Grief plays tricks on the mind, but this? This wasn’t a trick. Kelly knew her husband’s voice. And she just heard it… coming from her daughter’s room. A cold shiver ran down her spine. Jeremy had been dead for two years. So who — or what — was speaking in his voice? She stood frozen for a moment, before stepping into the room… and FROZE.
I’m Kelly. I’m 30, and my life has been a rollercoaster — a ride I never asked for. Love, loss, pain, joy… It’s all mixed together. My husband, Jeremy, died in a car crash two years ago. I was eight months pregnant with our daughter, Sophia, when I got the news.
One minute, I was happily painting flowers on the walls of her nursery, imagining a future of playdates, birthday parties, and bedtime stories. The next, I was on the floor, a phone pressed to my ear, hearing words that shattered everything.
I’ll never forget that moment.
“Miss Kelly?” The voice on the phone was soft, but there was an edge of seriousness to it. “This is Officer Reynolds…”
“Yeah?” I whispered, gripping my swollen belly as I felt Sophia kick. She seemed to sense something was wrong, a tiny flutter that made my stomach drop.
“There’s been an accident. Your husband…”
“No,” I gasped, barely able to breathe. “No, please…”
They told me it was bad. Too bad for me to see his body. They advised against it. I never got to say goodbye. All I had was a closed casket at the funeral, a permanent reminder of the man I had loved and lost.
At the funeral, my mom had pulled me into a hug, trying to comfort me, though I could tell she was hurting too. “Kelly, honey,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You need to stay strong. For the baby.”
“Stay strong?” I choked, tears streaming down my face. “How? How can I do this without him? He was supposed to be here. He was supposed to hold her…”
That was two years ago, but the hole in my heart never fully healed. The emptiness never truly left. And I did my best to keep going — for Sophia, for myself. But there were days when I felt like I was drowning in grief.
And then, two days ago, something happened. Something that made me question everything.
It started like any other afternoon. I had just put Sophia down for her nap and settled on the couch with a book. The house was quiet, peaceful, just the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Until I heard it.
A faint sound, like the creak of a window closing. I looked up, but there was nothing unusual. Maybe the wind? I tried to ignore it, but then I heard something else. My blood ran cold.
“I love you forever.”
I froze. My heart stopped in my chest. It wasn’t a whisper in my mind. It wasn’t some fleeting memory. It was clear as day.
I looked around, trying to make sense of what I’d just heard. My breathing came out in short gasps. “Jeremy?” I whispered into the silence, my voice shaking. “Baby, is that you?”
No. This couldn’t be real. Jeremy was gone. He couldn’t be here.
But then I heard it again.
“I love you forever.”
The voice. It was unmistakable. It was Jeremy’s voice.
It was coming from Sophia’s room.
My body moved before my brain could process what was happening. I shot up from the couch, the book falling to the floor with a thud. My heart raced. Was someone in the house? Was I hallucinating?
Was Jeremy… alive?
My feet pounded against the floor as I rushed down the hallway. My hands were ice-cold, my stomach twisted into tight knots.
“Please,” I whispered, already on the verge of tears. “Please, if you’re there…”
I pushed open the door to Sophia’s room.
She was fast asleep in her crib, curled up in a little ball, her tiny hand clutching a teddy bear. The room looked exactly as I had left it. The window was shut, locked tight. There were no shadows creeping in the corners. Nothing.
But then I heard it again.
“I love you forever.”
My heart stopped.
“Jeremy?” I whispered, my voice barely audible, a wave of disbelief crashing over me. “Is this some kind of cruel joke? Please… I can’t take this…”
I looked around the room, my hands shaking as I moved towards the window. I needed an explanation. Something had to make sense of this.
My fingers brushed the cool glass. It was locked, solid. Outside, a small tree branch rested against the window, snapped in half like it had fallen from the tree. That explained the noise. But Jeremy’s voice? That was something I couldn’t explain.
Then, I looked back at Sophia. She stirred slightly, still deep in her sleep, her tiny fingers tightening around the bear.
“Dada,” she mumbled in her sleep. And my heart shattered all over again.
And then it hit me.
The bear.
I dropped to my knees beside her crib, trembling as I reached for the stuffed animal. I pressed it gently.
“I love you forever.”
I gasped, clutching the bear to my chest as everything came crashing down on me.
Jeremy’s voice… it was coming from the bear.
