On October 17, my 15-year-old niece, Megan, was killed in a four-wheeler accident. It was a tragic accident which left our family in despair. Especially my 5-year-old son, Aaron, who was very close to Megan. He was very upset when he learned of her death. The night before her wake, I was trying to explain exactly what a wake was and what he would see. Aaron just cried and was very stern about not wanting to go to the wake. Of course, this was fine with me. I told him that he did not have to go if he didn't want to and left it at that.

But the next morning, Aaron said to me, "Mom I am going to the wake." I was a little concerned because he had been so adamant about not going the night before. So I asked him what had changed his mind. He replied that he had dreamed of Megan the night before. In his dream, Megan was an angel and was lying next to him and hugging him. This made him feel better about her and not afraid of going to the wake.

About a month later, my Aaron was again having a hard time with missing Megan, even to the point that he was getting sick. I borrowed a book written by Maria Shriver called "What's Heaven?" I read him the book, and he asked a lot of questions and really opened up to me. He asked if he was going to die someday, and I replied that he would and that the first person he would see in heaven would be Megan. I assured him that she would be waiting for him with a big hug, just like the hug she had given him in his dream when she had been lying next to him. But Aaron surprised me by saying, "Mom, Megan didn't hug me then. She didn't hug me until the sun came up and that's when she had to go back to heaven." I then asked, "What do you mean when the sun came up?" He said, "Well actually it was like a car light, but it was so bright that I had to squint my eyes to look at it, and that is when Megan had to go back to heaven."

I was amazed! He told me this like it was just an ordinary story, not realizing what he had experienced. He has no idea what the light really was that he saw, or that Megan's visit was more than just a dream. He witnessed "The Light" calling Megan home. I look forward to the day when I can explain this and he can understand the special gift he was given by this special cousin. I have shared his story with many people and have many additional special stories from Megan's passing. I know that she was a soul sent to us to teach us many things, which she did with such joy. We will always remember her and treasure the time which she spent with us and look forward to the day when we will meet again.

Kim K. Wood