STILL HERE — SO MUCH TO DO TOGETHER

A Story of Love, a Near-Death Experience, and the Little Cat Waiting for Dad to Come Home

Opening Narrative

Every morning begins much the same way for Dad and Liebe. They share their quiet home, watch the forest outside, and enjoy the simple companionship that has grown between them over the years.

But life can change without warning.

For an older person living alone, a medical emergency can happen when nobody else is there. A beloved animal may stay faithfully by our side, but even that most loving companion cannot pick up a telephone and call for help.

This is a story about such a moment—and about what might happen somewhere between life, death, and coming home again.

Graphic 1 — Our Morning Together

Each morning, Dad and Liebe open the upstairs living-room window and look out at the beautiful forest surrounding their home.

Together they watch squirrels racing through the trees, chipmunks searching for food, rabbits moving quietly through the brush, and blue jays and other birds arriving for another day. Occasionally a raccoon, bobcat, or even a bear passes through.

To someone else, it might seem like an ordinary morning.

To Dad and Liebe, these peaceful moments together are part of what makes a house a home.

Graphic 2 — A Simple Check-In Can Save a Life

Then, without warning, everything changes.

Dad is lying motionless on the floor beside his computer. He may still be alive, but he cannot reach the telephone or call anyone for help.

Liebe stays beside him. She places herself against Dad's chest, unwilling to leave the person she loves. But there is one thing even a completely devoted cat cannot do.

She cannot call for help.

For older people who live alone, a telephone call, text message, or simple visit from someone who cares can sometimes make an enormous difference.

Staying in touch matters.

Graphic 3 — Somewhere Between Here and There

As Liebe watches Dad lying motionless, something extraordinary seems to happen.

A glowing presence begins to rise from his body.

Some people who have survived Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) describe feeling as though their consciousness separated from their physical body. Some report seeing their body from another location, traveling toward a light, or experiencing a presence that seemed more real to them than an ordinary dream.

In our story, Liebe cannot understand what she is witnessing.

She only knows that something belonging to Dad appears to be leaving—and she watches, startled and curious, as it rises toward the light.

Graphic 4 — You Have to Go Back

Dad suddenly finds himself surrounded by light.

Waiting for him are his Spirit Guide and members of his Soul Family—loved ones who left earthly life before him.

They welcome him with love, but their message is unexpected.

“You cannot stay. You still have work to do.”

Dad's earthly task has not been completed. And there is another reason he must return.

Liebe still has her own journey ahead of her—and part of that journey is connected to Dad.

Accounts of Near-Death Experiences sometimes include people describing encounters with deceased relatives, spiritual beings, or guides. Others report being told that it was not yet their time and that they needed to return to their bodies.

Whether such experiences are understood spiritually, medically, or as mysteries that remain unexplained, they can profoundly affect the people who experience them.

For Dad, the message is simple.

Go back. Someone still needs you.

Graphic 5 — Liebe Sees Dad Move

Back in the quiet room, Liebe is still beside Dad.

Then something happens.

Dad moves.

He begins to sit up.

Liebe freezes for an instant, startled by what she is seeing. Fear gives way to curiosity—and then to something unmistakable.

Hope.

Dad is alive.

Whatever happened during those mysterious moments, he has returned to the room, to his home—and to the little cat who refused to leave his side.

Liebe doesn't need anyone to explain what happened.

Dad came back.

That is enough.

Graphic 6 — Please Don't Ever Leave Me

Liebe throws herself into Dad's arms.

All the fear she experienced while watching him lie motionless disappears into one enormous expression of love.

If Liebe could put her feelings into human words, perhaps they would be exactly these:

“Please don't ever leave me. I was so scared you were gone forever.”

Dad holds her tightly.

There are no Spirit Guides in the room now. No glowing lights. No questions about what exists beyond this life.

There is simply an old man sitting on the floor holding the little animal who loves him—and realizing once again just how precious being here can be.

Wrap-Up Narrative — Still Here, With More to Do

No one knows with certainty what happens at the boundary between life and death. Yet many people who have survived Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) have described remarkable events: feeling separated from their physical body, moving toward light, encountering deceased loved ones or spiritual beings, and sometimes being told that they must return because their life is not yet finished.

Whether these experiences are understood as spiritual journeys, events produced by the brain during a medical crisis, or something science does not yet fully understand, the people who experience them often describe them as profoundly real and life-changing.

In our story, Dad's journey carries a simple message. His Spirit Guide and Soul Family remind him that there is still work to do, still love to give, and still a little tortoiseshell cat whose own journey remains connected to his.

And Liebe doesn't need to understand Near-Death Experiences.

She only knows that the person she loves was lying motionless on the floor—and then he came back.

When Dad opens his eyes, Liebe's fear becomes joy. She throws herself into his arms with the only message that matters to her:

“Please don't ever leave me. I was so scared you were gone forever.”

Perhaps that is one lesson worth carrying away from the many stories people tell about NDEs: whatever may await us beyond this life, the love we give while we are here matters now.

There are people to check on.

Animals depending upon us.

Kindness still to give.

Stories still to tell.

And sometimes, apparently, there is still so much to do—together. ❤️😸