Grief plays tricks on the mind, but this? This was real. Kelly knew her husband’s voice, and she’d just heard it… from her daughter’s room. A chill ran down her spine. Jeremy had been dead for two years. So who—or what—was speaking with his voice? Then she walked into the room… and she froze.
My name is Kelly, I’m 30 years old, and my life has been a roller coaster, punctuated by moments of intense love and profound loss. My husband, Jeremy, died in a car accident two years ago. I was eight months pregnant with our daughter, Sophia. One moment, I was painting flowers on the walls of her nursery, dreaming about our future, and the next, I received a phone call that rocked my world.
A pregnant woman looking at her phone | Source: Pexels
I remember that moment like it was yesterday. The brush slipped from my fingers, leaving a trail of pink on the wall.
“Miss Kelly?” the voice on the phone was soft, practiced. “This is Officer Reynolds…”
“Yes?” My hand instinctively went to my swollen stomach. Sophia kicked, as if she sensed my fear.
“There’s been an accident. Your husband…”
“No,” I whispered. “No, please…”
A scared woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
They told me the accident was serious—so serious that I shouldn’t see his body. I never got to say goodbye. Just a closed coffin at the funeral, and that was it.
“Kelly, my darling,” my mother had said at the funeral, hugging me as I sobbed. “You have to stay strong. For the baby.”
“How?” I choked. “How am I supposed to do this without him? He was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be holding her…”
Men carrying a coffin | Source: Pexels
Two years later, I was doing my best to keep going, to be strong for Sophia. But the emptiness? It never really went away.
And then, two days ago, something happened that made me question everything.
It was an ordinary afternoon. I had put Sophia to a nap in her room and settled down on the couch with a book. The house was quiet. Peaceful.
Until I heard it.
The sound of a window closing. Not very loud—just enough to make me look up. I thought it was probably the wind. But then my blood ran cold when I… Oh my God… when I heard Jeremy’s voice:
“I will always love you.”
I swear my whole body froze.
It wasn’t a fuzzy memory in my head. It wasn’t wishful thinking. It was crystal clear.
A terrified woman | Source: Midjourney
I stood there, my breath caught in my throat. My ears were ringing. My heart was beating so hard I thought I was going to pass out.
“Jeremy?” I whispered into the silence, my voice trembling. “Baby, is that you?”
No. No, no, no. Jeremy wasn’t there anymore. It wasn’t possible.
But I heard it. Again.
“I will always love you.”
It was coming from Sophia’s room.
A distraught woman standing in the doorway | Source: Midjourney
I stood up so quickly the book fell off my lap. My mind raced: Was there someone in there? Am I hallucinating?
Was Jeremy ALIVE?
I rushed down the hallway, barely feeling my feet touch the floor. My hands were freezing, and I felt like my stomach was going to throw up.
“Please,” I whispered as I ran, tears already forming. “Please, if you’re here…”
I pushed open Sophia’s door.
A terrified woman entering a room | Source: Midjourney
She was fast asleep in her crib, curled up in a ball, her little fingers clutching a teddy bear. The room was just as I’d left it. No open windows. No shade in a corner. No shade in a corner, nothing.
But then I heard it again.
“I will always love you.”
I swore my heart stopped.
“Jeremy?” My voice cracked. “Is this some kind of cruel joke? Please… I can’t… I can’t take this…”
I scanned the room, my hands shaking as I moved toward the window. Something had to explain this.
Little girl falls fast asleep holding teddy bear | Source: Midjourney
My fingers brushed the window. It was closed. Locked. Outside, a small tree branch rested against the window, broken as if it had fallen on it.
Okay. That explained the noise. But what about Jeremy’s voice?
My eyes turned to Sophia. She stirred in her sleep, clutching the bear tighter.
“Dada,” she whispered in her sleep, and my heart broke again.
And then I understood.
The bear.
I fell to my knees beside his crib, my hands shaking, I grabbed him. I squeezed him.
“I will always love you.”
My chest tightened so hard I thought I was going to collapse.
A scared woman holding a teddy bear | Source: Midjourney
Jeremy’s voice… It came from the bear.
“Oh my God,” I sobbed, hugging the bear to my chest. “Oh my God, Jeremy…”
I sat on the couch, staring at the bear as if it were about to come to life.
I have no memory of buying it. Had someone given it to Sophia?
And then I remembered. A week ago, we celebrated Sophia’s second birthday. My mother-in-law, Gloria, had given her this bear.
