This story is a tribute to T. D. Aldoennetti. It's also self-indulgent therapy. I'm sorry but I need to get it out of my system. I'm really broken up about Teddi's death.

I don't expect any votes or comments, but I'm leaving the story open to comments just in case the rare mood strikes.

Saying Good-bye: A Tribute to T. D. Aldoennetti
by Terry Volkirch

The flat horizon stretched to infinity, obstructed only by a foggy haze that drifted in small, dense blotches. The smooth ground was a dull beige color with nary a stone or twig to be found.

A huge, multicolored jagged shape stretched across a light gray sky. The shape's dull earth tones almost seemed to glow. It looked very much out of place, like a giant modern art sculpture hovering impossibly overhead.

A large number of people stumbled and shuffled about, or sat on one of the many plain wooden benches that dotted the landscape, with only a few glancing nervously above. Most of them preferred to be alone and didn't pay much attention to the sights and sounds around them. They stared blankly into the fog, looking lost or confused. Only two notable exceptions stood out from the crowd for a brief shining moment.

One of these two people sat diagonally on a bench, slouching with one elbow resting on the back. She wore a long, flowing white robe and had a contented smile on her face, and it seemed as if she was waiting for something, or someone. The other person, another woman, suddenly popped into existence and slowly approached the bench.

"Teddi? Teddi! It is you!"

"Hello, Terry."

Two friends, both writers of transgender fiction, having never met before in person and having never seen any recent photos of each other, recognized each other nonetheless. Terry remembered seeing a photo of Teddi when she was very young and noticed a resemblance. Teddi went by verbal cues and an inexplicable feeling of anticipation. Neither source was much to go on but it was enough to paint a vague portrait, and that along with greatly heightened intuition allowed both women to match the face to a name.

"Wow, Teddi. You look great. You're much younger than I expected."

Teddi laughed.

"You're looking very nice too, Terry. You make a nice looking young woman."

"Huh?" Terry hadn't noticed her new appearance. She hadn't really noticed much of anything, including the fact that she wasn't truly awake.

"Am I dreaming? I'm ... I'm a woman!"

Terry was in fact all woman, a tall woman in a skirt and heels. Her thick, wavy brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and several inches down her back. Her normally small breasts had expanded a couple cup sizes to add lovely curves to a tight knit powder blue top with cap sleeves. She stared down at her chest and slender arms with awe while her bemused friend patiently waited for her to adjust.

After admiring herself for several minutes - as time is measured in that otherworldly place - she looked up, fully intending to badger Teddi with questions, but then she caught notice of the huge object in the sky.

"What the heck is that?!" she said, pointing up.

"It's a thought form," Teddi replied without having to look up. She'd had plenty of time to get used to it and of course knew exactly what Terry was talking about it. "It's part of the consensus reality, created by all of the people here. I've been told that it's been around for as long as anyone can remember. No one knows how it first formed, but it persists because everyone who comes here sees it and reinforces its reality."

"That's crazy!"

Nothing in the real world could compare to the sight in that gray sky. It would seem crazy.

"But it sounds familiar," Terry muttered.

She gave it some thought and soon dug up a memory. "That's right. I've read about it in one of the books by Robert Monroe. He experimented with astral projection. That must mean I'm ...."

"On the Astral Plane," Teddi finished.

"Yeah. I'm in what Robert Monroe described as a large waiting area for those who pass on. He thought of it as a place for them to get used to being ... dead." Terry gulped.

Teddi smiled and nodded.

"So I'm not dreaming."

Teddi's smile faded, and she shook her head no to agree.

"Then you really are dead?!"

Teddi gave her friend a very faint, sad smile and nodded ever so slightly.

Terry rushed forward and hugged her friend, sobbing dry tears since water didn't exist on the Astral Plane. It didn't take long to cry herself out though. She found the lack of real tears to be unsatisfying. She slowly released her hold and moved back with a shocked look on her face to ask a question.

"Does that mean I'm dead too?"

"No, Terry. You're not dead. Silly girl. The living can visit here. Wasn't Robert Monroe alive when he came here?"

A feeling of relief washed over Terry, but the sadness returned with a vengeance.

"Then we can't be together, at least not for much longer. I guess I'm here to say good-bye."

"Yes, that's pretty much it."

"But I hate good-byes! They take ... forever." Terry suddenly grinned mischievously.

"No, Terry. This is a one time deal. I can't stay here for you. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I know. But you can't blame a girl for trying."

"So then? Is that it? Is that your good-bye?"

"What? No!" In spite of her distaste for astral crying, she started in again and slowly moved into a long, farewell embrace with her friend.

Teddi waited until her friend stopped crying before relaying a final important message.

"You're probably not going to remember this when you wake up. Sorry."

"What? Why not?!"

"Most people float out of their bodies and astrally sleep walk. Only a very few have the control to be fully conscious and remember their experiences."

"But I feel fully awake now. Why wouldn't I remember anything?"

"Well, maybe you will, but it might just feel like a dream. It might quickly fade away like dreams often do."

"But I want to remember!"

"Take it easy. Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe it'll fester in your subconscious and inspire a story. That would be nice. Remember, I want you to keep writing."

"That's right. You threatened to pull me by the ear to my computer and practically force me to keep writing." Terry laughed at the memory.

"I was serious ... mostly," Teddi said, trying to maintain a stern look and failing.

"I plan to keep writing. I'm also going to finish the drawings that I planned. I don't know what to do with them but I'm going to finish them to honor your memory."

"Thanks. I'd like that."

The two friends stood facing each other, staring deep into each other's eyes until the last possible moment. Terry wanted to drink in the sight of her lovely, healthy looking friend for as long as she could. She was desperate to hold on to the memory.

"I love you, Teddi," Terry said as she started to fade out and return to the physical world.

"I love you too, Terry. God bless you. And keep writing!"

Teddi's sparkling eyes and broad smile was the last thing Terry saw as she faded out and moved back to her body.

***

It was morning, and as Teddi had warned, Terry didn't remember the astral encounter. Her changeable astral body slipped back into her rigid physical form to begin another day of mourning mixed with a stubborn tinge of gender dysphoria. But a new story did nag at her all day. It kept nagging until she sat down at her keyboard that very evening and began to type. She had to spend the couple of hours that it took to write a short story, a story to honor the memory of a very dear friend who would never again grace the world with her kindness, or write any more of her wonderful stories.

This is the story that Terry wrote; a tribute to Teddi Aldoennetti.

*** The End ***

 © 2009 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. The characters portrayed in this story are real, one being the author and the other a deceased friend of the author, but resemblance to any other persons or events is purely coincidental.