When the Door Between Worlds Opens

My First Contact with Ben After His Passing

Most people think of death as an ending. I did, too—until Ben found a way to prove me wrong.

Ben never did things the conventional way in life, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when that carried over into whatever came next. A few weeks after his passing, I had my first undeniable experience of him reaching out. I say undeniable because I was skeptical. I didn’t go looking for a sign. I wasn’t desperately grasping for something that wasn’t there. But Ben, being Ben, had other plans.

Enter Judy.

Judy was a professional medium—no theatrics, no crystal balls, just a soft-spoken woman who somehow became an interpreter between me and my son. I was cautious. I had experienced paranormal activity before, but I certainly didn’t expect to be having conversations with my dead child.

But there he was.

I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time Ben came through. I braced myself for some vague, comforting platitude. Instead, I got Ben—sharp, funny, and exasperated that I hadn’t realized sooner that he was trying to get my attention.

Judy described him as having an “open door policy.” He’d pop in unannounced and drop messages for me as if we were chatting casually. Sometimes he’d complain. Other times, he’d tease. But always, he was himself.

At first, I questioned whether it was real. Could grief make me hear what I wanted to hear? But the details—oh, the details. Things no one but Ben and I could know. The phrases he used, and the references to inside jokes we had shared.

And then, the ultimate confirmation: Judy asked me to tell Ben he needed to stop showing up at her house uninvited. Apparently, he liked popping into her living room whenever he pleased, sliding open the metaphorical door between worlds with his usual disregard for boundaries. Eventually, she had to tell him to stop.

That was Ben.

It didn’t make losing him any easier. But knowing that love—our connection—didn’t die with him? That changed everything.

Some people won’t believe this, and that’s okay. But for me, there’s no question. Ben didn’t just leave. He just changed locations.

And he made damn sure I knew it.