Life Passed

A Transgender Paranormal Fantasy

From the Paranormal Visitor Universe

Chapter Two: The Power of Authentic Love

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

How will Marcus' confession be received that she has a female soul?

Copyright 2008, 2025 by Sasha Zarya Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note:

This book, in it's entirety, is available on my Patreon. BCTS will get weekly postings on Sundays to complete it here. Patreon Free Members can read my new complete book by chapters, Things We Do for Love

My confession of being female hung in the air between Michelle and me like a bridge I'd finally found the courage to cross. Her response would determine whether I'd found sanctuary or stepped into another kind of exile.

"Oh Sweetie!" Michelle's face lit up with understanding rather than shock. "You express female gender in a lot of ways. Only the way that you represent yourself by your outward appearance is inconsistent with that expression. We love you and if you choose to totally express female gender in all aspects of your life, we will support you in any way that we can."

The relief that washed over me was so profound I felt my knees weaken. After years of hiding, of professional detachment serving as armor against vulnerability, someone had seen my truth and embraced it completely.

"I appreciate your compassion, Michelle. I'm not sure that I am ready for such a step right now. I'm glad that you two would be okay if I were to transition."

Michelle's smile deepened, and she reached into her purse with deliberate purpose. "I have something for you. You see, I felt that you have a sister spirit within you. From what you have discussed with both Helen and me, your spirit seems to be compatible with ours."

She handed me a small velvet box, and my hands trembled slightly as I accepted it. Inside, nestled against dark fabric, lay another Celtic Triquetra knot necklace—identical to the ones Helen and Michelle wore, yet somehow uniquely meant for me.

"The necklaces that I thought were twins were actually triplets," I whispered, understanding flooding through me. "And I have the third one."

"Thank you, Michelle, and I will properly thank Helen when she is awake," I told her, rising to give her a heartfelt hug and a kiss on the cheek. As she lifted the necklace from the box and placed it around my neck, something profound shifted within me. The weight of the Celtic knot against my chest felt like coming home.

My emotions overwhelmed me, and tears of joy streamed down my face—tears for being welcomed as family, for being acknowledged as female, for finally belonging somewhere as my authentic self.

"You are welcome, my dear. I hope that you will wear it always as Helen and I will wear ours. We won't mind if you wear it inside your clothes until the day that you can find it within yourself to be open about who you really are inside."

"Thank you for understanding. With this necklace and what it represents, I might have the faith to now go where my heart will take me."

The Celtic Triquetra felt warm against my skin, as if it recognized its rightful owner. In Celtic tradition, it represented the three aspects of the feminine divine—maiden, mother, and crone—but for us, it symbolized something even more powerful: chosen family, unconditional love, and the sacred bond of sisterhood that transcended blood relations.

Michelle would have spoken again, but the peaceful moment shattered as medical alarms pierced the afternoon quiet. Helen's monitors were screaming warnings that made my blood run cold.

"Michelle, call 911!" I commanded, my hospice training overriding everything else. I never asserted myself so forcefully unless the situation was truly dire, and this was.

I ran to Helen's room, my feet moving with practiced efficiency while my heart hammered against my ribs. Snatching up the AED from its place beside Helen's bed, I quickly tucked the new necklace inside my scrub top to keep it safe during the emergency procedures.

Helen lay unresponsive, her face peaceful despite the chaos of alarms. I began CPR immediately, counting compressions and breaths with mechanical precision while my mind raced. After one complete cycle yielded no response, I positioned the AED pads on her chest with steady hands.

"Analyzing rhythm," the machine announced in its emotionless voice. "Shock advised."

"Clear!" I called out, though Michelle was still in the other room on the phone with emergency services. The shock delivered, Helen's body jerked, but her eyes remained closed.

"Marcus, they have dispatched EMTs. They should be here in five minutes. I will meet them and direct them to you and Helen."

"Thank you, Michelle."

The AED attempted two more shocks, each one a desperate gamble against the inevitable. When it finally announced "No shock advised," I resumed CPR, my arms burning with effort but my determination unwavering. This was Helen—the woman who had seen my truth, who had welcomed me into her spiritual family, who had just given me the gift of belonging.

The EMTs arrived with professional efficiency, and I stepped back to let them work their own kind of magic. One took Helen's medical history from Michelle while the other administered epinephrine directly into Helen's IV line.

For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. Then Helen's eyes fluttered open, and she drew a shaky breath.

"She's back," the EMT announced, but I could see in her eyes that this was likely temporary—a brief reprieve rather than a true recovery.

As they transferred Helen to the stretcher, I caught her gaze. Even weakened, her eyes held a depth of love and understanding that spoke directly to my soul. The Celtic Triquetra beneath my scrub top seemed to pulse with warmth, as if responding to some unseen energy flowing between us.

The ambulance ride to the hospital passed in a blur of sirens and medical chatter. Michelle and I followed in her car, the weight of unspoken knowledge heavy between us. Helen's time was running short, and somehow, we all knew it.

But as I touched the hidden necklace at my throat, I sensed that Helen's greatest gift to me was yet to come. The power of three—maiden, mother, and crone—was awakening, and with it, possibilities I couldn't yet imagine.

The hospital loomed ahead, and I realized that whatever happened next would change all our lives forever. The Celtic sisterhood was complete, and Helen's final act of love was about to transform everything we thought we knew about life, death, and the magic that binds souls together across time and space.