Her near death experience wasn’t how so many people described. There was no tunnel with a white light. There was no door for her to knock on. No floating sensation, like a wispy cloud would sweep her away to heaven. No angels. No demons.
There was only a storm.
A dark night. A swirling vortex, like her life was being flushed down a toilet, but she never quite made it to the dank sewers. She hadn’t fought it though. They say don’t go into the light, but no one ever warns you about the storm. Maybe they figure it’s ominous enough to leave off the warning. Even with the lightning and thunder, even with the ferocious winds and the spattering of warm rain, she wasn’t scared.
She’d spun until all her memories were wrung from her. Her childhood, and parents who’d spoiled her too much. Christmases she’d long forgotten. Thanksgiving dinners with burnt Turkey, she’d choked down to spare her mother’s feelings. Her friendship with Beth. That time they’d pranked Mr. Solomon senior year and damn near gotten expelled for it. Her one-time crush on Ryan… that lasted an hour tops. Because once he got to talking, she realized he was friend material. Someone she could depend on.
When all her life lay before her, twisting in the same furious tornado, angling for the center, the drain that would take her to the end… that was when she’d heard it.
The weeping.
The saddest sound the world had ever heard. Heartbreak like she’d never experienced. Tragedy and regret that had no way of making restitution. A soul lost and wandering, unable to settle into death. One that ached so deeply to right a wrong, it could never escape the storm.
It wasn’t her. But it would be.
Josie was young, but had lived well. Her time had been good, full of memories that left her smiling, blushing, happy, and full. She was done. It was her time, and she was ready.
She’d closed her eyes, waiting for the storm to sweep her away.
Except it didn’t.
A desperate roar split the air. So powerful that somehow, the storm gave way, the vortex splitting like the Red Sea had for Moses. Josie felt a massive paw at her back and was swatted from the turmoil of death as easily as if she were a fly.
That was when she fought.
Blindly, because everything had gone black. Furiously, she wrestled a beast with fur. A snarling beast with teeth and claws. The vortex was where she belonged. She needed to get back there. With her memories and experiences and everything that was her.
Viciously, she fought, managing to pull pieces of herself back inside her, fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle, all while the beast struggled to push her farther and farther from the storm.
The thunder faded. The wind slowed.
Josie screamed and kicked, but the beast wouldn’t give. She could feel its desperation. The now or never, give my life for this cause, feeling. There’d be no winning for Josie. The beast was stronger. Had more to lose.
In a flash, the fur was gone but the darkness remained, and Josie had found herself face down in the dirt, a strong body atop her.
The weeping. It wouldn’t cease. The sound was broken and sad. A small crack in the air, seeping with ravaged emotions.
A hand, smaller than hers but a hundred times stronger, held her neck in a vice.
“I’m sorry. Do you understand that?” A woman’s voice spoke at Josie’s ear. “I’m so sorry, and he needs to know. I’ve seen what’s coming, and I’m responsible. This is the only way I can think to help him.”
Who?
Josie hadn’t spoken, but it didn’t seem to matter. The woman heard.
“You’ll know when he finds the bond. The bond will reveal much if you let it. But you must tell him for me, please.” Her voice strained with the plea, desperation ringing in Josie’s ear like an insistent bell. “Tell him how sorry I am. You can feel that, can’t you? How much I wish I hadn’t hurt him?”
Yes.
She could feel everything the woman described. As if she was somehow pushing her feelings into Josie. But she also felt something the woman hadn’t mentioned.
Love. So much love. The kind like Renner and Beth had. The kind that was so intense it made you ache.
The woman held her grip on Josie’s neck while she sobbed. Her hot tears fell onto Josie’s shoulder as she drew in a shaking breath.
“You’re a fighter. Exactly what he needs. A fighter, yes. I’m giving you everything you need to help him. My animal. Someday you’ll understand what that means. Until then… you get a second chance at life, hear me? Don’t waste it.” Another sob blasted past her throat. “Do not waste it. The cat will guide you, listen to it. And…” The woman shifted her weight to one side, her voice no longer at Josie’s ear. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”