In pursuit of lost love

Filled with excitement and anticipation, Karmen glanced at the clock. It was 4:35 in the afternoon. Her husband, Tom, would be home by six, and she eagerly awaited his return. She turned on the oven to 180 degrees Celsius as the recipe she got from the internet suggested. While the oven was heating up, she took the large chicken she had bought that afternoon and began filling its cavity with the stuffing she had prepared earlier. The stuffing, a medley of chopped red onion, leek, shiitake mushroom, sultanas, and barberries, seasoned with plenty of saffron and other spices, all cooked in melted butter, filled the kitchen with an irresistible aroma. The enticing scent of the stuffing made her mouth water. Then, she placed pieces of butter under the chicken's skin and gently massaged it until evenly distributed. Finally, she put the big chicken in a larger Pyrex dish and covered it with aluminum foil. By the time she finished preparing the chicken, the amber light of the oven had turned off, indicating that the oven's temperature had reached 180 degrees and was ready for use.

As Karmen placed the seasoned chicken in the oven, she glanced at the clock on the wall and noted that it was 4:50 pm. Anticipating a cooking time of around one hour and 30 minutes, she estimated that dinner would be ready by 6:30 pm. She then carefully attended to the dining table to create a unique atmosphere that matched the occasion. She meticulously arranged a vibrant bouquet of freshly picked daisies in a crystal vase as the centerpiece and placed a beautifully wrapped box, a present, next to Tom's designated seat. It was Tom's birthday, and Karmen was determined to ensure that it was a memorable and delightful celebration for him. Every detail, from the cutlery's placement to the tablecloth's choice, was carefully considered, reflecting her deep love and unwavering dedication.

Tom's absence became increasingly noticeable as the time passed from 6:00 to 6:30 and 7:00. A growing concern slowly replaced Karmen's initial excitement, and a sense of nervousness began to creep in. She anxiously grabbed her phone and sent a message to Tom, her heart filled with worry. "Tom, where are you? If you're going to be late, please let me know." Yet her plea for his whereabouts remained unanswered. Fifteen agonizing minutes passed, and Tom's response failed to arrive. So she called her husband, her heart pounding with each unanswered ring. Each ring felt like a diminishing hope as Tom's phone continued to go unanswered. Lost and consumed by worry, Karmen reached out to Walter, Tom's colleague and friend, in a desperate attempt to find her husband.

"Walter's speaking?" he answered on the first ring.

"Hi, Walter, this is Karmen."

"Is everything all right, Karmen?" he inquired, sensing the urgency in her voice.

"Sorry for bothering you. Do you know where Tom is?"

"Isn't he home?"

"No, he is late tonight!"

"We left the office around five o'clock. Could he have stopped somewhere on his way home?"

"I don't think so. He would tell me."

"I honestly don't know where he is. Sorry, Karmen."

"Not at all. Thanks."

"Would you ask him to call me when he arrives?" Walter said, sounding worried.

"I will, thank you, Walter."

It was nearly midnight, and the roasted chicken remained untouched on the kitchen table, now cold and unappealing. Tom hadn't arrived home yet, and Karmen's heart was filled with worry and anxiety; she didn't know what to do. She had called the police earlier, but they dismissed his absence as not being serious. "Ma'am, men often lose track of time when drinking with their friends," the officer said.

Karmen wanted to accept the police officer's suggestion, but being naturally shy, Tom seldom accompanied anyone outside.

She had already contacted her in-laws, and they were on their way to her house.

It was nearly 1:00 a.m., and Karmen was weeping. "Something bad must have happened to Tom. He has never been late like this," she murmured.

Despite her worries, Ann, her mother-in-law, tried to soothe her. "Don't worry, my dear. There must be something happening at his work. Tom will show up soon."

"If something unprecedented happened at his workplace, he would call me," she said, dismissing her mother-in-law's comment.

The sound of the doorbell suddenly echoed inside the building. Karmen leaped from her chair and dashed to the door, flinging it open, ready to confront Tom for being late and leaving her in the dark. However, upon seeing two uniformed police officers at the door, she became paralyzed with fear and lost her voice. She sensed they were there to give her unwelcome news.

"Mrs. Karmen Brown," the highest-ranking officer stated.

"Yes," she responded in a barely audible voice. By then, her in-laws had arrived at the door.

"We regret to inform you that your spouse, Mr. Thomas Brown, passed away in a tragic car accident earlier tonight. Please accept our sincere condolences."

Ann let out a short cry upon hearing the officer's statement and fainted. Karmen and George, Tom's dad, stood frozen, unable to comprehend the news as they locked eyes with the officers.

"No, no! It can't be true. It is his birthday tonight," Karmen weakly protested.

"We are very sorry, ma'am, for this tragic event," the officer said.

With tears in his eyes and a hoarse voice, George asked, "Where is my son now?"

"Sir, your son's body has been transferred to the coroner's office. Tomorrow, you can claim the body. Please call me at this number, and I will take care of the paperwork," the officer said, handing over his business card.

While planning the funeral, Karman came across an advertisement in the funeral directory's information pack. The ad, placed by a company called AfterLife, caught her attention with a bold claim, "We will bring your loved one's memory back to life." Initially, Karman dismissed the advertisement. However, a few weeks after the funeral, when she was overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness and longing for her late husband, the ad resurfaced in her mind. Karmen quickly searched for "AfterLife" on her phone and easily found the company's website.

Afterlife's innovative concept aimed to provide a lifelike representation of a deceased individual by creating a digital avatar of them. The process began by gathering the deceased's personal information, including digital records such as photographs, videos, and audio clips. Next, the company would scour the internet and social media platforms to compile the deceased person's digital footprint. Using the comprehensive collected data, a sophisticated AI system would subsequently create a lifelike digital avatar of the deceased. Through this advanced technology, family and friends could engage with a realistic digital version of their loved one, fostering an ongoing sense of closeness and connection. Despite the concept's futuristic and far-fetched nature, Karmen's deep yearning for Tom compelled her to contact the company.

