She stood there, looking down into the casket; her first love was gone forever. All
the memories come flashing back that once was; the winter formal where they tried to keep the relationship a secret but got caught, the first date at BF Wang’s, the first summer together, the first beach date in their bathing suits, the first time they had sex at the beach, and their hiking adventure. A month after the break up Zeek was killed in a tragic quad runner accident where he hit a barbwire fence and nearly decapitated him. The doctors told her that he went away peacefully, but she chose not believe it. At first, she thought it could not be true, but unfortunately, it was. Now Annie is still standing at Zeek’s casket wondering what his last thoughts were. Was he thinking of his “best friend” Brooke or was he thinking of her? A tear streamed down her face as her new boyfriend, Casey, held her in his arms. The tear falls upon Zeek’s closed eyes making it look as if he were crying as well.
“I’ll never forget you Zeek. I will never forget all our memories that we had together. I really hope you’re safe and happy.” Annie walks away sobbing as Casey whispers, “He will always be with you.”
Annie goes back to her seat with a tissue in her left hand that Zeek’s grieving mother had handed her. She sits down and Casey takes her hand and kisses the top of it ever so gently. Then she starts to think of what Casey had said before she had left Zeek‘s side, ‘He will always be with you’. Those words started echoing inside Annie’s mind. “You know, what if I don’t want him to always be ‘with me’? He has already hurt me so much already. He never really loved me, did he? Or did he just want my virginity?” Annie thinks quietly to herself. Then she hears someone talking two rows down asking;
“Have you seen Annie? Have you seen Annie? Someone Talk TO ME!” Annie looks around and replies:
“Yes, I’m right here,” and everyone began to stare at her as if she was completely insane.
“ Aw, poor girl she is in so much pain that she thinks she hears voices,” an older woman in her eighty’s says to another woman in a pale pink dress in the row behind her. Annie slowly starts to slouch down into her chair and then Casey stares at her for a while and then says; “What was that all about? No one was speaking except the grieving mother.” Shrugging her shoulders, Annie looks straight ahead while the grieving mother gives a speech about her son. Annie looked beside her and there he was, Zeek!
“What is going on, why is everyone ignoring me and what are you doing with him!”

Annie looks over at him with a look on her face that can only be described as fear and sarcasm. Zeek looked straight into Annie’s soul. This rather freaked her out so she just squeezed Casey’s hand and Casey gazes over at her. She gets up to go to the restroom. As she’s walking to the back of the room, she glances back and see’s that Zeek is no longer sitting near Casey. He’s gone!! She turns her gaze back and walks into the Family Restroom and there he is, peeing in the urinal, “Um, am I in the wrong bathroom? “Why are you here Zeek?”, exclaimed Annie.
“Annie, I am really confused. What is happening out there? In addition, why are you with Casey? Where’s Whitney?” Annie steps back and points at the back of the restroom door “Funeral Home of Flemingsburg” then she looks back at him.
“So wait, I’m dead… and you brought Casey to my funeral! Are you just trying to kill me… metaphorically speaking.”
Annie takes one last step back before she responds, “Zeek, we’re at your funeral. You died in a quad runner accident. And really, you ask me where Whitney is at your funeral,? Don’t you think that is a little bit inconsiderate! Anyways, she is at the front row in a short low-cut black dress, smiling because she receives something from your will. I’m with Casey because you went straight to Whitney and I think I deserve to be a little happy.” After she spilled her guts, he vanished, so she went ahead, walked in the first stall, and sat down on the cold damp floor. She began to cry and then felt two arms wrapping around her.
“I’m sorry that I left you. I never should have left you in the first place because I love you more than the stars love the moon. I just wish we had another chance to be together… So maybe… Do you think…? We could get back together even thought I am dead.”
Quickly Annie rises up and turns around to see that there are tears streaming down his face.
“Zeek are you serious! You are dead! As much as I love you and miss you, I do not think this could work. What would I tell Casey? ‘Sorry but I can’t date you anymore because my dead ex-boyfriend came back from the dead to be with me’, Sorry but I really don’t think that’ll work”
He stares at her with his hazel eyes, tears streaming down his face.
“I made a huge mistake with letting you go. I just want to make this right.” Stepping out of the stall his grieving mother and Whitney starring at her.
“Um, Annie who are you talking too?’ The grieving mother questioned.
“Yeah Annie, who are you talking too? Cause obviously no one is in that stall.” taunts Whitney. Obnoxiously Whitney stared at her and covered her mouth to giggle. Instead of answering their questions, Annie walked out of the restroom and into the visiting quarters.

