Through the window, I saw a place and time beyond my comprehension. As I held my daughter in my arms, everything changed. Looking into the eyes of our faithful companion, who had stood firm with us through everything despite missing his fourth leg, I knew the reality of the world we were living in was filled with pain and hardship. Nothing would keep the three of us from stepping through that window into a world all our own. Our world was bleak. Hope was hidden from us, yet the glimmer in that moment promised a light beyond our pain, even if our future remained uncertain.
The path before us needed to provide a fresh start, a new beginning. Everything we were going through with the loss of my wife, and our other three children was the worst experience either of us had experienced. Talia and I were lost in thought, wondering if we’d survive everything we knew we must now embrace without the support of everyone else in our growing family. When Jasper bit my pant leg and pulled me to this window, I knew the three of us had to step through, if only to get away from the chaos we were about to face. Looking back toward the hallway that had become our home since the fire began and everything happened with Gloria and our other children, I could feel Talia trembling.
She was terrified of stepping through the window. It would be our first step into the future, but the attack on the hospital was brutal. With every ounce of love I had, I grabbed her and Jasper. With tears in my eyes, we jumped. As we fell from the three-story hospital we were trying to escape, everything changed. I knew there was a net to catch us at the bottom, but the net never came. Instead of falling onto the net below, we were transported to a place many could only dream of. All around us, the dense realism of escaping from a place that had held us captive for so long was fading. In my heart, I knew I wanted hope to build. What we found was suspenseful and mysterious. Everything below us seemed to spin out of control and when we landed, nothing felt familiar.
We seemed to float down through a thick white fog that made Talia hold on even tighter. The fear of what we were about to face in the world we had left behind had transformed into a fear of the unknown. Even Jasper, with a soft repetitive howl, whimpered at the sight of what was taking shape in this unfamiliar place. Once we found our footing, the fog slowly started clearing. As I put Talia down, she hesitated to put her feet down. I knew I could not hold on to her much longer. Before I could say anything else, Jasper jumped out of my arms and made a bid for Talia to play with him. The image of this three-legged dog still resonates in my mind even today. It was almost as if we could sense the joy in his heart.
As Talia’s smile broke free, the fog lifted. There before us was a silent invitation to explore a realm where our deepest fears could fade right before our eyes in a glimmer of hope. The once dark and fearful fog had transformed into a beautiful meadow filled with multicolored flowers and precious creatures as far as the eye could see. Ahead of us appeared a magical forest that seemed to glow with a thousand rays of glistening light cracking through luscious trees. Between the three of us and that forest was a path leading us down to a stream of crystal waters as clear as anything I had ever seen. Talia’s fears were no more. As the two of them ran around the meadow playing with each other and the other creatures, my own fears faded.
Where my face was once filled with tears of sorrow and pain, I felt something I had not felt in days… a smile. I tried to resist, but my heart could not hold it any longer… laughter. I never dreamed I would feel this again, but it was there, and something inside me blossomed. I knew for myself that we would find our way eventually. For the time being though, I stood there for what seemed like ages, watching my daughter and my faithful friend find joy amid the pain we had all left behind. Suddenly, Jasper took off and ran toward something I did not see before. Opposite of the forest lay another one, but instead of lush beauty, it echoed the fears I thought I was starting to lay to rest. The forest Jasper was running toward was dark and terrifying.
I yelled after him, “Jasper, we can’t go that way,” but he turned toward me with his playful gestures and kept going. “Jasper, come home to us, boy, come home.” Nothing changed. In truth, it almost seemed as if he was running faster after I called to him. As suddenly as Jasper ran in the first place, Talia followed him. I did everything I could to stop her. “Talia, STOP! We can’t go that way. We are safer here.” She did not stop. Running toward them both, I could see the world begin to fade. Where there was once joyful laughter, now only fear remained. I looked back toward the field and forest behind us and, as tears fell from my eyes, I turned back toward Talia and Jasper, continuing into the unknown.
The fog returned, but I could still feel what was there before, and I used that to push forward. Night fell upon us and only darkness remained. In the distance I saw a small, insignificant flame flickering in the wind behind what appeared to be a cave. Knowing Jasper was once a soldier dog, I knew he would not lead Talia into such an unknown place. Something pushed me toward the flame, though. I could feel Gloria’s heart encouraging me, as she always did, to face the unknown paths ahead. I continued forward. As I did, the once small flame grew. At that moment, an impenetrable fire surrounded me. I called out to Talia and Jasper, “Come to me, please!” I begged and pleaded with all that I was, asking for protection for all of us.
Instantly, I heard the voice of my oldest child say, “It will be okay, Daddy, you can let go.” Then, in the distance, my two other children spoke to me. “We don’t feel the pain anymore, Papa. The fire is gone. It will be okay.” Their voices gave me courage, and I continued to fight. “Talia, where are you? I am coming.” My fear subsided, and I could hear Jasper’s bark echoing through the abyss of the flames around me. Following that sound with every fiber of my being, I relentlessly kept going. As I did, something changed. The flames around me faded, the pain piercing through all I was experiencing was still there, but I felt a peace that had not been there before. “Talia, my dear child, I can see you.” My words continued, “Everything will be okay. I’m here with you both. We all are.” With tears in her eyes, I could sense her fear manifesting again as her pain returned.
There she sat in a place that seemed familiar. “Where has Jasper led us?” As I looked toward what Talia was focused on, there, above us, stood a window. White marble stairs led up to the window, and I understood she was unsure what to do. Talia was frozen in a moment of utter darkness. “It’s Time, dearest. Bring Talia home.” Gloria’s loving tone gave me all the courage I needed. “It’s okay, Talia. We will make it through this.” I embraced her gently, picking her and Jasper up, and we walked up the stairs to the window, radiating the glow of hope. As we did, we could hear our loved ones encouraging us with every step. The peace and joy we felt in that field would come to us in time, but healing could not come until we faced the unknown journey ahead. Jasper knew Talia and I both needed to see that hope could prevail, and it has.
Stepping back through the window, I held onto the memory of that beautiful place. It would forever remind me that even in the darkness, we can turn our eyes toward hope and find the strength to face reality. Our loved ones, while gone, remain with us. Nothing will ever take the love we shared away. Hope will always be with us, even in the worst of places. The world in the window may have been a dream, but it still glows in the shadow of my mind, promising the glimmer of the eternal truth. Our future is bright.
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