“Oh God,” I sobbed, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. “Oh God, Jeremy…”
I sat on the couch, staring at the bear, my fingers still gripping it. I couldn’t take my eyes off it, as though it might come to life in my hands.
I had no memory of buying this bear. Had someone given it to Sophia?
I tried to think. And then I remembered. It was from a week ago, on Sophia’s second birthday. Jeremy’s mom, Gloria, had given it to her.
I had smiled through the pain as I watched Sophia unwrap the bear. “Look what Grandma got you!” I had said, my voice shaking slightly. Another birthday without Jeremy. Another day where he wasn’t here.
But now? Now everything was different. I needed answers. So, I picked up the phone and called Gloria.
She picked up after two rings. “Kelly, hi, sweetie! Everything okay?” Her voice was warm, but I could hear a hint of nervousness in it.
I gripped the bear tighter. “Did you know this thing plays Jeremy’s voice?”
There was silence on the other end of the line. A long pause.
“Oh… did it finally play?” she asked, her voice almost hesitant.
My stomach churned. “Finally? What do you mean, finally?”
Gloria sighed softly, and I could hear the guilt in her voice. “I was wondering when you’d hear it.”
I straightened up, my heart racing. “Gloria. What did you do?”
“Kelly, please,” she said, her voice wavering. “Let me explain…”
“Explain what?” My voice rose, full of frustration. “Explain why you thought it was okay to… to…”
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
An hour later, Gloria was standing in front of me, looking just as nervous as I felt. She sat across from me, her hands folded in her lap, eyes scanning my face.
“I just… I thought it would help,” she said quietly.
I placed the bear gently between us. “Help who?”
She took a deep breath. “Sophia. And you.”
I stared at her, my mind racing.
“Every time Sophia asks about her daddy… every time I see you try to explain… it breaks my heart,” she continued, her voice soft with emotion. “I couldn’t stand the thought of her never knowing her dad’s voice.”
I felt a lump form in my throat. I didn’t know what to say.
“I took a recording from your wedding video,” Gloria said, her voice almost a whisper. “You remember his vows?”
My chest tightened. I did remember.
“‘I love you forever,’” she whispered.
Oh my God.
“I remember,” I choked out, tears threatening to spill. “He practiced those vows for weeks. He wanted them to be perfect.”
Gloria’s eyes filled with tears. “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, trying to process everything. She had meant well, I knew that. But I felt so blindsided.
“Gloria,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You should have told me.”
“I know,” she admitted, her voice soft. “I just… I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Upset me?” I laughed bitterly. “I thought I was going crazy. I thought… for a moment, I thought he was…”
“Alive?” Gloria finished for me, her voice gentle.
I nodded silently, and Gloria reached across the table to pull me into her arms.
“I miss him so much,” I whispered, my tears soaking her shirt.
“I know,” she said softly, her fingers running through my hair. “He would be so proud of you, Kelly. So proud of how you’re raising Sophia.”
That night, I sat in Sophia’s room, watching her sleep. The bear was in my lap. I traced my fingers over its soft fabric as I stared at my little girl — the daughter Jeremy never got to meet.
She looked just like him. The same curve to her nose, the same dimple when she smiled, the same sparkling blue eyes.
“You would have loved her so much,” I whispered, pressing the bear to my chest. “She’s perfect, Jeremy. Just perfect.”
I pressed the bear one last time, and once again, his voice filled the room.
“I love you forever.”
The ache in my chest was unbearable, but I wiped my eyes, swallowing the tears.
I missed him.
Sophia stirred and blinked her eyes open, her small voice calling, “Mama?”
I smiled, brushing a stray hair from her face. “Hey, baby girl.”
She reached for the bear. “Bear?”
I handed it to her, watching her hold it close, feeling my heart break in a way I wasn’t sure I could handle. As she snuggled the bear to her chest, Jeremy’s voice filled the room again.
“That’s your daddy,” I said, my voice thick with tears. “He loves you so, so much.”
She looked at the bear with wide eyes, then back at me. “Dada?”
I nodded, feeling a tear slip down my cheek. “Yes, sweetheart. That’s Dada.”
She hugged the bear even tighter, closing her eyes with a peaceful smile. “Love Dada.”
For so long, I thought I had lost everything. But here, in my daughter’s arms, was a piece of him.
I kissed her forehead, feeling a weight lift from my chest.
“You’ll always have him with you, my sweet girl,” I whispered.
The grief was still there, lingering like a shadow. It always would be.
But for the first time in a long, long time… I didn’t feel so alone.