A little girl celebrating her 2nd birthday | Source: Pexels
“Look what Grandma got you!” I said, trying to sound cheerful despite the ache in my chest. Another birthday without Jeremy.
I barely looked at it at the time. It was just another stuffed animal.
But now? Now I needed answers. So I called Gloria.
She picked up on the second ring. “Kelly, hi, honey! Is everything okay?”
An elderly woman holding her phone | Source: Midjourney
I hugged the bear tighter. “Did you know this thing plays Jeremy’s voice?”
Silence.
Then, an almost hesitant silence: “Oh… did it finally start?”
My stomach twisted. “Finally? What do you mean, ‘finally’?”
Gloria sighed. “I was wondering when you’d hear it.”
I sat up. “Gloria. What did you do?”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Kelly, please,” her voice wavered. “Let me explain…”
“Explain what?” I asked, my voice rising. “Explain to me why you thought it was okay to… to…”
I couldn’t even finish my sentence.
Gloria arrived an hour later, looking almost nervous. She sat across from me, her hands crossed, her eyes searching my face.
“I just… I thought it would help you,” she said softly.
I placed the bear between us. “Help who?”
Two women talking | Source: Midjourney
She exhaled. “Sophia. And you.”
I stared at her.
“Kelly,” she reached across the table to take my hand. “Every time Sophia asks about her dad…every time I see you trying to explain…it breaks my heart.”
“And you don’t think that breaks mine?” My voice cracked. “Hearing his voice again, out of nowhere?”
Gloria swallowed. “After Jeremy died, I thought Sophia would never know her father’s voice. So I took a recording of your wedding video. Do you remember his vows?”
My throat tightened.
“‘I will always love you,'” she whispered.
Oh my God.
A woman overwhelmed by her emotions | Source: Midjourney
“I remember,” I choked out. “He… he rehearsed those vows for weeks. He said he had to make them perfect…”
She clasped her hands together. “I had it sewn into the bear before her birthday. I wanted her to have a piece of him. To know he’s always with her.”
I blinked hard, staring at the table, my mind racing.
She had good intentions. I knew that. But I felt so caught off guard.
“Gloria,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “You should have told me.”
“I know,” she admitted with a small smile. “It’s just… I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
An elderly woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
“Hurting me?” I laughed bitterly. “I thought I was going crazy. I thought… for a moment, I thought he was…”
“Alive?” Gloria finished softly. “Oh, my dear…”
She moved around the table, pulling me into her arms as I collapsed.
“I miss him so much,” I sobbed. “Every day…”
“I know,” she said, stroking my hair. “He would be so proud of you, Kelly. So proud of the way you’re raising Sophia.”
I didn’t know what to say.
I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t relieved. I was just… upset.
A woman in distress | Source: Midjourney
That night, I sat in Sophia’s room, watching her sleep. The bear was on my lap. My fingers traced the soft fabric as I stared at my little girl, the girl Jeremy never got to meet.
She looked so much like him. The same curve to her nose, the same dimple when she smiled, and the same sparkling blue eyes.
“You would have loved her so much,” I whispered into the darkness. “She’s perfect, Jeremy. Just perfect.”
I gave the bear one last squeeze as a familiar voice filled the room and my heart:
“I will always love you.”
A lump formed in my throat. I quickly wiped my eyes, swallowing the pain.
I missed him.
A heartbroken woman holding a teddy bear | Source: Midjourney
Sophia stirred, her eyes opening. “Mom?”
“Hey, baby,” I whispered, reaching out to stroke her cheek.
“The bear?” She grabbed the stuffed animal.
I handed it to her and watched her clutch it to her chest. Jeremy’s voice filled the room again.
“He’s your daddy,” I told her, my voice thick with tears. “He loves you so, so much.”
A happy little girl holding a teddy bear | Source: Midjourney
“Dad?” She looked at the bear with wide eyes, then back at me.
“Yes, my dear. It’s Dada.”
She hugged the bear tighter, closing her eyes. “I love Dada.”
And for so long, I thought I’d lost everything. But there, in my daughter’s arms, was a piece of him.
I leaned down and kissed Sophia’s forehead.
“He will always be with you, my sweet girl,” I whispered. “Always.”
The grief was still there. It always will be.
But for the first time in a long, long time… I didn’t feel so alone.
A grieving woman who stands together | Source: Midjourney
Here’s another story : Three weeks after his wife temporarily moved out to pursue her art, Jake received an anonymous email that read, “You deserve to know the truth.” When he opened the attachment, he froze.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Để lại một phản hồi