The house seemed empty without her. Karl sat on the sofa, thinking of his wife, watching T.V. Their six year old son sat on the carpet, not really watching Bugs Bunny. Jason rose and went over to his dad.

‘I miss mummy’ Jason confided in Karl, his father.

‘I know, I do too,’ Karl said back as he lifted up and hugged his son. They sat there hugging for a while, until Jason suddenly broke the silence,

‘What was she like? I can’t remember… before… before she got sick?’

Karl smiled weakly, tears beginning to form in his eyes, as he remembered. ‘She was happy, loved life, even danced in the street in front of me. She thought that everything happened for a reason, never regretted anything she had a choice in, looked outgoing, but really was shy and needed someone strong…’

‘You?’ Jason interrupted his dad.

Karl smiled at his son, ‘Yes, I suppose that was me.’

‘You miss her don’t you?’ Jason asked looking up into his dad’s face.

‘Everyone who ever met her misses her a lot. She brightened up everyone’s life and made a lot of people feel young inside,’ Karl explained as he rocked Jason in his arms.

‘I dream about her sometimes, she says silly things that don’t make sense’ Jason told his dad.

‘Sounds like her, although that’s probably just the dream. What does she say?’ Karl asked.

‘Silly things, like ‘tell daddy I love him even with Chile sauce’, and ‘humming birds’ and ‘the door opens inwards…’ Jason said, stopping as his father tensed.

‘Jason… Those were things we used to say when we were going out… How did you hear about them?’ Karl asked, feeling like someone had slapped him round the face.

‘Mummy said them in my dream’ Jason replied, ‘I never heard them anywhere else.’ Karl sat there stunned and thought, ‘Could it be true? That she is talking to him in his dreams, letting him know she’s still around. ‘Sandra? My dear Sandra… Oh god, what if she really is talking to him?’ Jason stared at his father curiously.

‘Daddy?’ Karl suddenly focused on him, as if seeing him for the first time,

‘Jason, can you hear her when your awake?’

Jason looked sheepish and nodded. ‘I thought you would think I was imagining it…’ Karl smiled for the first time properly since Sandra had died.

‘What is she saying now?’ he asked, hoping.

Jason screwed up his face and whispered ‘Mummy? Daddy wants to know what you are saying.’ Karl leaned closer to Jason, half expecting to hear her voice again.

‘Mummy says ‘Rar’.. What does rar mean?’ Jason asked.

‘My God, it’s real, you can hear her…’ Karl sat there stunned.

—————————–

‘Daddy… Mummy wants to tell you something important.’ Jason said as he shook his father awake.

‘Mmmm, whassit?’ Karl mumbled as he rubbed sleep from his eyes an face.

‘Mummy wants to talk to you’ Jason repeated.

‘Yes Sandra?’ Karl asked, feeling fully awake now.

‘She says that she’s not coming back.’ Jason told his dad formally.

‘Huh? What do you mean Sandra?’ Karl asked bewildered.

‘Mummy says you aren’t talking to me enough now, and she thinks that it would be better if she left us…’

‘Sandra, no.. Please don’t go.’ Karl begged beginning to cry with the impeding loss.

‘Daddy? She said she loved you and then whispered goodbye to me. She’s gone daddy. Mummy’s gone’ Jason said as he patted his dad’s arm. Karl buried his face in his hands and wept.