Through the crematorium glass, Ethan spotted his wife’s pregnant belly trembling ever so slightly. At first, he thought grief was distorting his vision but then it occured again, sharper, unmistakable.
What followed left everyone frozen in disbelief.
She had left this world before she could bring their child into it. Amara – the woman he had vowed to cherish and protect – was gone, taken too soon by fate’s cruel design.
Now Ethan stood before the glass door, staring at the still form of his wife and the unborn child she carried, due in just a few months.
Visions of what would never be flooded his mind: Amara’s laughter echoing through their home, the sound of tiny footsteps, the warmth of a life they’d planned together. He refused an autopsy, unable to bear the thought of separating mother from child.
Fighting back a scream, he turned to leave then froze. There it was again: a faint movement beneath the white shroud, a ripple across her stomach. His pulse quickened. Could the baby still be alive? Or was his mind conjuring ghosts out of grief?
The movement came once more – clear, deliberate, real.
When the attendants tried to restrain him, Ethan broke free, rushing to the furnace door and shouting for them to stop. The staff hesitated, their faces pale, as another visible twitch ran across Amara’s abdomen. This wasn’t an illusion.
Chaos erupted. Workers yelled over one another, some calling their supervisors, others rushing to shut down the equipment. Panic, disbelief, and raw fear filled the air, and for a moment, time itself seemed to stop.
But when doctors arrived and tests were run, the truth emerged and it was far more harrowing than any miracle.
Because no autopsy had been performed, natural gases had built up within Amara’s body, creating pressure that caused the abdomen to shift and contract. It was not resurrection. Not mystery. Only science.
The realization crushed Ethan’s fleeting hope. The spark that had briefly lit his darkness was extinguished by cold reality. Around him, the terrified staff began to calm, whispering explanations and apologies.
Yet for Ethan, there was no solace. The image of Amara’s lifeless body appearing to move—his momentary belief that life might return—would haunt him forever. It was a glimpse of a miracle that never was… and the cruelest goodbye imaginable.