<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister asks, “Do you take this woman\u2026?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His words fade to the background as I look into my bride’s glistening blue eyes. She is so beautiful, so lovely, adorned in her flawless white wedding gown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I do,\u201d I answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can I be so lucky? I never dreamed I would find love again after Karen lost her brave fight against the intruder called \u201cCancer.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We shared thirty-two wonderful years of love, laughter, and a life I thought would never end. But one day she was gone\u2014torn cruelly from my arms\u2014leaving me to grieve all alone in a bitter, cold world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then I met this most perfect woman standing next to me. She reminds me of Karen in so many ways. She looks like the healthy pre-cancer version of Karen\u2014she talks like her, acts like her, laughs like her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some dreams really do come true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hear the words, “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My bride pauses, overcome with emotion, tears flowing down her cheeks. Tears of joy, just like mine. This is the moment I\u2019ve waited for, the moment she will be mine to love, honor, and cherish forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She nods. \u201cI do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I reach for her hand; she leans towards me and kisses me. A long, passionate kiss\u2014warm and familiar\u2014a kiss I never want to end. Our lips part reluctantly; she squeezes my hand and whispers, \u201cI will see you soon, my love.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She dissolves before me like a wisp of smoke, her fingers slipping from mine, though I try desperately to hold on. <\/em>Where did she go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo!\u201d I cry. \u201cPlease don\u2019t leave me!\u201d The room spins in a dizzy kaleidoscope of color, and I can\u2019t breathe. I feel weak, and my legs buckle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I fall into a black abyss, suffocating, flailing, falling faster and deeper with every second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My momentum slows; I see a pinprick of light growing larger and brighter. I must have passed out. How embarrassing. I need to get back to the wedding. Back to my bride. My wife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I feel a touch on my shoulder and hear a distant voice. \u201cMr. Carson, are you okay?\u201d A blurred shape above me slowly comes into focus. \u201cI think you were having a bad dream. Here, drink some water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s Nurse Lenora. <\/p>\n\n\n\n My mind clears, and my eyes adjust to the soft light of my surroundings. I remember where I am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m in hospice. It was all a dream\u2014the final, longing dream of a dying man. A bad dream? Maybe. But it was the very best bad dream I\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m suddenly at peace with myself and the world I\u2019m going to leave. I\u2019m ready to see my beautiful bride\u2014my wife\u2014and be with her forever. I’m ready right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I take my last breath. \u201cI love you, Karen\u2026 I\u2019m on my way\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The minister asks, “Do you take this woman\u2026?” His words fade to the background as I look into my bride’s glistening blue eyes. She is so beautiful, so lovely, adorned in her flawless white wedding gown. “I do,\u201d I answer. How can I be so lucky? I never dreamed I would find love again after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,27],"tags":[30],"class_list":["post-2144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama-literary","category-supernatural","tag-flash"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-Forever-Bride.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2144"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4189,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2144\/revisions\/4189"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistytales.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}