3 o ' clock

She woke up in the middle of the night to a strong gust of wind, as her bedroom shudders flung open. She raced to the window to pull the shudders towards her, until they were fastened shut and locked securely. She let out a huge sigh of relief. She could not help but notice a shadow of a man standing in the grass one story beneath her. "Could it be?" She asked herself in a breathless whisper. She shook her head no, pushed away the thought, and crawled back into bed, for it was only 3' o clock.

Fast forward to that afternoon, she was leaving school grounds to get into her little compact vehicle and go down to the seashore to get in some journaling before supper. She noticed a man standing off to the distance, standing beside a tree, as she reached inside her purse to pull out her car keys. She happened to catch a glance at her watch, as she unlocked her vehicle, it was 3 o clock pm.

Later that evening, she laid awake, restless, struggling to fall asleep, although quite fatigued. She just could not seem to shake the thought of the man she saw earlier the afternoon, as well as the shadow of the man she saw earlier that morning when suddenly woken up by that strong gust of wind.

She eventually fell asleep. Then at 2:45 am, she woke up to use the bathroom. She climbed back in bed, closed her eyes, as she attempted to get a little more shut eye before facing the big day ahead of her. It was her wedding day. Then all of a sudden, the sound of a truck pulling up, rather quickly in her unpaved pebbled driveway approached her.

She raced to the window to see who it was. The man in the green truck had shut off all his lights and stepped out of his vehicle. Just a shadow of a man stood there leaning against the truck, legs crossed, holding a bouquet of flowers. She happened to catch a glimpse of the time over her shoulder. It was exactly 3:00 am! So weird. He called out her name. She opened her window and reached for her binoculars, out of her top nightstand drawer. She got a much closer look of the fine young man. What she saw bewildered her!

The man resembled her late husband, twenty years before his passing. They could be twins! " Am I dreaming?" She asked herself. She called out to him. She heard a faint whisper, " See you at 3'oclock!' Then as quick as she can blink her eyes, the image was gone.

She knew that she knew that she knew that was the ghost of her late husband attempting to visit her during the hours leading up to her big day." But why?" She wondered. " Is he glad I am attempting to love again?" she asked herself as she second guessed. He always told her since the day the two wed, that if he was ever to go before her, to not live life married to the dead. He encouraged her to find love again. She knew that for certain. Then why did she just see him lurking behind her bedroom curtain?

The next day went as fast as that wind bursting through her bedroom, just two nights prior. At last, they were at the chapel, at half past two. Her niece Ava was fixing her veil. Her goddaughter Gianna was fussing with the sash on the back of her gown, when there was a knock at the door. The girls rushed to the door, to see who was knocking. No one was there. They shrugged their shoulder and thought that was strange. Yet down the hallway, they saw their mom and grandmother talking in a corner, The two caught up with them, in efforts to update them on the gleaming bride's getting ready progress.

In the meantime, back in the grand bedroom of the mansion, the girls had left the door slightly open. The anxious bride lifted up her wedding gown and ran over to the door to shut it. She was not about to risk the groom walking by and catching a glimpse of his lovely bride, just moments before they pledge love to one another till eternity.

The moment she turned around and headed back towards the long oval antique mirror, she immediately saw an image of her late husband, sitting on the loveseat beside the mirror, " You always made a beautiful bride." He whispered gently. He patted his hand on the loveseat, while saying to her surprise," come sit for a while". He then added, "You got time yet, its only 3' o clock!"

The two chatted in that next 10 minutes. It was as if no time has passed, since the blissfully happy couple departed nearly a decade ago on that windy evening in August. She was taken back instantly to that night, when she received the awful call by the lighthouse commander, informing her at 3:00 am in the morning, that his boat was caught up in a huge tidal wave. She was told, much to her demise, that there was zero chance of him making it back to shore, for there was not enough visibility The waves were much too sharp fierce, and high, for the rescue crew to make it that far out, in time to save the crew. It was at 3:00 clock, that she discovered, her honey has passed on to life eternal.

The two laughed, they cried, they hugged. Then, they said their final goodbyes. She got the reassurance she needed. Her late husband had assured her, he was ok with her finally letting him go and moving on with her life. A huge wave of peace washed over her. Then he was gone.

Just moments later, her nieces rushed back in the room, as the music began to play. She caught a glimpse of her two sharp dressed adult sons, Patrick and Ryan, waiting in the foyer, to give their glowing with joy mother away. " Come on, its 3' o clock" shouted her handsome nephew Luca, running down the lobby hallway. It was in that very moment, that she realized that no time has passed. That whole conversation with her late husband existed within her heart. As she was escorted down the aisle by her two loving sons, it occurred to her, all will be well, a new chapter awaits her, starting right at 3' o clock!