After engaging in a thorough discussion with a knowledgeable AfterLife representative, during which all her concerns were carefully addressed and her queries satisfactorily resolved, Karmen made the well-considered decision to avail herself of their services. She enrolled in membership with AfterLife, which turned out to be more affordable than she initially expected. Now, as they requested, she had to sort through her archive and provide everything she could find from Tom, whether digital or analog.

As Karmen navigated through her digital archives, searching through her photos and video clips, a flood of memories surged within her. Each image and recording captured joyful moments, from their first date to their adventurous travels. They preserved their laughter and happiness as if they would be together forever. The voice messages left by him expressed words of love and affection that warmed her heart and deepened the pain of not having Tom in her life anymore. With every digital file Karmen uploaded to AfterLife's server, a profound sadness washed over her. The sadness of her lost love, the affection they once shared, ended with Tom's sudden passing. Karmen completed the requested task with a heavy heart, knowing those memories would forever hold a special place in her heart.

After a few months, Karmen gradually adjusted to life without Tom. Even though she keenly felt his absence, she began establishing a new routine. The demands of her daily life and her job filled her time, providing a welcome distraction from her grief and helping her to heal gradually. She had nearly forgotten about AfterLife and her subscription with them.

While assisting a demanding client at work one morning, she received a phone call. Since the number wasn't saved in her contacts, she disregarded it, assuming it was either a telemarketer or a spam caller. However, the caller persisted, causing her concern as they attempted to reach her multiple times over the next few days. The caller seemed desperate to get in touch with her. This was unusual, as telemarketers and spammers would only bother calling a phone if the owner was eager to answer their calls. This made her wonder about the caller's identity and urgency. So she answered the next coming call, "Hello?"

"Hi, babe. Why don't you answer your phone?"

Upon hearing the voice, a shiver went down her spine. It was Tom on the other end of the line. "Tom," she answered in a trembling voice.

"To be precise, I am Tom's avatar," he explained.

"Oh!" she answered, still in shock.

"I just called to say hello and find out how you are doing. But if it's not a good time, I will call you later, maybe tomorrow."

"OK," she said in a state of shock. Eerily, it was Tom's voice.

"OK, I'll call tomorrow, but you can reach me anytime. Love you, Kari," he said. He even called her Kari instead of Karmen, as Tom used to.

Despite his reassuring explanation that it was Tom's avatar and not him, Karmen found it difficult to calm her frazzled nerves. Even though she knew it was an advanced AI mimicking her lost love's voice, the experience felt eerily real. It felt as if Tom was reaching out to her from beyond the grave, stirring a whirlwind of emotions within her. This advanced technology might become widely used in the future. Still, for Karmen, who was raised in a conservative Catholic family, the experience felt surreal and almost sinister. Her long-held beliefs and values were being directly challenged, causing her to question everything she had been taught.

She missed Tom a lot, and hearing his voice comforted her. She didn't wait long. Despite her mixed feelings, she called the number less than an hour later with tears of anticipation in her eyes.

"Hello, babe. I knew you would call back."

"Why did you leave me?" Carmen asked as she wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Kari. It was beyond my control. Death comes without warning."

"I miss you, Tom."

"I miss you too, Kari. How have you been since I passed?"

"It's tough not having you here with me," she responded.

"I can't imagine how hard it must be for you, Kari."

"Tough, Tom."

After a lengthy silence, he said, "Let's have a video chat."

"Sure," Karmen said, feeling a sense of unease as she contemplated the unknown experience that lay ahead.

She could feel her heart pounding as she hesitantly tapped the icon to start the video chat. Within moments, Tom's familiar face, with its mischievous smile that she had come to adore, appeared on the screen of her phone. He was wearing the red T-shirt she had carefully picked out for him. Seeing Tom's face brought forth a surge of conflicting emotions within her. There was joy at seeing him again, but at the same time, a creeping sense of unease washed over her. A voice in her mind whispered that Tom was no longer alive, and the image before her was something else entirely, something sinister, sending shivers down her spine. Despite her inner voice advising otherwise, she continued conversing with him.

Throughout the afternoon, they deeply engaged in an animated conversation that seemed never to end. Tom's avatar was an uncannily accurate representation of his true self. Karmen had a hard time accepting that it wasn't him. Soon, having video chats with Tom became her daily practice. She gradually withdrew from social interactions with her friends and coworkers, preferring to spend her time in the peaceful surroundings of her home, engaging in conversations with Tom's avatar.

Initially, she kept her conversations with her deceased husband's avatar a secret, but later, she confided in her close friends about the AfterLife app and her chats with her late husband. To her surprise, her friends disapproved of her actions and considered it immoral. "To move on and start fresh, you need to let go of your grief," her close friend Portia advised. However, Karmen couldn't resist the daily conversations with Tom, reliving their shared memories.

Karmen continued this practice for another year until she had a dream about Tom. In her dream, they were climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which they had planned to do before Tom's untimely death. They were halfway up the mountain when Tom stopped. While he gasped for air, he faced Karmen and said, "Kari, life is like climbing a mountain. To succeed and reach the peak, you must look ahead and leave the past behind."

Suddenly, she woke up and sat up in bed, her heart pounding. The dream was a message from Tom, sent from beyond the grave, urging her to find peace and move forward. The idea of Tom not being happy with her communicating with his avatar weighed heavily on her mind, keeping her awake for the rest of the night. When morning came, she contacted AfterLife and canceled her subscription.