Love Source

This story is by Maria Carmelina Montesano and was part of our 2017 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.

It was a crisp fall morning in September. It marked four months since the passing of Professor Midland’s death. Rebecca was still coming to grips with the reality. She felt numb. Her black hair glistened amongst the bright rays of the sun. She felt that walking in nature in this park made her feel better. The leaves on the trees began to change colour from yellow to burnt red. Autumn is a season of transition. It marked another season without her true love.

She held a book Henry had given her when they first began dating. It was a book of love poems. They met when Rebecca decided to take a Public Speaking course at the university. In her own right she was quite successful as a romance novelist. However, she struggled with severe anxiety disorder for many years. She was afraid to be around people and this affected her daily life.

While in therapy she decided to take the initiative and begin the course to gain confidence. This proved to be one of the best decisions she ever made. Not only did she get over her fear of people, but she had met her soulmate.

The first day that the class began she had experienced a severe panic attack and ran out of the classroom. Professor Henry Midland was leaving his office as he encountered her. All he could see was this black haired beauty running down the hall. He ran after her,” Is everything alright?”

“I can’t go back into that class. I knew that this was a horrible idea.” He offered her a bottle of water and took the time to calm her down. That evening she explained to him about her ordeal of having panic attacks around people. He offered to stay with her in class to comfort her. Not one person had ever showed her that type of caring.

Henry Midland was a tenured English professor and loved his career. He had never married. He was beloved among faculty members and students. Not only was he intelligent, but also humble and compassionate toward other people.

In time they grew much closer and fell madly in love. He gave her the confidence to face her fears and she did just that. It was one of the most beautiful times of her life. Now she felt this void and emptiness. She had left for a week for New York and he hadn’t contacted her. This was out of character for Henry. Her intuition knew something was definitely wrong. After several of her phone calls remained unanswered she decided to visit his home. That was the day she discovered he died at home. He had had a heart attack. He was also a true believer in the afterlife. Henry had mentioned to her once that he believed this life experience was part of our spiritual journey. The body was just a vessel to hold the soul.

After the funeral she kept blaming herself for not being with him at his time of death. She felt that if she were there that would have changed the entire outcome. If only she could communicate with him and know he was alright. It would give her an inner peace.

The leaves swirled around her and she noticed a monarch butterfly. It fluttered and landed on her arm for a brief moment. Finding that somewhat strange she focused on it until it flew away. “You have the right idea my butterfly friend maybe it’s time for me to go back home too.”

As she walked back toward her house, Diane, Rebecca’s neighbour walked toward her.

“Hi, I was going to visit you and check to see how you are holding up.”

“Thanks Diane. You know it depends on the day. I still find myself crying at times.”

“That is very normal. You are grieving. If you ever need a friend to talk or whatever, I want you to know I am here for you.”

“That means a lot to me. I better get inside. We will speak soon.”

People constantly asked her how she was doing. How was she supposed to be doing? She lost someone very dear to her. No words could express what she felt in her heart. Sitting on the couch she heard a knocking on the wall. As she turned she didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

While she slumbered off, Henry found this was going to be the best way to communicate with her. He appeared to her in a dream. There appeared a stream of water and flowers with the most vibrant colours she had ever laid her eyes on. This place seemed so real. She felt a familiar calmness, like she was home. As she turned her head to the right Henry was standing beside her.

“Henry my love you look so happy and healthy. This place is so magnificent.”

“I am still with you and you can still talk to me. I communicate with you in ways you may not have observed. In this dimension we have different ways of letting you know that we are around. Right now I am speaking to you through a dream.”

“A dream what do you mean? This feels so real. I feel your presence Henry, but sometimes I think that is just my imagination.”

“I am very much with you. I send you messages all the time. Just this afternoon when you were at the park, that butterfly you saw. I was telling you I am still here.”

“You communicate through signs?”

“On this realm we operate on a higher vibration. We have shed our shell but our essence remains. Who I was on earth I am here. If anything I feel more real here. “

“I kept thinking if I was there with you it wouldn’t have happened. I felt so guilty that you died alone. “

“When we enter this dimension we are never alone. There is no reason to feel guilt. Here everything vibration, frequency all operate on love. Love here is in the purest form. “

“I love you so much Henry. I am so at peace here. Can I stay with you?”

“I love you too Rebecca. You cannot stay but when it is your time to come back, I will be greeting you. I am still here and remember I communicate differently.”

Her eyes opened and noticed she was home. That dream was so intense she couldn’t believe how profound it was. She had a sudden urge to grab her journal and start writing. The words came pouring out describing what she had seen. Thinking back to all the signs he had given her it was all beginning to make sense. Henry was communicating with her. The guilt she felt was replaced with calmness. Her higher self knew that everything was just fine.

The scenery outside her window inspired her to write verse in her journal.

‘As I glance outside my window, red leaves cover the ground. They remind me of hearts dropped by cupid. I feel love all around me like never before. I had a visit from my one true love and he is with me. We are eternal and we are love. I love you always Professor Henry Midland.’

For the next few days Rebecca saw life in a more positive spiritual way. Taking nothing for granted she knew that he was there. One afternoon after running some errands she became quite tired and felt a little dizzy. Walking up the stairs to her bedroom she heard the knocking sound again. All of a sudden she tripped and fell to the bottom of the stairs. She felt herself floating in the air and she saw everything around her. There was no pain. The brightest light shone from nowhere with colours she had never seen before.

“I have come to greet you to take you home. How do you feel?”

“Henry, I feel so pure and free. To say that I feel love is an understatement. I feel as if I am one with all.”

“Love doesn’t die.” He held her hand and together they walked toward the light.

Several weeks had passed without anyone seeing Rebecca. Diane was growing concerned about her neighbour’s well being. She knew that Rebecca had gone through a huge trauma losing Henry and that it had devastated her. Diane had tried calling her phone but it always just kept ringing. She even went next door to ring her doorbell a few times but nobody answered. After all these attempts to contact her had failed, she decided to call the police department. When the police entered Rebecca’s home they found that she had recently passed away.