Bordon's Girl

EPILOGUE Here After

Tavington opened his eyes, he thought, to find himself alone, laying on the velvet green grass. He was surrounded by a cold mist and gray fog.

He could no longer feel any was for sure that God had sent him a hallucination as a blessing, to help him through the horrid pain he felt as he lay dying of his wound at Cowpens, and thanked God for it right then. However, though he felt no more hurt, he felt like he was enveloped in a blanket of sorrow that he could not escape from. William wasn’t sure if it was his sorrow, or someone else’s. He soon closed his eyes again, for he felt he could no longer hold them open, and fell asleep.

William awoke again later, but was unaware of how much time had passed. He sat up and looked around. He was incredulous that he felt no pain from his massive abdominal wound. The strange sorrow he’d felt before had vanished, as well.

The battlefield was strangely quiet. Even more unbelievable, he was absolutely alone on it! It was just himself sitting upon beautiful soft green grass. The place was so very tranquil. He felt like he had found a peaceful happiness.

He shook his head a moment, feeling confused. As he looked down at his body, he saw no injuries. He was baffled. William knew that he had fought a tremendous battle recently and that he sustained massive wounds. Yet, there was no sign of this, and no sign of a battle. Then, he began to doubt himself. Had he really been in a battle? Was this just a dream, or was his memory failing him?

This was all too much for him to take. He felt exhausted again. His first thought was to get up, find his bedroom, and lay down in his bed. But, the officer felt too tired to walk to the house. He stretched his body back out on the soft grass, and before he knew it, he fell asleep again.

After awhile, William Tavington woke up with a start. He felt as if someone had been watching him as he slept. He looked around and noticed that he was still in that same, green meadow he had been in earlier. He had thought that it was the Cowpens battlefield, now he wasn’t so sure. He was still puzzled, though, sure that he had felt someone standing near him. He was alone.

William shrugged off that feeling and decided to take a walk. As he got to his feet, he was aware that he was being helped up by someone. He saw the familiar red and green of a Dragoon uniform. Then, his eyes met those of Major Geoffrey Bordon.

Neither man said a thing to each other. Will was dumbfounded and bewildered. He must be dreaming, for his brother-in-law had died over two weeks ago. This had to be a dream.

William tried to wake himself up. But something was wrong. He couldn’t even imagine himself asleep in his bed or trying to roll over. All he could see was Bordon’s face and the peaceful landscape around him. Then, it finally came to him.

William spoke as Bordon smiled. “Is this death?,” William asked. Bordon stayed silent as William spoke again. “I did die, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Bordon answered.

“Is this place……” William began, then hesitated, then continued, “Heaven?”

“Yes,” Bordon said. “But, there are different levels.”

“Levels? What do you mean.?”

“First, do you feel any more pain?” asked Bordon. “I heard you had been wounded badly.”

William put his hand on his belly. “No, I think I’m fine.”

“Alright then,” Bordon replied. “Let’s walk.” With that, the two officers strolled across the green grass of this field. He felt as light as a feather on the breeze as he walked.

“I’m confused,” William said in a lost voice.

“I know,” Bordon agreed. “I was too.”

Geoffrey went on. “Right now, from what I can gather and have seen, you and I are in a sort of “transition phase” of Heaven. This level is where one goes right after they die. It is here to give the recently deceased time to recover from death and to then realize that they are dead. It is a place of acceptance and change. One accepts their death, yet begins to shed Earthly habits. We retain our appearance as it was in life, at least for now, while we are adjusting to death. The only difference is the luminous quality that our bodies take on. Apparently, all this helps to cushion the blow of death. But, from what I understand, this is just an image and a thought. We no longer have ‘physical’ bodies, we just appear and feel like we do, until we move up to the next level.”

“What is that?” asked William, curiously.

“From what I gather, it is more of a spiritual sort of plane,” he answered. “There, one no longer looks human or feels that way. You sort of shed this body or Earth appearance, and just turn into some sort of capsule or spiral of light. Like a disembodiment of some kind.”

The two men continued to walk, toward nothing in was still amazed at how light and effortless everything felt. His body, walking, actions, even thinking was without effort. And, how he felt a feeling of peace and security; no worries; no sadness.

“On this level where we are now, we spend our time sort of ‘cleaning up’. We learn and accept new things and thinking, and we let go of sin, bad thoughts, and Earthly needs and wants. We also learn to forgive ourselves and let go of what we did when we were alive.”

William began to understand. “This is where we purge, change, and develop?”

“I believe so, ” Bordon answered. “Recognizing error and then understanding of it is what sort of redeems you. We don’t seem to carry the guilt around up here that we carried upon Earth.” He walked a few more steps with Will, then he spoke again.

“There are others here, as well,” stated Bordon. “Two of them have been waiting for you.”

This made William stop cold in his tracks. He looked at Bordon with a look of anxiety. Then, he sighed, looked at the ground and smiled. After a moment, he looked back up at his former second in command. His friend was looking into the distance and smiling peacefully.

