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Chapter Fifty Nine

Julia Fernandez

"Wait, where are we going?" I laughed, asking Leo curiously as he led me through the portal.

He turned to glance over his shoulder at me, grinning. "You'll see, Julia. Just trust me on this one."

I couldn't help but smile at his words, feeling his hand squeeze mine reassuringly. Hurrying up to his side, the portal closed behind me, and I looked around. This is the hospital Meredith is in right now. We had appeared in an empty hallway, and Leo started walking to our right. I followed closely behind him. I couldn't help but notice that we were in solid states, instead of being summoned by our spirits. Is it that much of an emergency..? He found Meredith and her parents at the entrance of the hospital, waving to them to catch their attention.

"Meredith!"

The girl turned to see us, instantly smiling. "Great timing, Leo!" Her eyes flashed to me, and a look of excitement crossed her face. "You came with her just in time!"

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling out of the loop.

Leo took a step behind me, and his hands pulled my hair behind my shoulders. He kissed the side of my head and said, "Meredith has a sort of surprise for you, since you've been so patient all this time."

"Surprise?" I repeated, my eyes widening as I looked up at him. "Patient? I don't understand."

Cheryl giggled beside her daughter. "I guess this is our cue to leave." She turned to Tristan, and he nodded. She then looked back at Meredith and asked, "Got this under control?"

She gave her parents a thumbs-up. "Definitely!"

As the couple left, I peered down at Meredith, asking, "What's happening?"

The brunette grinned with her hands tightly clasped in front of her, practically bouncing in her spot. "Okay, okay! We'll tell you!" I noticed her gaze flicker behind me, but before I could turn around, Leo's hands went on my shoulders.

"Not yet," he said.

I'm so confused. What're they talking about? What's behind me?

"So, I never told you this before," Meredith began, rocking back and forth on her heels. "But, I sooortaaa figured out that you're Miss Lynn's daughter. You know, my therapist? Oh, well, obviously you know, because she's your mother, so what am I talking about! Like, we talked about it once, but you never mentioned it again, and I was worried that you might have forgotten."

My eyes widened at how fast she spoke. I barely caught what she said, nodding. "Yes. She's my mother. What about that?"

"Today, after Mom came back, I never realized how amazing it was to feel that emotion of seeing and knowing your mother is there in front of you." Her hands were behind her back now, and she lowered her gaze to the floor. "It felt so surreal. She was there, and she saw me as I saw her. The way your heart speeds up and your chest starts heaving, and you can't even believe it..!" Looking up at me, a small smile was on her face. "I asked my mom to send Dexter's parents to see him so he could feel the love they had for him. And now, I think it's your turn after waiting so long."

I blinked, incredulous at her long explanation. Leo leaned over to me, saying, "You can turn around now."

I felt his hands letting go of me, and I peered over my shoulder. My eyes widened when I saw an elderly woman standing a few feet away with a box of cookies in hand. A rush of tears decided to hit me, and my hand came up to my face, ready to wipe them away as my heartbeat sped up.

"Mom..?" I whispered.

A smile stretched onto her face, and she walked towards me. "Julia!"

Before she could reach me, I bolted towards her, wrapping my arms around her. Her short figure made it a little hard, considering the fact that I was also wearing heels, but I didn't mind at all. Her smile became warmer as I cried into her shoulder, hiding my flushed face in the blossom pink scarf wrapped around her neck. I felt her hands hug me back.

"I missed you so much!" I exclaimed through the sobs, tightening my grip on her as my words stumbled over each other. "I-I never wanted to leave you with— with him— I'm so, so sorry!"

"It's okay, Julia," she said, kissing my cheek. A smile was on her face as she pat my back, wiping away my tears. "It's just me and you now."

All I ever wanted after I died was for my mother to see me one last time.

She was lonely after my passing, and my father filed for a divorce soon afterwards, worsening her pain. She grew older, and I watched her grow with Leo beside me every step of the way. I heard her lonesome thoughts every night she went to bed.

"When will it be my time to die, so I can see my daughter again?"

"What did I do to anger my husband for him to leave?"

"Was I undeserving of my Lord's love?"

And every night, I wanted to tell her that she was deserving. That she didn't need my father. That she was loved— by me.

After Mom helped me clean up my tears, I turned to look at Leo, my face still a little flushed. "You knew about this?" I asked.

A sheepish smile was on his face. "Meredith told me about it. All I did was help."

I walked towards him, leaning forward and placing a small kiss on his cheek. He blushed furiously, covering his face with his hand as he turned away.

"Thank you guys so much for this," I said, smiling brightly at Meredith. "How long can I stay here before you run out of energy?"

"About another hour or so," she responded nonchalantly.

I nodded, thinking of what to do. Grabbing Mom's hand, I pulled her to where Leo was still standing with an embarrassed blush dusting his ears. He looked down at Mom, who, in turn, looked up at him. Letting go of her hand, I looked at Leo and said, "Leo, this is my mom." Gesturing to the blonde, I turned and added, "Mom, this is my Leo."

"Your Leo?" She repeated, a sweet smile on her face. She looked at Leo, who was blushing even more because of the way I introduced him. "Well, it's obvious that not even death can stop you from loving someone, hmm?"

I hugged Leo's arm, smiling brightly. "Mhm!"

Leo's hair covered his eyes as he mumbled with a blush, "I-It's nice to meet you, Miss Lynn."

"Likewise, young man."