It has been my experience that spirits tend to like the element of surprise, probably because springing signs upon us can have more weight of conviction. While it is vital that you always be open to and aware of potential signs around you, most of them will occur when you least expect them and oftentimes in ways you might have never imagined. Strike a balance . . . live your life, but also remember in the back of your mind that the other side is always at work.
One person who did just that was Jennifer. She had worked with a woman named Rosie for many years, and the two had become very good friends. After they went their separate ways professionally, they would still try to get together every year or so. One summer they and their families spent a weekend camping together in Illinois. Rosie had had recent health issues and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While it certainly caused her some hardship, she seemed to be managing it well on their camping trip.
About eight months later, however, Rosie called Jennifer with some horrible news.
“It was the death call,” Jennifer said. “Rosie told me she had been misdiagnosed. It wasn’t fibromyalgia at all. It was bone cancer. I didn’t know what to say. I cried. We cried. They didn’t know how long she had, but the cancer had obviously been spreading for a while. She was already in stage IV and probably didn’t have a lot of time left. She was living in Texas when she called, but she said she was going to try to get to Illinois to see me and other friends sometime in the next couple of months.”
A few weeks later, Jennifer had to travel overseas for business. It was then that she received word that Rosie had passed away.
“I was devastated,” Jennifer said. “On top of that, I wasn’t able to go to her service because I was out of the country. I felt horrible. It all happened so quickly.”
About seven months after Rosie had died, Jennifer, her husband, their two children, and some of their relatives were on a Disney cruise traveling to the US Virgin Islands. “We were standing in line waiting to have our picture taken with the ship’s captain,” Jennifer said. “It was right before dinner. The kids were hungry and cranky. I was hungry, too, and ready to relax after a fun but long day. My husband took the kids across the way to look out a porthole to keep them entertained while I leaned against a wall, holding our place in line for the photo.”
Though she had thought about Rosie a lot since her death, Jennifer admits she wasn’t thinking about her while standing in line. That is why what happened next was all the more fascinating.
“A woman appeared from around the corner. She was wearing a simple but gorgeous navy-blue gown. It was full-length with a V-neck in the front and sheer sleeves. She had a dazzling necklace and earrings. Her hair was short, vibrant, and red. And that grin. Oh, that sly grin she had. It was Rosie to a tee. Even the shape of her body and the way she walked. It was uncanny. That is why I remember every detail about her so well. I was staring right at Rosie.”
From the second this woman and Jennifer saw each other, their eyes remained locked.
“We never broke eye contact,” Jennifer said. “It probably lasted less than ten seconds, but it felt like ten minutes. Even as she continued to walk by and head toward the dining area, she turned her head and stayed focused on me. Neither of us said a word. We said it all with our eyes. I was overcome with chills. I watched her all the way until she rounded the corner and was out of sight. I wanted to chase after her, but I don’t know what I would have said or how I would have reacted. Seconds later, my husband ran back to me with the kids.”
“Did you just see that?” he said to Jennifer.
She had a witness, and she was grateful for it. “Not that I needed one, because I knew what I had seen, but when my husband said he had seen her, too, I broke down and cried right there in line,” she said. “Not exactly the thing to do when you are about to have a picture taken with the captain, but I had no control over it. This woman was Rosie, spot-on. As astonished as I was to have seen her and as emotional as I was at that moment, it also brought me such peace.”
For the rest of the cruise, Jennifer continually looked for the woman. “At dinner, in the hallways, by the pool. And believe me, I was looking nonstop. But I never saw her again.”
I’ve found that creating a doppelgänger is not as common as some of the other ways that spirits will send signs, but when this method is used, every detail will stick with you. Especially in a case such as this one, in which the woman made and held eye contact with Jennifer.
“I had heard of people saying they had seen someone who looked like someone they knew who had died, but it had never happened to me before,” Jennifer said. “Now I know it can really happen. There was no question in my mind that that was Rosie’s signal to me that she was in a good place.
“And I can assure you that if that’s the only sign I get from anyone in my lifetime, I’m good.”