Grief can blur the line between reality and memory, but what Kelly experienced was something entirely different.
She knew her husband’s voice as well as her own. She had memorized every tone, every soft whisper. But Jeremy had been gone for two years.
So when she suddenly heard him speaking—from her daughter’s room—every nerve in her body jolted.
A cold shiver ran down her spine as she froze, her heart pounding.
She forced herself to move, her trembling hands slowly turning the doorknob.
Inside, Sophia was peacefully sleeping in her crib, cuddled up with her teddy bear. But the moment Kelly stepped into the room, the voice came again, unmistakable. “I love you forever.”
Panic flooded her chest. She looked around the room—no windows open, no hidden speakers.
Was she losing her mind? Had grief finally taken its toll? With unsteady hands, she reached for the teddy bear, gently squeezing it. The phrase echoed once more: “I love you forever.”
Then, a memory surfaced—a birthday gift. A bear from her mother-in-law, given to Sophia just days earlier.
Kelly hadn’t thought much of it at the time, too overwhelmed by another birthday without Jeremy. But now, she needed answers.
When she confronted Gloria, the truth came out in a way that felt like a punch to her gut. “I took his voice from your wedding video,” Gloria admitted.
“His vows. I wanted Sophia to know her dad’s voice. I just wanted her to have a piece of him.”
Tears blurred Kelly’s eyes as the weight of it all sank in. The shock. The sadness. The love. She didn’t know whether to feel angry or grateful, but as she sat there that night, watching her daughter sleep, one thing became crystal clear—Jeremy wasn’t truly gone.
He lived on in their daughter’s eyes, in her laughter, and now, in the soft, familiar voice of a teddy bear.
As Kelly gently squeezed the bear once more, her husband’s voice filled the room again. “I love you forever.”
Tears streamed down her face, but for the first time in a long while, she didn’t feel quite so alone.