Darlene has lost someone near and dear to her in death. While mourning, she receives a life-changing option with significant tradeoffs.
This dramatic speculative fiction offers a compelling exploration of love, loss, and the choices we make in the face of adversity.
A Loving Couple
NOT everyone believes in it, but Darlene experienced love at first sight during college. Theron had an allure penetrating deeper than his skin. He was smart, funny, and, in Darlene’s opinion, cute.
Hesitant to appear precocious, she made herself prominent in his presence while exchanging smiles. Eventually, she accepted his invitation to a date. They couldn't stop laughing throughout the evening—first at his humor during dinner, then at the romcom movie that followed. In time, she became attracted to his intellect and aspirations.
That’s how the romance that would last 20 years began. Now Darlene is mourning his passing while thumbing through photos of Theron and the other loved ones she has lost. Nadia, her teenage daughter, serves a cup of tea for her on an overcast afternoon.
“Here you go, Mamma.”
“Thanks, Love. How are you holding up?”
“Like you, I have tearful moments, covering my face with a pillow. But the pain is less now than it was six months ago.”
“I’ve been trying to focus on the future. Your father’s death was so sudden. Within two weeks of diagnosing pancreatic cancer, he was gone.”
“The duration of everyone’s mourning is different. I cope better when I do something fun. If it’s okay, I’d like to go out with some friends this evening.”
“Sure, Honey. I’ll be fine.”
A Dreamy Choice
When Darlene retires to bed, her slumber quickly leads to a recurring dream in which Theron is out of reach. No matter how fast she runs, their distance remains the same. Her eyes pop open with a gasp. She turns her head, soon dozing back to sleep.
Next, she is moaning while reaching for her husband. The sight of her daughter beside her hinders an amorous moment before awakening alone. Darlene worries that detailing such dreams would suggest mental disturbances.
While breakfast sizzles in the skillet, the amber sunlight beckons a discussion of their contrasting evenings. Darlene admits that she lounged around the house, looking through photo albums. Nadia went to a concert to hear her favorite performer.
“Mamma, did you rest all right?”
“Sure. It was fine. Do you think our dreams convey anything?”
“Do you mean like portents? What did you dream?”
“I don’t know. It’s a blur.” Deflecting her night terrors, Darlene asks “Do you have disturbing dreams?”
“I don’t remember my dreams either. You should get out of the house. This weekend, let’s go watch a romcom like you used to do with Father.”
“Thanks for the invitation. I don’t think I’m up to it. Go have a good time with your friends.”
Later that evening, during the recurring dream, there is a stiff breeze through the bedroom window. Darlene can’t distinguish whether it is real or imagined. There is a deep voice that offers her an impossible choice.
“You can choose to have Theron and all your dead loved ones return in exchange for all your living loved ones.”
While sleeping, her larynx is mute, so the voice urges her to point to one of two crowds. While looking to the left, her heart flutters with liberation. Theron stands, smiling with her parents, grandparents, uncles, and close friends from the past. When looking to the right, her heart is numb with confinement. Nadia is detached from some of Darlene’s work acquaintances.
Her life is now filled with few friends and family. The reach to grasp Theron’s hand becomes an acknowledgment of a choice.
A Surreal Reality
When Darlene awakens in the morning, she is overjoyed by the presence of her husband beside her. A sudden realization interrupts their embrace and kiss. She leaps from bed, running down the hallway while calling out her daughter’s name.
Theron catches up, asking, “Who is Nadia?”
“Our daughter, Nadia! Don’t you remember?”
However, the girl’s bedroom is a nursery for a future child. As she tries to explain recent events, he has no recollection of his death.
“Sometimes your miscarriage confuses you. Perhaps you should lie down while I phone your mother.”
The prospect of seeing her mother again is just as surreal as Theron’s presence. She arrives after Theron leaves for work. The two discuss the miscarriage that Darlene doesn’t recall. Now she mourns the loss of Nadia. The mother plans a weekend family dinner for all the relatives to cheer up her daughter.
During the feast, Darlene enjoys all the home-cooked meals she has missed for years. Everyone takes plenty of photos, sings karaoke, and shares enough embraces for a lifetime. This new life seems both wonderful and empty without Nadia. Darlene and Theron tell everyone how much they love them before leaving.
At home, Theron asks, “Do you want to try again to have a child?”
Feeling it may be a way to reunite with Nadia, she releases an exhalation of satisfaction. After falling asleep in her husband’s arms, Darlene has a dream as previously with an opportunity to confirm her choice. The first time, she inadvertently reached for her husband. This time, she makes a definitive decision, extending her hand towards Nadia.
In the morning, Darlene awakens alone. She gets up to hurry down the hallway toward the nursery and lies next to her teen daughter, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead. Darlene dozes off, envisioning all the wonderful memories of Nadia’s life, including aspirations with friendships.
Then she says, “My Love, I think I’m finally over my mourning. Let’s do something fun together this weekend.”
The suggestion excites Nadia. They embrace, clean themselves up, and prepare breakfast while making plans for a brighter future.
The End
Return twice weekly for miniseries. Use of this material for generative training or republication in any format without authorization is prohibited. Any relation to actual persons or events is coincidental. Login provides the most immersive experience. About 1000 total words. Audio may include sound effects that alter reading time. Enhance your listening or reading experience with ambient music on this page. Educational review questions are available for ClinicalNovellas Scholar members. Cinematic materials are available with ClinicalNovellas Cinematic membership. Story includes one or more generative AI images to help readers visualize scenes.
