Today I am thankful for dreams of a recently deceased friend.
The comforting thing about dreams of the deceased is that we experience the joy of seeing them again a mental conversation with them without an awareness that they are gone.
In this dream, we are visiting in her home. She's playing a video game. I'm unable to see the screen so I'm not sure which game she is playing.
She's stellar at video games.
To be honest, for all I know it could have Pong. We were both kids when that game came out.
She's kicking arse without really concentrating on the screen. While she's playing her game, she glances at me periodically to try to talk me out of getting a hysterectomy.
I don't need a hysterectomy. My uterus was mangled in a car accident when I was pregnant seventeen years ago. The doctor thinks it would ease some of my physical pain. The older I get, the more I consider it.
Cindy and I are talking while she's playing her video game and she's telling me that she went in for a routine surgery, got an infection and died.
She didn't want the same thing for me and is begging me to reconsider unnecessary surgery.
In my dream, I remember thinking that she was talking about an idea for an upcoming book.
Cindy was an author. She wrote metaphysical romance novels - she wrote about vampires waiting centuries for their true loves to be born so they can turn them and live as eternal lovers.
I asked if she had an idea for a zombie love story.
Upon uttering that in my dream, Cindy paused her game and gave me a quizzical look.
I awoke.
That was when it hit me that Cindy was gone.
Truly gone.
I swear I still feel her presence.
*****
Yes, people die and we go about life. For the rest of our lives, there will be those moments when we see something that we'd love to share with them. There are those moments when we want to grab the phone and call them up.
There are those split seconds that we forget they are gone; because they're not truly gone so long as they live in our hearts.
Cindy died six days ago due to sudden renal failure following a routine surgery.
Her funeral is tomorrow.
We are expecting a blizzard and I am tempted to get a hotel room near her church so there is no way I'll miss her service.
Cindy was a teacher who wrote books on the side. She always inspired young people to follow their hearts.
I and so many others will miss her dearly.
Love ya,
S.
P.S. Yes, I've changed her name out of respect for her daughters.