Once she enters the visiting quarters, she see is that Casey is looking straight at her. Annie walks down the aisle and sat down in her seat beside Casey, “Where were you? Your speech is coming up.” Casey grabs her hand and looks at her,
“I was in the bathroom doing my business and crying. Sorry I took so long.” Squeezing his hand, she started to think about what she was going to say, ‘Good evening everyone. I am Annie Hunt, Zeek’s ex-girlfriend. These last couple days have been awful for all of us to deal with a loss of someone we all loved dearly’ Nah, that would sound kind of off.
“No it wouldn’t. It would sound like all the other speeches I’ve heard at other funerals.” Zeek was sitting right next to Annie, again looking straight ahead.
“Get out of my head! Sorry but that’s just weird!” she replied.
“Sorry, can’t do that because you’re going to give a speech about me. So make it good because I’d say whole bunch of good things about you.” Zeek still staring straight ahead.
Annie looks at him with a smug look on her face. The announcer at the front of the room says “Annie, it’s time for you to make your speech.” Annie starts to get up and her legs start to give out, she collapses to the floor. She remembers hearing people scream and crying, the ambulance sirens, thinking, “Wow, Zeek was my first and my last, that’s just terrible.”
Arriving at the hospital, they rush Annie to the Emergency Room, her heart had stopped. She hovered over top of her body remembering that Zeek must be around her somewhere. She begins to hovers out of the Emergency Room when her body started to flash but she ignored it and went into the waiting room.
“Annie! You’re okay! You‘re… why isn’t everyone happy as me? Wait, your dead?”
Automatically she reached out to Zeek and kissed him repeatedly. “This isn’t how I wanted to kiss you again, but I’ll take it! I missed you so much.”
Zeek struggled to get free from her tuff grasp and looked at her with tears in his eyes,
“I love you Annie and so do all of these grieving people. Go back to them. Please, just do it for me. You know that I miss you but it is way too soon for you to leave all these people behind.” Annie was stunned by his reaction. She had made the decision to die and be with him. She didn’t like it but he was right, it was to soon to die. She went back in to the Emergency room where her body was waiting for her. The doctors and nurses tried everything to help her but it was just no use. Annie had to witness the doctor telling her parents the news. Her mother broke down onto the floor and started to cry hysterically. Tears began to stream down her face as she watched her mother. Annie floated out of the Emergency room and saw Zeek with a half smile, “Is there anyone you want to say good-bye to?”

Annie looked back at her mother and sobbed, “Should I really say good bye to her, she’s already in so much pain.” Annie’s mother gets up and looks directly at her,
“Annie? Is that you?”
“Yes Mommy it’s me. I am just here to say good-bye. I love you mommy! I will miss you. Do not worry. I am here with Zeek and he is going to lead me to the heavens. Mommy tell my friends that I will miss them greatly and that I will see them when they get here. Tell my father that I am happy where I am. Good-bye Mommy.” Annie’s mother reaches out to her as Annie steps back, taking Zeek’s hand.
“Are you sure that you are ready?”, her mother pleads.
“No! Wait!”, Annie cries tearfully. “I am not going to the heavens with you Zeek. There is just no way! How could I leave all the people that love me so much? I love you, you know that! I know that you know that, so I am going to go back and….” Annie’s ghostly body starts to flash out, “What’s happening? I don’t understand!”
“Annie hurry and go to your body. I think they are trying to revive you one more time… And it’s working!” Zeek exclaims. “But wait, before you go one last kiss”
The two press their lips together for a matter of five seconds and then Annie rushes over to the Emergency Room. One last time her ghostly body flashes and then she hears the beeping of the heart monitor. She is alive and when she wakes up she see that Zeek is holding her hand.
“Zeek, you are alive! You are alive aren’t you?” Annie reaches out her hands and touches his smooth pale skin with all the little freckles that she remembered.
“Annie, of course I’m alive. Babe you have been in a comma for the past two weeks. You fell down a flight of stairs. I am so glad that you’re okay.” He kisses the top of her forehead ever so gently then hands her a dozen roses and a teddy bear with “My Teddy Bear” printed on the stomach.
“So you mean I had a dream about you dying and... I am so confused.” She looks down and her mother enters with her brother and sister (Jacob and Jane).
“She’s awake! How long has she been up? Annie are you okay? You look so confused.”, the three family members exclaim.
“I am fine. Don’t worry about it. All that matter is that I am okay and that I am here with you all. My true love is by my side and… Whoa what is this big rock on my ring finger?” Annie looks down at the white gold, mystic fire topaz ring. She takes the ring off and there is an engraving on the inside of the ring that states; “You are my brown eyed girl and you are now mine. I love you Teddy bear, October 23, 2016”. A tear streams down her cheek and lands on Zeek’s hand. He smiles at her with pure passion in his eyes.
“So does that mean yes or no? I can’t tell.”
“Oh, you idiot, of course it means yes! I love you so much!” Annie puts the ring back on to her ring finger and Zeek presses his lips to Annie’s rosy red lips. The doctor walks into the room and tells everyone but Zeek to leave the room.
“I have either good news or bad news for the two of you, depending on how you take it. Annie, you are three months pregnant with a little girl. Congratulations! You’re parents.” Annie looks up at Zeek and he smiles, kisses her forehead and grabs her left hand.
“I love you so much Zeek! So what do you think about Isabella Kathleen Walker?” asked Annie sheepishly.
“It’s perfect! I love you too, but I’m a little freaked out.” replies Zeek a little dazed.
The couple stares into one another’s eyes and you could see a glimmer of light in their eyes. They were so happy to be right next to one another now completely intertwined.






THE END