Stacey had been my everything. The love of my life, my partner, the mother of our son. Her sudden death two months ago had left me shattered. I never saw it coming. One moment, she was here, laughing, living, and the next… she was gone. I had been on a business trip when it happened. By the time I rushed back, her funeral had already taken place. The grief was suffocating. How do you process the loss of someone who had been your world?
But there was no time to mourn. Luke, our five-year-old son, needed me. I had to step up, to be both the mother and father he needed, despite the overwhelming pain that weighed on my heart.
I decided to take him on a vacation. A change of scenery, some fresh air, maybe even a few moments of peace—anything to help us heal. I booked a trip to a beach resort, thinking the calming sound of the waves and the beauty of the ocean would give us a break from the constant sadness. It was our first real escape since Stacey’s death, and I hoped it would bring some relief.
We had been at the beach for three days, and I found myself sitting by the shore, letting the waves crash against the rocks as I lost myself in thought. The salty air seemed to soothe me a little, but the emptiness remained. I missed her more than words could express. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of small, excited footsteps running toward me.
“Dad! Dad!” Luke’s voice was full of excitement as he splashed through the shallow water. I looked up and smiled, thinking he probably wanted more ice cream or to build another sandcastle.
But then I saw his face.
“Dad!” His voice trembled now, and his eyes were wide with something I couldn’t quite place—fear, joy, confusion, maybe all of them. He pointed toward the water, his small hand trembling with the force of his excitement. “Mom is there!”
My heart skipped a beat. My stomach turned cold. I froze. “What?” I asked, unsure if I had heard him correctly.
“Mom! She’s there!” Luke repeated, his voice shaking now with more urgency. He pointed again, this time toward the waves.
I looked toward the water, expecting to see a shadow, a trick of the light, or perhaps a woman who looked vaguely like Stacey. But there was nothing. Just the endless ocean stretching out into the horizon.
“Luke, what do you mean?” I asked, walking toward him slowly, trying to keep my voice calm. “There’s no one there.”
But Luke’s face was filled with awe and something deeper—something that made my heart race. He wasn’t imagining things. He wasn’t playing a game. He was certain.
“Dad, look! Mom’s waving!” He pointed toward the water again, his little voice so full of hope.
I turned, my heart pounding in my chest. This time, I saw it—out of the corner of my eye. There, in the distance, just beyond the surf, was a figure. A figure that looked unmistakably like Stacey. I blinked, trying to focus. The waves seemed to shimmer around her, but she was there, standing in the water as if she belonged.
The figure waved at us, and in that moment, my blood ran cold. The woman—who looked like Stacey—smiled, her face glowing in the fading sunlight. But before I could fully comprehend what was happening, she faded into the mist, vanishing just as quickly as she had appeared.
“Dad, did you see her? Did you see Mom?” Luke asked, his eyes wide, searching my face for reassurance.
I didn’t know what to say. My mind was racing, my heart was pounding in my chest. Was it really her? Was I losing my mind? But I saw it. I saw her, or something that looked like her. It felt real. Too real.
I knelt down to Luke, my hands shaking as I wiped the salty tears from his face. He had been so excited, so convinced that it was his mother. “Luke, I don’t know what you saw, but I think maybe it was a sign,” I said, trying to hold it together. “I think… I think your mom is watching over us.”
Luke smiled, his eyes filled with wonder. “I knew it, Dad! I knew she was still here.”
I didn’t know if what we had seen was a ghost, a memory, or some strange twist of fate, but in that moment, I didn’t care. What mattered was that, for a brief moment, Stacey was with us again. And as I looked out over the waves, I felt something inside me shift. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t really gone. Maybe she was always there, watching over us, guiding us as we tried to heal.