Letters From the Here-Before

“I don’t understand why we were invited here.” Tabitha Holderman grabbed her husband's hand as she mustered the courage to ask this question. Owen gently squeezed, acknowledging that she was on the right track.

The young man she was talking to understood her question. He answered her with the utmost gentleness and respect. “Mrs. Holderman, thank you for accepting our invitation. All of this will be evident in a few minutes, but for now, let me assure you that you are here at the specific request of Kelly Rittenaugh.”

“Kelly? We attended her funeral long ago, and her testament was somberly read to us. Her dogs live with us now. The last time I checked, the dead don’t make requests.” Tabitha was confused, and mentioning her dearest friend’s name reopened some wounds that had only recently healed. Owen’s grip on her hand got tighter.

“I understand that this is hard and kind of strange, but I assure you are here at the request of Kelly Rittenaugh. I also know that you are the twelfth family I’ve walked through this process. And so far, none of them have regretted accepting our invitation. Unfortunately, I have to get you both to sign these documents because of the nature of what we are about to show you.” The young man reached into a briefcase and handed them both a folder with their names on it. The document itself was a few pages long.

“Normally, people rush through documents, get to the bottom, and just sign. I need you both to thoroughly read this document before you sign it. The central part is a non-disclosure agreement that explains that we, well TxC, will not reveal your names or the content of what we show you to anyone else. In return, we would request the same from you. If there is anything unclear in this, please ask me. Also… if you would like a lawyer to look at this document, we can do this another day, and we will reimburse both of you for your legal fees. I am required to watch you both read the document, but after you both have read it, I completely understand if you need to talk to each other without me in the room.”

The young man sat back respectfully in his chair as the couple began reading the lengthy document. Tabitha looked slightly agitated but continued reading the pages.

Owen quietly read, taking in the ramifications of what it said. He finally had read enough to ask a question. “So, I don’t understand. This talks as if Kelly is still alive.”

“Yes, I understand how that seems confusing. And there is just no easy way to explain this. What we are going to show and give you, at her request, is from her. And it was written after the accident, but Kelly is no longer with us. Sadly, she is gone from our lives, and I am sorry that this must be painful. Please understand that it will make a little more sense when you see what she has given you. “

At this reply, Owen nodded and continued reading.

They finished at about the same time and considered what they had just read. Owen glanced at his wife, who had a somber look of determination.

She turned to face the young man, “May I have a pen?”

The young man sat up. “Mrs. Holderman, I would encourage you to discuss this with your husband before signing. Even though I represent TxC, I  want you to understand that this document takes away some of your rights. I don’t want you to have regrets about signing it.” The concerned look on his face was sincere.

Tabitha again turned to her husband. They had been married long enough to understand each other’s unspoken languages. His supportive nod told her everything she needed to know. “Kelly wanted to show me something, and this ‘thing’ was important to her. That’s all I need to know. I don’t care about all of your legal mumbo-jumbo. I read it, and I understand what it says. I think both of us are ready to sign it.”

The young man nodded in understanding. He reached into the inner pocket of his suit and pulled out two pens. He handed them over, and both signed and dated the form.

Once signed by the couple, the young man signed them as well. “Okay, thank goodness that is out of the way. I'm not too fond of that part of this process. I’m sorry that it is always awkward. Before you leave, I will give you both notarized copies of this document for your personal records.”

The young man reached over and pressed a button on the phone resting on the table. Within a few moments, another attendant arrived, taking the documents to be duplicated.

“Well, let’s continue, shall we?”

Owen reached over and grabbed Tabitha’s hand as they both stood to follow the attendant out of the room.

“Right this way.” The young man smiled and walked down the hallway. After walking 100 feet, he turned down another corridor. Each of the rooms in this hall had temporary nameplates adorning their doors. The attendant stopped at the one labeled ‘Holderman.’

“Well, this is the room. I will leave you now. You will just have to take my word for it, but there are no recording devices and no cameras in there. There is a phone, and you will need to press the button that says ‘secure.’ This will altogether disable the phone and give you privacy. When you are done or need something, press the ‘secure’ button again, then press the ‘page’ button, and I will come over quickly. I have taken the liberty of placing some fresh waters in there and tissues.” The attendant smiled and held his hand out to the door.

Owen hesitantly reached for the knob as he took a deep breath. When the door opened, the room was pleasantly lit. A table with a phone and four surrounding chairs dominated the floor. In the middle of the table were two items in sealed plastic envelopes. One was labeled ‘Owen Holderman,’ and the other ‘Tabitha Holderman.’

“Thank you for your kindness.” These were the first pleasant words Tabitha had spoken to him all morning.

The attendant looked at her with understanding, smiled, and nodded. He turned to Owen and said, “I hope what you see will give you some peace. If there are any more questions for me, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will answer them, or I will find someone who can.” With this, he turned and walked away.

Tabitha was the first to enter the room. Staring down at the envelopes, she could see Kelly’s handwriting on the paper envelope inside the plastic pouch. The sight momentarily took her breath away, filling her with some trepidation.

