Soft Whispers

When the alarm began to play softly, Jill reached for her cell phone.  While turning the alarm off, she sat up in the bed wishing she could finish her dream, but knowing it would repeat. For some reason the dream had come to her every night for a week but stopped at the same place, then she would hear her alarm. 

While Jill showered, she thought about her dream. She was in the library standing in an aisle looking at a book with a picture of a young couple on the cover. Hearing steps coming towards her, she looked up to see a young man walking up to her.  As their eyes met, Jill always felt her cheeks flush as the young man smiled then she would hear her alarm going off softly. 

Being an avid reader, Jill frequented the library at least twice a week, Wednesday night after work and Saturday afternoons. Jill loved to curl up in a comfortable chair in a nook of the library, hold a book in her hands, and get lost in its pages. Never getting tired of reading, she had read poetry, fiction, nonfiction, Memoirs, biographies, etc.  

As Jill exited the shower, she laughed knowing it was not a coincidence that this repeating dream was situated in a library. The questions running through her mind were: Where is this aisle?, Where is the book? Who is the young man?  Since it was Saturday, while getting dressed, Jill decided that today she would spend the afternoon looking for that book and aisle.

Once arriving at the library  and entering the doors, Jill noticed that the library was eerily quiet and empty of people., but she really did not care because she was on a mission. Having thought about the book in her dreams, Jill reasoned the book could be a biography or a memoir. Of course, it could be just a dream, but undeterred by the possibility of that notion, she shook her head then headed to the memoir section first. 

Walking down one aisle after another grazing through the books , Jill realized that her mission was not going to be easy and most likely close to impossible. Hearing soft whispers, Jill turned a corner to find two ghostly figures standing close to one another.

One appeared to be a young man and the other a young woman. He was dressed in a military uniform and her in a dress style that appeared to be from the 1940's.  As Jill watched in awe, the young man placed a ring on the young woman's finger then kissed her softly on the lips, as they slowly disappeared. 

Walking to where they had stood, Jill noticed a book sticking out on the shelf. The book had a picture of the young couple on the front. As she took the book from the shelf and held it in her hands, immediately Jill recognized the book as the one from her repeating dream and her heart began to race quickly. Holding the book against her chest, sighing with her eyes closed, Jill knew in that moment she had to know more.

The sound of footsteps approaching surprised Jill and she opened her eyes.  Standing in the aisle in front of Jill was a young man. Jill felt her cheeks flush as their eyes met.  Embarrassed  by her flushing cheeks, Jill decided to introduce herself and found out his name was Jake. 

Noticing Jill was holding a book in her hands, Jake asked her what she was reading. As Jill showed him the front of the book, Jake smiled and needless to say, Jill’s cheeks flushed again then for some unknown reason Jill told him how she found the book. Jake never flinched as Jill told him about the young couple, but continued to smile at her, then Jake asked Jill if she would like to know the couples story because they had been his Grandparents. 

Jill shook her head yes then Jake asked her if she would like to have coffee with him in the Coffee Nook next door, after they checked out the book.  A few minutes later Jake and Jill sat down in a booth with the book and two cups of coffee then Jake began to tell his Grandparents story. 

Jake’s Grandfather’s name was Jed and he was a young soldier when he met Jake’s Grandmother, Jane. Jed and Jane had met on the very aisle that Jill had found their book. Jed and Jane were instant soulmates but pressed for time together before he deployed overseas during WWII. 

After spending a week together night and day, Jed proposed to Jane in the library on the aisle where they met, promising to always love her. Jane accepted his proposal and promised to wait on him forever. Jed deployed the next day.

Unknown to them both, at the time, Jane was pregnant with his son. Jed and Jane wrote to each other everyday and Jane told him all about the baby growing inside of her. They even exchanged wedding vows in letters to each other with Jed sending her a wedding ring made from a shoelace. 

One day the letters stopped coming from Jake and Jane knew before the army telegram came.. She wrapped their newborn baby boy in a warm blanket then carried him in her arms as she walked to the library. Jane entered the library with their son cozy in her arms and took him to the aisle where Jed and she had met. Standing in that aisle with her eyes closed she saw Jed's face and felt him all around her as she introduced their son, Jed Jr., to his Dad.

Tears fell down Jill’s face as Jake told his Grandparent’s story. Jake opened the book and showed Jill that it contained letters Jed and Jane had written to each other, but most importantly the letters with their wedding vows to each other.

Jake closed the book then Jill noticed the author’s name on front, Jake Downing. Jill asked Jake if he had written the book and he told her yes.

Jake asked Jill if she would like to have some lunch with him then take a walk. Of course she said yes. As they left the Coffee Nook, there was no doubt in either of their minds that faith had brought them together.

By Nancy Lou Henderson

From: United States

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