Don’t Blink

It was someone’s house, a place lost to my memory, tucked away somewhere in the folds of time.

Was it this year? Or perhaps a few years into the future?

I found myself there with my family, my parents and sisters lingering off to the side, while my childhood friend Elissa animatedly chatted with someone.

As I glanced over, my heart skipped.

It was her—the most exquisite lady I had ever seen.

It was Tammy.

She was alive, radiant, and flourishing, embodying the age she would have been this year—around 53 or 54.

Her beauty was breathtaking, a vision of health and vitality that seemed too good to be true.

I stood frozen, tethered by my fears, unable to summon the courage to approach her.

Instead, I lingered in the shadows, my heart pounding with longing and disbelief. Finally, I mustered my courage and stepped forward.

As I began to speak, it felt as if I were a stranger to her. Perhaps the years had fogged her memory; after all, it had been 11 long years since she had left us.

She regarded me with a look of confusion, as though trying to recall a name once whispered in the warmth of shared moments.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked, my voice trembling.

She paused, her brow furrowing in thought, before venturing a guess. “Jessie, right?”

“No… Tammy, it’s Kayci… your goddaughter.”

In that instant, her entire demeanor shifted.

Her expression blossomed, transforming into a radiant smile that illuminated her face.

She spoke my name, wrapped in an embrace of warmth and love that filled the air around us.

She pulled me close, enveloping me in a hug so tight it felt as if she had been yearning for me as deeply as I had for her.

Tears glistened in her eyes, and they mirrored my own—the floodgates opened, and I couldn’t hold back the emotion any longer.

I stood there, unsure of how to respond, my mind racing. All I could think was… She’s back.

My godmother.

My second mom.

The most beautiful, cherished lady in my life is alive again, glowing with health.

I didn’t know how it had come to be, but it was real.

Then, I stepped back, inhaling deeply, blinking away the haze of dreamlike wonder.

Just like that, she was gone.