“You should open your package first, Tabs,” Owen said as he put his hand on his wife’s shoulder empathetically. The touch startled her for a moment. Then warm comfort replaced her initial shock. She nodded as they both sat on the same side of the table.

Owen looked at the phone and found the ‘secure’ button to press. He pressed it as Tabitha reached for the plastic pouch. She held it for a few seconds before trying to open it. “I’m glad you are here with me. I think this is going to be tough, Owen.”

Owen just nodded his head in understanding. He saw the tissue box and decided to preemptively grab a tissue for his wife.

She opened the pouch, revealing a letter in an envelope and another small envelope with some thicker object. She decided to look at the letter first. Tabitha examined the envelope closely. The writing on the front was unmistakably Kelly’s. She instinctively put her fingers on the writing as a single tear fell off her cheek.

The paper used here was strange. It looked like some sort of specialty paper you would find in an eclectic stationery section of a store. Tabitha thought how un-Kelly like this was, but she smiled at the remembrance of her dear friend.

Nervously, she opened the envelope and began reading.

Tabitha,

I hope this letter finds you and Owen well. I have so much to share with you, but I don’t want to overwhelm you, so let’s just start with the simple things.

This letter is my opportunity to share with you and Owen how thankful I am for both of you. I know I probably didn’t say this enough, but you two were my family. You took care of me, protected me, and treated me like your own daughter.

I love you both so much. And before I get into any more. I wanted you to know that not a day goes by that I don’t think about you, our friendship, and how much I miss you two. Please know that you saved me from the self-destructive path that I was on, and I am forever thankful for you and Owen. You were the best two parents that I ever had. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have to stop writing for a bit because I am overwhelmed right now.

Okay, I’m back. Now I will tell you something that may not make sense, but I promise you it is the truth. Two weeks ago was my 31^st birthday. I know what you are thinking: you passed away at 29! How can you write a letter post-mortem?

Well, I was working on a project for TxC, and, without going into much detail, something happened that sent our entire team way back in time. This whole thing is so bizarre, but you are reading a letter I wrote hundreds of years ago.

First of all, I am sure TxC made up some story about how we died in an accident. We really didn’t die. Please don’t blame them. We signed up for this, and they did everything to ensure our safety. Our project would have been dangerous if it got into the wrong hands, so there had to be this sort of secrecy around it. If you are reading this letter, they have honored our wishes.

I wanted you to know that all 16 of us on the ship are safe and settled into our new life. This crew is exceptional in every way. We have made our own community, and it is doing well.

By the way, Cody just came in and wanted me to tell you ‘hello’ and that he is sorry that he is missing poker night with Owen. He also says he misses your fantastic guacamole. For the record, I do, too (I’ll probably write the same thing in Owen’s letter).

While we are on to hellos, please give my boys some love for me. I miss them so much too. I hope they haven’t been too much of a bother for you two. You already watched them more than me because of work, so I figured it was okay. I even miss Starsky’s slobber and Hutch’s barks in the middle of the night. They always loved you two, so I knew they were in good hands.

I put you two as my benefactors. I hope that was okay because I never asked you. Hopefully, the money has only helped better your life. It is only a token of what your friendship has been worth to me. I imagine it was kind of cool becoming a multi-millionaire overnight. Hopefully, Owen bought that classic Harley he always wanted, and you got that herb garden you always dreamed of having.

All I ask is that you please don’t give it all to your church. I know you, Tabitha, and I’m sure that ran through your mind. I’m okay with you giving chunks of it to them. They blessed me too, but please save some of it for yourself and your future.

Okay, I have my own cabin here, and I love what we’ve been able to do. We built all of the cabins ourselves, and they are lovely. We have running water and even a toilet. Things that most of Europe doesn’t have right now.

What do I miss? Coffee, the boys, clean clothes, Rock and Roll, flying, our friendship… oh, and that cute barista at Seymore’s.

I wanted you to know that I don’t regret my life in any way, shape, or form. Maybe I was made just for this time. I feel alive and vibrant. It is like a completely new start for me in many ways, which isn’t all bad.

I have written you a lot more about my life here on the following pages, but I just wanted this first letter to let us cover the basics.

I also have a gift for you. Inside the other envelope is a small piece of jewelry I came across in the small village near where we live. When I saw it, it screamed TABITHA at me. I hope you like it.

It stinks that this conversation has to be one-way. I need your wisdom on so many things. Still, I’ve used so much of what you taught me in solving problems around here. I’ve been in conversation with someone and thinking to myself: Wow! That’s just what Tabitha would have said. It would give me a chuckle but again reminded me of how dear you are.

I am going to wrap this first letter up for right now. Just know that I love you and Owen to the moon and back.

Love

Kelly

Tabitha put down the page while Owen studied her intently. The combination of tears and smiles left him confused. She slowly gazed at her husband and heartily hugged him.

“Our girl is all right, and I am so thankful. I think you should open yours next, and I’ll wait to read more of mine.”

Owen hugged her back and turned to his plastic pouch. Any fear he had about its contents had now dissipated.