Part 8- Where the Light Leads
Christmas Eve, 2005
Julia Jensen, now twenty-one years old, was racing to get home from New York University, where she was majoring in medicine. It was her birthday today, and traffic had been horrible. She would be sorely late for her own party. The snow was coming down in blankets and she was having difficulty seeing through her windshield.
Jennifer and Richard were flying in with their families, and Katie would be there with Tyler. Katie had gotten into modeling and now she was pregnant. They were going to be married in February, and Katie was due in July. They lived out in California, so Julia rarely got to see them.
As for Julia herself, she had been with James Flaherty since she met him in freshman year of college. They were engaged. It seemed that Julia had not fully forgotten Tim, though. However, she was not to the point she needed psychological treatment, though. She only thought of him every now and then, or if he was brought up in conversations. She still visited his grave when she was in town, and she would tell him all the events of college. However, she never cried over him again. She also thought of Alex and visited him when she had a chance. Dep inside her heart, she knew they were never really gone. They were always there with her. Tim was always there beside her the whole time.
As the snow swirled around, her vision was obstructed. She skidded to stop at the intersection but her tires spun on ice and she rammed into a telephone pole. She was killed instantly on impact.
She could see a blinding white light. She had seen this light before, and she knew exactly where it led. She ran into the light, knowing she was safe now. Once inside the light, she felt a touch on her hand. A still-fifteen-years-old Tim was there with her, along with the survivors of Flight 180 and the Route 23 accident. They looked as real as they had ever been- like they were still alive. She didn't cry- she just put her arms around Tim and kissed him before the survivors.
"Come with me," his voice echoed. He took her by the hand and led her to a tall, broad-shouldered man with blonde hair.
"Did I die?"
"Yeah, but it wasn't part of the design. You died before in that fire, remember, when you fell? That and the smoke inhalation killed you, but they brought you back afterward."
"It's strange..."
"Julia, I want you to meet my father. Dad, this is the girl I told you about."
"Julia Jensen, welcome to our family."
"Juliebean, you'll be beautiful forever. You'll never grow old, you'll never feel pain."
"It's just strange because you died when we were fifteen. I'm 21 now."
"Not anymore. Look at me. I'll change for you. See? This is what I would've looked like if I hadn't gotten smashed like a bug under a microscope."
Julia both laughed and cried at this. Nora came to her husband's side and smiled at Julia. She then pointed to the rest of the crowd.
"Welcome home," said a familiar voice to Julia. She turned around and the crowd parted to show her Alex Browning. He smiled and embraced her tightly.
The two entered the gates of Heaven, never looking back, never letting go. Destiny really had kept them together, just not in the way they had intended...
