Soft Whispers
written by: Nancy Lou Henderson
@nlhende49
Jill reached for her cell phone when the alarm began to play softly. While turning the alarm off, she sat in bed, wishing she could finish her dream but knowing it would repeat. For some reason, the dream had come to her every night for a week stopping at the same place. Then she would hear her alarm.
While Jill showered, she thought about her dream. She was in the library, standing in an aisle, looking at a book with a picture of a young couple on the cover. Hearing steps approaching her, she looked up to see a young man walking up to her. As their eyes met, Jill always felt her cheeks flush as the young man smiled then she would hear her alarm going off softly.
Being an avid reader, Jill frequented the library at least twice a week, Wednesday night after work and Saturday afternoons. Never getting tired of reading, she read poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, biographies, etc. Jill loved to curl up in a comfortable chair in a nook of the library. Then hold a book in her hands and get lost in its pages.
As Jill exited the shower, she laughed, knowing it was not a coincidence that this repeating dream was situated in a library. The questions running through her mind were: Where is this aisle? Where is the book? Who is the young man? Since it was Saturday, while getting dressed, Jill decided today she would spend the afternoon looking for that book and aisle.
Once arriving at the library and entering through the doors, Jill noticed that the library was eerily quiet and empty of people, but she really did not care because she was on a mission. Having thought about the book in her dreams, Jill reasoned the book could be a biography or a memoir. Of course, it could be just a dream, but undeterred by the possibility of that notion, she shook her head and then headed to the memoir section first.
Walking down one aisle after another, grazing through the books, Jill realized that her mission would be difficult and most likely nearly impossible. Hearing soft whispers, Jill turned a corner to find two ghostly figures standing close to one another.
One appeared to be a young man and the other a young woman. He was dressed in a military uniform, and she in a dress style that seemed to be from the 1940s. As Jill watched in awe, the young man placed a ring on the young woman’s finger and kissed her softly as they slowly disappeared.
Walking to where they had stood, Jill noticed a book sticking out on the shelf. The book had a picture of the young couple on the front. As she took the book from the shelf and held it in her hands, Jill immediately recognized it as the one from her repeating dream, and her heart began to race quickly. Holding the book against her chest, sighing with her eyes closed, Jill knew she had to learn more at that moment.
The sound of footsteps approaching surprised Jill, and she opened her eyes. Standing in the aisle in front of Jill was a young man. Jill felt her cheeks flush as their eyes met. Embarrassed by her flushing cheeks, Jill decided to introduce herself and found out his name was Jake.
Noticing Jill was holding a book in her hands, Jake asked her what she was reading. Then for some unknown reason, Jill told him how she found the book. As Jill showed him the front of the book, Jake smiled, and needless to say, Jill’s cheeks flushed again. Jake never flinched as Jill told him about the young couple but continued to smile at her. Then Jake asked Jill if she would like to know the couple’s story because they had been his Grandparents.
Jill shook her head yes then Jake asked her if she would like to have coffee with him in the Coffee Nook next door after they checked out the book. A few minutes later, Jake and Jill sat down in a booth with the book and two cups of coffee then Jake began to tell his Grandparents’ story.
Jake’s Grandfather’s name was Jed, and he was a young soldier when he met Jake’s Grandmother, Jane. Jed and Jane were instant soulmates but pressed for time together before he deployed overseas during WWII. Jed and Jane had met in the aisle where Jill had found their book.
After spending a week together, night and day, Jed proposed to Jane in the library in the aisle where they met, always promising to love her. Jane accepted his proposal and promised to wait on him forever. Jed deployed the next day.
Unknown to them both, Jane was pregnant with his son at the time. Jed and Jane wrote to each other daily, and Jane told him about the baby growing inside her. They even exchanged wedding vows in letters to each other, with Jed sending her a wedding ring made from a shoelace.
One day the letters stopped coming from Jake, and Jane knew before the army telegram came. She wrapped their newborn baby boy in a warm blanket and then carried him in her arms as she walked to the library. Jane entered the library with their son cozy in her arms and took him to the aisle where Jane and Jed had met. Standing in that aisle with closed eyes, Jane saw Jed’s face and felt him all around her as she introduced their son, Jed Jr., to his Dad.
Tears fell down Jill’s face as Jake told his Grandparents’ story. Jake opened the book and showed Jill that it contained letters Jed and Jane had written to each other, but most importantly, the letters with their wedding vows to each other.
Jake closed the book then Jill noticed the author’s name on the front, Jake Downing. Jill asked Jake if he had written the book, and he said yes.
Jake asked Jill if she would like to have lunch with him and then take a walk. Of course, she said yes. As they left the Coffee Nook, there was no doubt in either of their minds that faith had brought them together.
After a great lunch of laughter and flirting, Jake and Jill walked down the sidewalk around the lake. Jill’s mind was racing with questions for Jake, but she did not want to break the beautiful silence between them. Was his Grandmother still alive? Who was his mother? Did he have siblings? Should she tell him about her dream?
Turning her head to look at Jake, Jill’s eyes met his eyes looking at her. Again Jill’s face flushed, and she could feel her heart racing. Jake smiled at Jill, then took her hand in his, and the touch of his hand sent shivers through her body. Jill wondered if Jake could feel her body shivering, but she held his hand tightly.
As they walked on, suddenly, Jake broke the silence by asking Jill if she would like to know more about his Grandparents. Thinking he must be able to read her mind, Jill smiled as she told him yes.
