"Daddy!" Jeannie rushed to the door to meet her father, who was two hours late coming home.

"Mark, where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Liz came around the corner to worryingly greet her tardy husband.

"There was a terrible accident on the expressway, just awful. I saw one of the cars go flying." He shook his head. "If I'd left two minutes earlier, it could have been me." He took his wife and daughter into his arms.

"Well, you could have called, Silly." Liz chided.

"That would be true if I hadn't left it at work," Mark chuckled.

"Daddy, that is a brand new phone, you should be more careful with that!" Jeannie scolded her father.

"You are absolutely right, Babydoll. Daddy will try to do better." Mark patted Jeannie's messy hair. "How was gymnastics today? You look like you had quite the workout."

"I worked on tumbling today. I think I'm getting better!" Jeannie beamed.

"Dinner's ready, let's go eat." Liz nodded toward the dining room. "I kept it warm."

"Good, because I'm starving!" Mark smiled at his wife.

"Maybe we should turn on the news and see if there's anything about the accident?" Liz walked to the couch and picked up the television remote control. She switched the set on and navigated to the local news station.

The accident was front and center.

"There were no survivors," the reporter said.

"That's awful!" Liz gasped. "That could've been you!" She looked at Mark.

"Told you it was bad," Mark shook his head.

Jeannie hugged her father tight. "I feel bad for the people, but I'm glad you weren't hurt, Daddy."

"What do you mean, Babydoll?" Suddenly she wasn't hugging her father anymore. She could hear his voice though.

Jeannie frantically looked around the room. "Daddy?" She called out,

"He's gone, Jeannie." Liz patted Jeannie's hand as tears rolled down her face. "He was in an accident today."

Jeannie looked up at the police officers standing at the entryway to the house. "We can send a grief counselor over,"one of the officers said. "Your daughter went silent there for a while. She's having a tough time processing this."

"Of course she is!" Liz cried. "He went to work today and we expected to be sitting around the dinner table right now, not hearing about how he was killed instantly in one of the worst wrecks you all have ever seen!"

"But I heard Daddy!" Jeannie said. "He was just here!"

"We'll get that counselor coming," the officer said.

"I'm still here, Babydoll." She could still hear her father.

"Can't you hear that?" Jeannie cried out.

"Hear what, Jeannie?" Another officer asked.

"Him! I hear him!"

Just then, Jeannie heard a strange but familiar buzzing. "What is that?"

The police, her crying mother, and the entire scene faded out as the buzzing continued.

Jeannie opened her eyes. It had been a dream, and she had been awakened by yet another message. She picked up her phone.


i'm still here, babydoll appeared on the phone screen.


Jeannie's eyes widened as she called out, loudly, for her mother.