I Love You, Darling

She felt so happy; for the first time in her life, she smiled...and she meant it.

Stacy was a young mother at the age of sixteen. Her little toddler, Timothy, had always cried, day and night, therefore leaving her sleep deprived.
She knew that it was her fault...she should have said "No" to her ex-boyfriend, Scott. But she knew that if she did, he would leave her.
Like it would make a difference. He left her the minute he found out that she was pregnant.
Stacy held her son in her arms and hummed him a soft lullaby. Her Grandmother Ellen was the only one who babysat Timothy whenever she had to go to school. Stacy wiped away her tears. Her Grandmother Ellen was all she had, for her mother and father had disowned her.
Stacy changed Timothy in to his overalls and pasted a fake smile on her face.
"Alright sweetie, we're going to go to grandma's house!" she chirped.
"YAY!!! Grandma!!!" Timothy shouted joyfully.
Stacy carried her son to the car and buckled him in.
"Okay honey, now don't play with with seatbelt like you did last time, okay?"
"Yes, mommy!" Timothy smiled as he placed his hands on his side.
She sat at the drivers seat and noticed a small rosary crumpled up in the passenger's seat. She stared at it for a few minutes, somehow mesmerized by it.
"Come on, Mommy!!!" Timothy shouted.
Stacy shook her head and started the engine.

Stacy and her Grandma Ellen had always been close. So Ellen never seemed to mind whenever Stacy brought Timothy over.
"Dearie, you look exhausted..." Ellen said as she helped Stacy get out of the car.
"I'm fine, Grandma...just...please take care of Timothy while I'm gone, okay?
"Like always, dearie." Ellen smiled.
Stacy set Timothy down and looked around the house. Stacy never considered herself to be spiritual, but she knew that her grandmother had a deep love for Jesus Christ.
"Look mommy!" Timothy said as he pointed at a picture. "It's Jesus!!!"
Ellen smiled and picked Timothy up. She then looked over to Stacy.
"Come now, dearie. Stay a little while."
Stacy sighed. "You know I can't, Grandma...I have semester exams this week and-"
"Have you even studied for them?"
Stacy sighed. She knew that her grandmother was doing this on purpose.
"Gramma, if I skip, then I probably won't be able to pass tenth grade!" she complained.
"I highly doubt that. Now, Stacy, you've been overreacting since you were Timothy's age! I'll talk to your principal and convince him that you need to stay in a warm bed and get some sleep." Ellen said as she set cookies out for Timothy.
"No, Gramma, please..."
"And that is final." Ellen said as she picked up the phone.
Stacy slouched on the couch and played with Timothy's hair as he drooled all over the cookie. Ellen took the conversation to another room, leaving Stacy alone with her son. She gazed at all the paintings of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin and felt another presence enter the room; a strong, unbreakable presence.
"Yes. Thank you sir, I greatly appreciate it." Ellen said as she hung up the phone.
"...What did he say?" Stacy asked as she jumped to her feet.
"Relax dearie, you get the day off. Just sleep!" Ellen smiled.
"Oh...oh, thank you, Gramma..." Stacy smiled as she embraced Ellen.
"It was no trouble, dearie." Ellen chirped as she stroked Stacy's long, dark hair.
Stacy ran upstairs and went back to her old room; a room where her and her younger sibling always used to play in.
She noticed a human sized Jesus statue. She felt like this was her grandmother's room, but a feeling in her heart told her to stay.
She slowly lay on the bed and immediately closed her eyes. She opened them very slightly and saw the statue of Jesus staring at her with great love and compassion.
She closed her eyes.

It was almost like she was in a different world...maybe she was. She looked down and saw that she was wearing a beautiful, flowy white dress. She didn't know why...but she felt so beautiful...
A light pointed directly at her and she looked up to see a man with both his arms outstretched.
"Come." she heard a voice echoing.
She slowly started walking towards the figure, but the closer she got, the figure seemed to be further than before. Fear dominated her heart.
"Be not afraid. Come." the voice echoed.
She slowly started jogging towards the figure, then she ran; she ran the fasted she had ever ran before. She seemed to finally be getting closer to the figure...closer...closer...
"That's it. You can do it. I believe in you." the voice said.
Finally, she collapsed and struggled for breath. She wanted to open her eyes, but she was so overcome with exhaustion that she couldn't even do that. She thought of Timothy; her darling little boy, and that gave her the strength to open one eye ever so slightly.
Did she make it? Did she finally reach the figure?
She saw a hand; a hand that seemed to have been pieced. She tried to look at this figure's face, but she didn't have the strength to do so.
She felt something lift her up slowly and carefully.
"That's my girl..." she heard the voice say.
She tried to lift her head, but she felt a hand do that for her.
"Hey...guess what, Stacy...?" the voice asked cheerfully.
"...W...what...?" she asked, still mildly gasping for air.
"I Love You."
Those words rocked her entire being. Scott had always told her that he loved her, and she knew that he meant it. But hearing it from this figure...it should have sounded like nothing. But it didn't. It meant the world to her.
"And you know what else?" the voice asked in an innocent, curious voice.
She felt the warm hand wiping away her cold tears.
"I Love your son, Timothy. I Promise that I will take good care of you and him now and forever. I Promise to always provide for you and your child, and your child shall be filled with my love and your love now and forever. I Promise to never leave you, even in the midst of your suffering. Do not fret about the future, and do not think about your past. Why would you be troubled when I have it all in my hands? I have it all taken care of. All you need to do is trust me, and teach Timothy to do the same."
Stacy felt a huge surge of love going through her body and she smiled as more tears fell down her eyes.
"See how much I love you, darling. This love that you feel is the tiniest drop of water compared to the ocean of love I have for you."
Stacy wiped some of her tears away and said, "Sir...I wish to tell you something...something important...that I think...I think you might want to hear..."
"What is that,, love...?"
"...I love you too..." Stacy whispered.

She awakened and found herself in the arms of the statue of Jesus. Crystal clear tears ran down his face.
And in the silence of the night, she heard His voice repeating, "I Love You, Darling."
And in the silence of the night, she smiled and replied, "I Love You Too, Jesus."