out a figure  in front of me. I felt myself begin to panic, but then the feeling was gone. It had vanished as suddenly as it began.

"Welcome, Allison," the figure said.

"Who are you?" I wondered aloud. Even my voice seemed different.

"I am Micah, your guide. We find it helps new arrivals to have a guide when they cross over."

"Oh." Cross over, is that what they called it here? I guess it has a better ring than "dead." Dead seems so final, crossed over sounds like there's more to do and be.

I knew logically that I should feel sad, missing the life I left behind, but it was such a small feeling in comparison to the joy I was starting to experience.

Slowly, my eyes continued to adjust to my new surroundings. It wasn't like anything I had experienced before. There were no recognizable structures and the atmosphere felt...thick? I wasn't sure how to describe it actually. It was strange. Moving took hardly any effort, it was like my new existence was part of the atmosphere. I was one with my surroundings, but at the same time still separate.

I looked behind me and gasped. I could see what had been my life, playing like a movie. It was fascinating. I turned around to fully take in the view.  When Jonah entered the scene my fascination changed, becoming a sense of longing. He had been the love of my life, the man I was to marry. He would have married me even with the cancer but I begged him to wait until I beat it.

I never did, and we never married.

"Micah, what about Jonah? How can I leave him?" My thick voice tinged with desperation.

The panic that had been so easily overcome earlier was back in full force. How could I have forgotten about him?

Micah looked at me through furrowed brows.

"You are concerned about him?" He seemed confused.

"Of course I am! I left him there, alone! What will I do without him?! How can we already be apart? It's not fair!"

"This is very unusual. It's rare for a new arrival to have feelings of worry or concern for others. The euphoria of this side usually puts negative emotions aside." Micah sounded shocked.

Huh, join the club.

"Well, why am I so different then?"

"Your souls must have an eternal connection. It's very rare to find, and yours seems stronger than most due to your worry over his wellbeing."

"That seems obvious, why wouldn't I worry? And are you saying Jonah and I are soulmates?" I really hated that term.

"We prefer the term soul matched."

That was a term I could live with.

Oh. Not so much "live with" anymore. But what did being soul matched mean for us now that I was on this side?

"What now? What happens to our connection?" I wanted to grab Micah by the collar and shake him, but that would require a physical form, and in this place I didn't seem to have one.

"You will continue to be connected when he crosses over. He may move on in life, marry someone else, but his true heart will always belong with you."

"I wish we had been able to get married. I think I will always regret that, even though I'm not supposed to have negative feelings here."

"Well," Micah interjected," there is a way that you can be married, but it would be a marriage of souls, not of body."

"Yes! Sign me up!" At least our souls could experience marriage. "How does it work?"

"It happens in his subconscious mind, that is where the soul resides. We can enter his subconscious in his sleep. He would remember it as a dream, but it would be a crystal memory."

"So he would remember it as if he was physically there, like a real wedding?"

"Oh, it's a real wedding, but yes he will remember it clearly. You become the Shadow Bride, following him and watching over him until his time comes to cross over."

Before I was even able to put a voice to my agreement, we were standing in a foggy room, lit with a glimmering candle light. I looked down to see that I was wearing a wedding gown, and it was exactly what I would have picked out had I made it to that part of the wedding planning while still alive.

When I looked up again, Jonah was in front of me and my heart filled with more love than I had ever experienced. Jonah reached up to touch my cheek, looking at me in a way that practically made my soul melt.

"I've missed you," he said in a breath.

Our eyes locked. I felt that I could see eternity while his eyes met mine. The connection of our souls was so strong I could feel it deep within my new existence. It was a physical touch that set a fire within me, burning with love, passion and desire. As much as I had loved him on the living side, it had never felt like this.

Without prompting, we declared our love simultaneously.

"I will love you forever."

"I will love you for eternity."

"Until death brings us together..."

The moment our promises were made, our souls seemed to embrace. The fire became light, both in the sense of brightness and the sense of weight. It seemed as though we were floating. My strange new senses told me that we were alone, our two souls intertwining, expressing our deep love for one another. And then it was gone.

Sooner than I would have liked, Micah and I were back to wherever it was we had come from.

"Now I just wait for him? How will I pass the time?"

"Every blink of the eye is about six months of time on the living side. It won't be much longer for you to wait. But remember, you now shadow his life, always alongside him while you wait."

"If that is so, why am I still standing here with you and not shadowing Jonah?" Micah was truly confusing.

"Close your eyes, use your other senses that are now made stronger here."

I did as he said and felt the warmth of Jonah's hand in mine. I could sense his lips on my lips. I could hear the steady rhythm of his heart, and I understood his thoughts. He missed me, he loved me, he needed me. I attempted to convey my presence to him. I wasn't sure how to do it so I let my senses take over.

I love you. I'm with you, you are not alone. I'll wait until you're with me again.

As I formulated the thoughts of love and reassurance, I felt my soul at ease. He had heard my affirmations, and immediately his worries transformed into a peaceful calm. I continued to act as his shadow while allowing my extra senses to send him encouragement on the living side.

Time became irrelevant. I was no longer able to tell how much time had passed. Unless Jonah was asleep, I was unable to see him, only to experience his warmth and emotions. But in his sleep we were able to express our feelings with words and touches. I grew anxious and greedy for more time with him, more than just during his sleep.

"Micah, how long have I been here?" I asked my one time guide, now friend on the other side.

"A while. His time is nearing, be patient." Micah responded in his off hand way.

There I remained, sometimes with Jonah, sometimes in the thick and hazy afterlife, blinking away time. He had said each blink was sixth months for the living. The time passed without much notice, but finally I saw a blurry figure moving toward me, slowly. Each blink brought the figure closer but still out of focus.

Then, finally clear, the figure became recognizable.

Jonah.

He held me in his arms, an embrace to last for eternity.

Death had parted us, and now death had brought us together.

^^^^^

If you liked it, Don't forget to vote!

Jonah's story, The Shadowed Husband, is part of the #DeadlyKisses contest. I would love for you to read it!

Thanks for reading, or rereading, my paranormal romance. I was inspired by the paranormal community's deadly kisses contest to make some changes to this story. The original requirements were that it was a flash fiction, less than 1,000 words. Much harder than I thought! So I have extended the story and made it much better, in my opinion!