When William looked up, he could see a figure off in the distance. It looked like a woman. He closed his eyes for only an instant. When he opened them, the figure was closer. It was a lady, and she had a bundle in her arms.

William’s mouth dropped open. “Is that—“ then he stopped short, before he could finish his question, as if he feared to ask. Bordon remained quiet, letting William look at the vision.

Will started to walk toward the two figures. After a few steps, his feeling of apprehension stopped him from moving forward.

Bordon walked up to him. “It’s alright, William. She is fine here,” he coaxed, trying to ease Will’s Earthly fear that he had yet to let go of.

William started to move again. Before he knew it, he was right before the two figures. He smiled at the lady. It was Tess, and she looked more beautiful to him then she ever had.

“William,” he heard her familiar voice say, “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you , too, Tess.” With that he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. He was overjoyed to at least feel (or think that he was feeling) the warm sensation one gets from kissing their spouse.

“You died,” William said as he held her. “Do you remember me holding you in my arms when you did?”

“Yes,” he replied softly, her voice muffled by his strong shoulder. “I remember you telling me to look for father, and if I saw him, to go on to him.”

Will and Tess shared another kiss, this one more deep and passionate. She looked up at her husband. “I fell asleep, and when I awoke, Daddy was holding my hand…….and holding Juliette.”

“You don’t feel any more pain, do you?” Will asked tentatively, still not used to being dead. His mind had remembered how she screamed during childbirth and groaned in pain afterwards as she lay dying.

As they pulled back from one another, she looked up at him sweetly. “Would you like to hold your daughter?”

“Yes!”

She put their child into his arms. He cradled her and looked down upon her lovely, newborn face. Her eyes were open and she beamed brightly up at the male face over hers, as if she knew that he was her father.

Still unsure of this whole situation, and wanting to feel something he’d wanted in life, he found his baby’s hand amongst the folds of the blanket. He took the soft, little hand in his, his thumb caressing the back of it. The baby girl let out a delicate coo as she wrapped her tiny fingers around her father’s index finger.

This nearly brought tears to William’s eyes. “Oh God,” he said with a sigh of relief, “I just wanted to feel her do that so badly!” He genuinely felt relieved that his daughter could respond to him.

William smiled brightly and proudly back at her. “Juliette is such a pretty child, isn’t she?” He said it with a father’s pride.

“Yes, she is,” Tess agreed, looking at the two of them lovingly.

William drew her into an embrace as he continued to hold their baby. “I love you Tess. And I love her. I am glad that we are finally together as a family.”

With that, Tess lifted her head to kiss William. Then, he kissed Juliette’s little forehead. She made a little cooing noise that caused Will to smile broadly.

William looked up. “Who is that with your brother?” he asked his wife.

“That is Susannah,” she answered.

The Tavington’s walked over to where Geoffrey and Susannah were standing. Introductions were made. Tavington looked at the bundled child that she was holding.

“And who is this handsome young lad?” asked William. For some reason, he just knew the baby was a boy.

“That is our son, Phillip Geoffrey Thomas Bordon,” his second in command answered with pride as he looked at his son. Tavington felt the same love surrounding this family as he felt with his own. He knew the child to be the baby Susannah was carrying when she was killed.

William smiled as he looked at the Bordon family. Geoffrey, his arm lovingly about Susannah, holding his son.

As both young families stood talking, Tess happened to look up. She noticed two misty figures standing far away from them. Somehow, she felt they were familiar, yet couldn’t quite place how or why she thought that.

Tess took a step away from the others and gazed at the two apparitions, standing still and away. Bordon handed his child back to Susannah, then walked up to his sister. He put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

“They know you, but you do not remember them,” he remarked. Tess knew instantly then, that the two figures were those of she and Goeffrey’s deceased parents.

Tess Tavington shuddered slightly as she drew in a gasp. A wave of confusion, yet mixed with happiness and ease, enveloped her. The girl instantly remembered her locket containing portrait miniatures of she and Geoffrey’s parents.

“ Father, is that…..?” Tess began in a shaky voice that trailed off.

“Yes,” he confirmed with a smile and reassuring squeeze of her shoulders. Geoffrey recalled meeting them earlier right after his death. Susannah and the baby had greeted him first. And same as Tess, he saw his mother and father in a distant mist.

Having not seen them in 20 years he ran to them. He remembered when he embraced his father’s body, the elder Bordon whispered in his ear, “I know it was a lot on you son. But you did well raising Tess!”

“Go to them,” Bordon encouraged Tessa softly.

With that she walked to them, as they did toward her. And soon, she was in the arms of her mother and father. There were no tears, only joy. She led them with her arms about them back to where the rest of the family was standing.

Mr. and Mrs. Bordon were introduced to their son-in-law William, and daughter-in-law, Susannah. They admired and held their two grandchildren, Juliette and Phillip, as well.

A family, which in life had been broken apart by so much tragedy, was now reunited in death, surrounded by peace and happiness forever.

THE END