Sara curled into a ball on the couch, sobbing. Addison hovered over her, wanting to remove her pain. Nothing she said would be enough. Not this time. Only one person could clear the salt from Sara’s infectious wound.
Addison closed her eyes and said, “Josephine DuPont, I command you to appear.”
Josephine materialized and rushed to her granddaughter’s side. “Sara, honey, look at me.”
Sara sniffled a few times and turned her head.
“There, there, dear,” Josephine said. “I’m here now. Dry those eyes. Everything is all right.”
“Grannie JoJo, is it really you?” Sara asked.
“It is me. I’ve waited to see you for a long time.”
“I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“We don’t have to stay. We can leave now, together.”
“Where will we go?”
Josephine smiled. “To a beautiful place. You’ll see.”
Sara held up Mr. Pickles. “Can he come? He doesn’t want to be left alone.”
Josephine gave Sara’s hand a squeeze and said, “Of course he can.”
For a time, Josephine sat with Sara, and they talked as if no time had passed between them. When Sara settled enough for her grandmother to leave her side, Josephine said, “I need to talk to Addison for a minute before we go, okay?”
Sara nodded.
Addison and Josephine walked to the other side of the room.
“I know what happened,” Addison whispered. “I know who caused the car crash.”
“Don’t tell me,” she said. “Please.”
“I thought you’d want to know.”
“I’ve let it fester in me for years. Being reunited with my grandchild, I realize it doesn’t matter to me anymore. What happened to Sara, what happened to me ... the past doesn’t dictate our future. I’d like to leave it all behind. I’m at peace with it.”
Addison had never received such a request, and yet, she understood it. Josephine had been given a rare glimpse of the afterlife, into what mattered and what didn’t, and it had changed her perspective.
“Of course,” Addison said. “All you ever needed was to resolve it within yourself.”
“I’d like to ask one last favor before we go, if I may,” Josephine said. “If you see my daughter again, tell her how much I love her. Even if she doesn’t believe you, I’d still like her to know.”
“I will. Are you ready?”
Josephine glanced over her shoulder. “What do you think, kiddo? Should we get out of here for good?”
Sara joined Josephine and took her hand. A door in the center of the room burst open, shooting bright rays of light. Josephine’s father appeared, beckoning them forward.
Josephine whispered in Sara’s ear, “Do you see them? Do you see all those people in there? They’re all here, waiting for you.”
Sara clapped her hands and grinned. “Come on, Grannie JoJo. Let’s go!”
They stepped through the doorway, and Josephine turned back. “
“I’ll never forget you, Addison, and what you’ve done for me,” she said. “What a tremendous gift you’ve been given.”