Suddenly, Jake stopped walking, turned, looked deep into Jill’s eyes, and said, “Jill, I know this is going to sound crazy and forward, but I am overwhelmed by how I feel talking to you, holding your hand, and looking into your eyes. I have never felt anything like this, and I only want to hold you close and kiss you. So, if you want me to release your hand, step away from you, and walk away, please tell me right now.”
Jill’s heart was beating so quickly, and her mouth felt so dry that she was unsure that words could come out of her mouth, but she managed to squeeze Jake’s hand and then utter, “Jake, please don’t let go of my hand.”
Jake pulled Jill close to him without hesitation and kissed her very tenderly. During their embrace, there was no doubt in either of their minds that they were soulmates meant to be together. Jill knew she would soon tell Jake about her repetitive dream, but she also knew that night there would be no dreaming, only the reality of true love.
The following morning, Jill woke up nestled against Jake, and it felt like she had slept next to him for years. Looking at his face, Jill had no regrets and knew she never would.
For the next few weeks, Jake and Jill were nearly inseparable. Even when they were apart, there were constant phone calls and texts.
During the previous weeks, Jake and Jill read all of the letters that had passed between Jed and Jane. The letters were not only beautifully written about their love for each other, but they seemed to emit a powerful emotion of love from the pages. When Jake took Jill to pay respects to his Grandparents at their gravesite, Jake held her close to him as they stood looking at the spot that now held such great love.
Slowly tears ran down Jill’s cheeks as she stood next to Jed and Jane’s graves. Although overwhelmed with grief for their sudden loss of a beautiful future together, she was happy that they were now reunited and eternally together forever.
That evening, Jake and Jill had a quiet supper, then held each other on Jake’s porch sitting in the porch swing, making small talk about the stars above and the gorgeous moon. As their conversation dwindled to silence, Jill decided it was time to tell Jake about her dream.
Looking into Jill’s eyes, Jake only smiled when Jill told him the dream, then unexpectedly, Jake told Jill about his unusual dream. In Jake’s dream, his Grandmother had told him to go to the library to her special aisle. So, the next day he had done just that, then found Jill standing there with his book in her hands.
Both of them laughed as they realized Jake’s Grandmother, from beyond the grave, had set them up. How that was possible, they did not know, but they were okay with it.
Once they stopped laughing, Jake told Jill about his parents. Jake’s Dad, Jed Jr., spent lots of time in the library. It seems he went there to stand in the aisle where his Mom, Jane, had introduced him to his deceased Dad. It was Jed Jr.’s way of feeling close to his Dad and silently talking to the Dad whom he never knew.
One day, when Jed Jr. was lost in silent conversation with his Dad, a young woman approached him and asked him a question. One thing led to another, and months later, Jed Jr. asked the young woman, June, to marry him in that aisle where they had met. Later Jed Jr. and June were granted permission by the library to get married in that same aisle. Jed Jr. and June were very much in love, and a year later, they had a son, Jake.
Jake paused momentarily, telling Jill the story then his eyes began to water. Jill looked into his eyes, and she knew he was upset, but he smiled at her before continuing the story.
When Jake was a toddler, Jed Jr. and June decided to take a short trip together to New York. Thinking the journey would be difficult for their son, Jake stayed with his Grandmother, Jane. On the final leg of Jed Jr. and June’s trip home, their car was hit by a semi-truck, and they were killed instantly. Jake was raised by his Grandmother, Jane, from that day until adulthood.
Jake had not told her his parents were deceased, but then again, revealing a hurt that deep was not easy to do. Jake wept, as Jill, in shock at this revelation, tried to comfort him. Jill held Jake close to her until he regained his composure. Then they walked inside the house, got ready for bed, and cuddled until falling asleep.
Jake was gone when Jill woke the next morning, but a note was left on his pillow. The note said:
Jill,
Meet me at the library in our aisle at 10:00 A.M. I have something to show you. You own my heart. I love you.
Jake
Smiling and intrigued, Jill got out of bed and then headed to the shower. For some reason, she felt giddy inside, full of anticipation and questions. Was there another book? What could Jake have to show her?
At 10:00 A.M. sharp, Jill turned down the special aisle in the library. Jake stood in the middle of the aisle covered with rose petals. Dressed in an old Army uniform from WWII, Jake’s eyes were shining, and his smile was bigger than Texas.
Then Jill walked toward Jake, and he took her hands into his. After getting down on one knee, Jake said, “Jill, I love you so much, and I can not imagine having a future life without you by my side. Would you please do me the honor of being my wife?”
Tears of joy flowed down Jill’s cheeks as she answered, “Jake, it would be my honor to be your wife, and you are my future. I love you so much.”
Jake rose from his knee, embraced Jill with his arms, softly kissed her, and slid a well-worn Ole shoelace ring onto her finger.
That night, Jill and Jake wrote wedding vows to each other, sealed them in an envelope then mailed them to their address. The next day they began writing a letter to each other once a day to tell one another how much they loved each other.
In early May of the same year, with the library’s full approval, Jake and Jill married in the special aisle, standing on a floor full of rose petals. Jake dressed in an old WWII Army uniform, and Jill in a dress of Jake’s Grandmother Jane’s from the 1940s. After saying their special vows written for each other, Jake and Jill placed a copy of each into the book that Jake wrote, then returned the book to its unique place on the library shelf.
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