In this dream, it started out with me looking on Facebook and seeing a message from Tahnee's Mom letting me know that everyone would be meeting up for a family get-together, and they wanted to invite me in honor of Tahnee. I went and met up with her Mom, Dad, sister Magen, and brother Brian. They were out in a field with a truck and they were picking corn. I greeted everyone with hugs, and joined them while we talked about the memories we shared with her.
There was this orange cat that was hanging around, and it seemed like it was purposefully trying to get us to notice it. It had slinked around between our feet, and now it was in the bag of corn that was beside the truck. I petted it and somehow, it had changed into a person that looked a lot like Tahnee. I thought it was a magic trick. This cat had magic powers! It was able to shape-change into a human! I figured it was still a cat though, because it didn't talk, and it just kind of sat there like a vegetable and watched us.
As I continued to pick corn, I noticed the Tahnee look-alike was starting to move around more, as if she had just learned to use her arms and legs. Not much movement, just a slight shift in position here and there. The more I kept looking over at her, the stronger feeling I got that this wasn't just any magic cat. "I wish you were really my Tahnee." I said to it, and it gave me a look that made me think it understood what I was saying, but it just couldn't find the words to respond. Kind of like Ariel in The Little Mermaid when she lost her voice, but wanted to use her facical expressions to let Prince Erik know how she was feeling.
Something in my gut instincts told me to just come out and ask her. "If you're really my Tahnee, then nod your head yes." And she did! Suddenly my viewpoint shifted and I was one hundred percent certain that this was Tahnee, reborn into the world. She just had to learn how to move and speak all over again, and it didn't take long either. Before I knew it, she started saying words, and then pretty much went straight into having full conversations. But we didn't get to speak much because we were both too busy sobbing and hugging tightly.
I was crying so hard, but I was so, so happy. I had asked her if she could remember anything about what happened in-between, but she said she only remembered not being able to breathe, sitting there paralyzed for a moment, and then everything went black, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up here as a cat. I said "Damn, I was wondering if you were able to tell if there really was a heaven or a hell." Not that it mattered. I was too busy celebrating the fact that she was back. I didn't know why or exactly how, and to be honest - I didn't care to question it. I was just so happy.
After getting love and hugs from her family, we all went back to her parent's house, and me and Tahnee went to her old bedroom so we could hang out and she could get reacquainted with her old things. It seemed like every five minutes, I'd break down and cry again. I cried so much that I could no longer feel tears in my eyes. I felt like I was going through the motions of sobbing, but I was too happy to make any tears. How had I been so lucky to have her back?
I can't remember much else about what happened in the dream, except that at one point, we were talking about some clothes and how she thought I'd like this kind of gothic-looking dress that she had seen, and I felt like - wow... It's like we're picking right back up where we left off and that nothing had changed. She still knew me just as well as before. It was like her death had never happened... So I woke up feeling the determination to be thankful for this life we are given. We only get this one chance. She used to say that the "YOLO" saying was wrong, because it means "You Only Live Once", but she would say that you live every day. You only die once.
I have to admit that I was pretty sad when I woke up and realized that she wasn't actually here, because it felt so real and the dream was so vivid. I could actually feel her in my arms when I was hugging her. I felt the wet of her tears on my shoulder. I wonder what we would do if she ever did come back. I wish I could say that I'd spend every day with her, but I know she would want to be back with James (who strangely enough wasn't even in my dream), and she lived away from all of us. I can't drive, so that made visiting each other hard to do. I just miss her so much and literally think of her every damn day...
