Hitchhiking Home

The towering clouds churned in a darkened cluster as the storm moved in. Beth could smell the rain coming as she left the gym.

“A storm is coming”, Beth thought as she strolled into the parking lot.

A cool menancing breeze tingled her open pores as few drops of rain danced on the bridge of her freckled nose.

Within a few steps of her car she stepped into a muddy puddle and sighed, “What else could go wrong today?”

Beth gently scraped the mud off of her running shoes and entered her car. Beth swiftly tossed her black duffle gym bag to the backseat and started up the car. She listened to the radio station issue a tornado watch as she turned up the volume. The wind seemed to strengthen with each lonesome howl and the untamed furious thunder did not disappoint.

While leaving the parking lot Beth spotted an elderly man hitchhiking. She would never pick up a hitchhiker, but the rain softened her apprehension. Today she left aside all the urban legends and horror stories that surrounded murderous hitchhikers because he needed help.

Beth opened her passenger side window and pulled up to the old man.

“Are you hitchhiking?”, Beth asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I am”, laughed the elderly man like he couldn’t believe it himself.

“Where are you headed?”, Beth asked guarded.

“The bus stop off of Princess Anne Road”, responded the elderly man.

“Okay, I guess I'm giving you a ride”, Beth quickly said while opening up the passenger side door.

“Thank you very much”, the elderly man smiled.

The elderly man eased into the car and Beth started to drive. The elderly man leaned back into the seat and stared out the window at the storm brewing.

“Buckle up”, Beth ordered.

“Thanks for the reminder”, the elderly man kindly noted.

“What’s your name?”, Beth asked while glancing over at him.

“Gus”, Gus answered.

“Well Gus, which bus stop do you want on Princess Anne Road?”, Beth asked.

“Any old one will do”, Gus replied while giving Beth a wink.

“Alright, I’ll take you down the road a bit”, Beth stated while turning on her windshield wipers.

“So…may I ask your name?”, Gus inquired with caution; he didn’t want to be too intrusive.

“Beth”, Beth quickly responded with her eyes glued to the road.

“So what do you do?”, Gus asked on egg shells.

“I help people in transition”, Beth creatively revealed, she didn’t want to tell him too much about herself.

“That’s nice, you seem like a good person”, Gus confessed while relaxing in the seat.

“What do you do?”, Beth asked while turning on the defroster.

“I’m a undertaker……, Gus paused……. “Don’t worry I am retired ”.

Beth released a small chuckle underneath her breath, he had a sense of humor.

“Why are you hitchhiking?”, Beth asked.

“I didn’t want to walk a mile and a half to the bus stop in the rain”, Gus answered.

Beth made a slow right hand turn onto Princess Anne Road, while it poured down relentlessly.

Suddenly, the rain got so heavy that Gus could barely see through the windshield, he was frightened.

“How can you see the road through the rain?”, Gus asked.

“I have perfect vision, don’t worry we are almost there”, Beth reassured.

Shortly after that, out of nowhere, a brilliant bright light flooded the vehicle.

“Hey, whatta ya know the sun is coming out”, Gus said.

“That’s not the sun Gus, it is the Lord taking you home”, Beth said while pulling the car into a church parking lot.

“What do you mean?”, Gus asked in confusion

“Gus, you passed away shortly after getting into the car, I was sent to pick you up and take you home. I know that this is a lot to take in right now, but it is your time. Everything will be okay”, Beth comforted.

“I don’t believe it!……I won’t believe it!”, Gus shouted while unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the car.

Beth chased after him. Even though she was an angel of death, she could not force him into the light, he had free will. In that moment the Lord sent Beth an important message for Gus.

“Gus, see for yourself look into the car where you were sitting, your body is still there”, Beth gently spoke as her angelic presence appeared over his weary soul.

Gus looked into the car and indeed saw himself leaned back in the car seat with his eyes closed and hands crossed. He also noticed that the drenching rain was falling all around him, but he remained dry.

“This can’t be happening to me, not now!”, Gus cried while pacing back and forth.

“I know this is almost too much to handle and I know you will miss your family, but you should be rejoicing”, Beth said while waiting for the right time to reveal the Lord’s message.

“You don’t understand! My daughter has been trying to get pregnant for years and it has finally happened. I swore to her that I would be there for my grandchild. I quit smoking, drinking and started exercising…ALL…FOR… WHAT!!! Just so I could die before the birth of my grandchild, its not fair, the Lord is not fair”, Gus raged while weeping, but no tears would form.

“I feel your pain and it is almost more than I can comfort, but my mission is to help you transition. I am a messenger of God, and he has just given me a message to give to you”, Beth stressed.

“There is nothing he can say to me that would change the way I feel”, Gus cried.

Suddenly, Gus felt a little pressure against his chest and he felt the urge to hold out his arms. A second later a baby wrapped in lavender silk appeared, cradled in his arms.

Gus looked down at the baby flustered and with the feeling of heartache.

“This baby just called me Grandpa, how is this possible?”, Gus asked while looking up at Beth.

“When you pass, family knows you, even if you have never met before”, Beth answered.

“She is so beautiful….., but wait a minute…..How did this happen?……Don’t tell me my granddaughter that I am holding died, my daughter will never recover, she doesn’t deserve this”, Gus cried with anger.

“Your daughter gave birth to twins, Shiloh and Sophie. Shiloh, the baby you are holding, is the one that did not make it. Sophie on the other hand will thrive, she will give your daughter Megan the strength and love to carry on. It was meant to be this way. I can never answer the question why it has to be this way, I can only trust in the Lord’s plan and the messages he gives me to pass on”, Beth said

“So now what?”, asked Gus while trying to come to terms with his death and the fire in his heart for the tiny baby in his arms.

“The Lord wants you to look after Shiloh until her mother, Megan is called home. It will be a while in Earth’s time, but it will only feel like a day or two here”, Beth said.

“What about my body?”, Gus asked, but the car was no longer there.

“You have been buried for a month now”, Beth assured while placing her hand on his cheek.

“I feel so much love from your hand touching my skin. Shiloh keeps repeating how much she loves me. Everything is so warm, calm and just feels like home”, Gus relieved while the Lord’s light appeared brighter, slowly starting to saturate him and Shiloh from the inside out.

“Are you ready to go home?”, Beth asked with a soft smile.

“There is just one thing that is still keeping me here………Sophie will not get the chance to know me and I won’t have the chance to know her as I promised”, Gus whispered in dispair.

“I am told that my face you see resembles Sophie at age 25, I also have her voice and personality. Sophie will help people transition, she will become a hospice nurse. As for knowing you, the Lord has just given Sophie a gift. Sophie will remember you and Shiloh vividly in her dreams, also the images will not fade once she is awake. You and Shiloh will not be forgotten, your family is blessed”, Beth spoke

“Shiloh just told me she will miss her mother, father and sister…….I guess I am not alone in this”, Gus said.

“You were never alone in this. The Lord is calling…It’s time”, gently urged Beth.

“I’m ready”, Gus said.

*********

“That dream seemed so real”, Sophie told her mother.

“What was it about sweetheart?”, Megan asked

“Grandpa was holding my sister Shiloh and they were going into the light”, Sophie said

Megan sobbed in happiness, she never told Sophie about her twin sister Shiloh.