A week after saying goodbye to her dad, she found herself running through a maze of corridors in the early morning, half-awake and desperate. She was rushing somewhere without any recollection, knowing only that she needed a phone urgently.
It was summer, and friends Sophie and Grace had arrived at the seaside for their much-anticipated holiday. The room was small, yet delightfully close to the beach. They spent all day sunbathing, their skin already a rich golden brown, and the urge to lie on the warm sand kept growing. At midday, the sun blazed mercilessly, melting everything in sight, even the air seemed to sizzle. It was scorching, like being in a sauna, making it hard to breathe.
“I can’t take this anymore,” Sophie said, rising from her towel. “Let’s go somewhere. It’s so hot here we’ll soon turn into crisps.”
“I agree,” replied Grace. “Let’s head to a café. It’ll be cool there, and we can grab some lunch at the same time.”
The friends made their way to a local café, a popular spot offering shade and tasty snacks. A line of people like them was already forming.
Sophie shielded her head with a book to protect herself from the burning sun, having forgotten her hat at home, and squinted her eyes.
“Are you alright?” Grace asked. “I’ll go get us some ice cream. It’ll cool us down a bit.”
“Do you need me to come along?” Sophie suggested.
“Oh no!” Grace insisted firmly. “Look at all these people. Stay here and hold our spot!”
As her friend left, Sophie grew bored. She stood next to a hot concrete wall, the sun relentless above. Time dragged as the queue barely moved, and she squinted harder.
A ringing filled her ears, everything around her blurring. She was far out at sea, unable to see the shore. Floating on the water, she noticed the water wasn’t salty. With a few sips, she felt refreshed. A vast, beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky, and the water danced with colors like a kaleidoscope. Everything was breathtaking. She felt as light as a feather on gentle waves, enveloped in happiness. People walked upon the rainbow; among them, she spotted her father, who had passed a year ago. He turned and waved at her with a smile.
Suddenly, voices called from above.
“Here, here!” they shouted in unison. “Give us your hand! Lift it up.”
Several hands grasped her, pulling Sophie into a boat. She resisted, not wanting to leave the wondrous sea, the voices clearer now, mostly female.
“Who’s got ammonia?” they fretted. “Give her some more water!”
Sophie regained consciousness, opening her eyes.
“Phew, my friend,” Grace exhaled in relief. “You scared me! I was so frightened!”
Sophie was bewildered and let down, realizing she was sitting on the café’s veranda, not out at sea.
“It was a sunstroke, darling!” her friend murmured, thanking those who’d helped. “I kept telling you: ‘Bring a hat, bring a hat!’ And you just said, ‘Yeah, alright!’ Now look!”
The crowd dispersed.
“Grace,” Sophie pondered aloud. “I saw my dad there. He’s been gone almost a year, and he looked so young.”
They finally entered the café and sat at a table, Sophie still reflecting on her unexpected encounter with her father.
A week after saying goodbye to her dad, she rushed through unfamiliar corridors, needing a phone with urgency. She found an ancient phone on the wall, worn and old. Elated, she picked it up and shouted:
“Hello! Hello!”
“It’s alright! Sophie, what happened?” her dad’s voice echoed. “Calm down and tell me. I’ll help however I can.”
In life, her father wasn’t chatty, always starting conversations with a simple “Okay.” She was thrilled to hear his familiar voice, full of well-known cadences. She hurriedly shared everything: about herself, her mother, and her cousin, his niece, who defended her master’s thesis three days after his death. He had looked forward to that day but never made it.
“Dad, can you believe it?” she laughed. “As promised, she passed with flying colors!”
Then, like awakening from a dream, she paused.
“Hello, Dad!” she cried into the phone. “Dad, you’re not here! How can you be talking to me?”
“Sometimes,” he said. “If you truly wish for it, it happens, my daughter, it just happens.”
Even when alive, her father never believed in mysticism, a materialist through and through. Oddly, now he reassured her differently. She awoke, recalling sitting with Grace at the café, watching a rainbow over the water.
And now… She still couldn’t shake the feeling that her dad was somewhere close, supporting her every single day.
