Sara's Soul Read Free Page A

know why; it’s because you really are gone. There is no life after death. It’s all just a fantasy. The scientist in me knows that. It’s the naïve little girl who wants to pretend there’s more.”
    The tears came fast and hard for Sara as she sobbed into her mom’s shoulder. The sorrow of losing her had never gone away. Sara had carried it with her all this time. To top it off, she had carried those disturbing images of other people’s deaths with her, too. It was all pure torture.
    Star embraced her daughter, wrapping her in loving care like a warm fuzzy blanket. Much to Sara’s surprise, her sobs quieted, and she was soon filled with a peace and stillness she had not sensed in many years. It felt amazing. She was too stunned to speak.
    “Sara,” Star said softly. “In time you’ll come to know the truth. You will one day realize that I never left you. I have been with you all along. This visit is just one of the many ways I have reached out to you over the years. It truly is real.”
    “Well then, prove it,” Sara challenged. “Give me evidence that this isn’t a dream. And please explain to me how you have been with me all along, and I never noticed.”
    “Okay. Fair enough,” Star said. “For starters, how do you think my urn fell off your fireplace?”
    “Well, I was cleaning the other day. So when I dusted the mantel, I must have moved the urn too close to the edge. It was just a matter of time before it fell.”
    “Really?” her mother said, raising an eyebrow. “Is that what you think?”
    “Yes, that makes perfect sense,” Sara said confidently.
    “Well, then why didn’t the urn fall the other day right after you moved it? Why did it wait until you were about to take your own life before it came crashing to the floor?”
    “I don’t know, Mother,” said Sara, feeling frustrated. “Coincidence maybe?”
    “Nope. It was me, Sara. I made the urn fall. I had to stop you from killing yourself.”
    Sara’s blue eyes widened, and a chill ran through her body. Could it be possible? Had her mom caused the urn to fall? If so, where was her mom before? She had claimed to visit, but Sara never saw or heard anything. “Assuming it was you, why did you wait until now to come to me? Why not sooner?”
    “As I said, I’ve been around you many times. You never noticed because you were too consumed with anger and grief. But I do have some more proof for you. Remember that time when you were sixteen years old and you broke your arm?”
    “Yes. Grandma was the first to sign my cast,” Sara said.
    “And what did she write?”
    “Your arm may be broken, but your heart will go on.”
    “And then what happened?”
    “Grandma took me for ice cream. In the car, we heard ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion. I know that was always your favorite song.”
    “Yes, it was, Sara. And what about the time when Jimmy broke up with you at your eighteenth birthday party? You were so heartbroken. You thought you would never love again. What happened then?”
    “Well, I went outside and cried my eyes out. Then I got into my car and drove to the park. On the way, I heard ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and thought of you. I really missed you and wished you were there to comfort me.”
    “Well, guess what? I was. I arranged for you to hear that song. It was my way of reaching out to you, to offer you some love and comfort when you needed it most. If you think about it, Sara, every time you’ve needed me, that song has mysteriously started playing. And it wasn’t just some silly coincidence. So what do you think now?”
    Sara thought back through her life and realized that what her mother said was true. There were many occasions during her darkest moments when she had heard that song. She assumed it was coincidence, but now she didn’t know what to believe. Sara was a scientist, and what Star had described seemed impossible to her, yet it made sense at the same time.
    “I don’t know,” Sara said, feeling