09/20/2025
At my father’s funeral, as the priest spoke, the church doors opened. An elderly woman in a vintage wedding dress walked straight to his casket. Her trembling hand rested on the wood as she whispered: “You finally got to see me in white, Daniel.” Then she began to tell a story that would tear my entire family apart. My name is Kate. Daniel was my father. On the day we laid him to rest, everything seemed ordinary. The organ played softly, the priest spoke gentle words, and my mother sat beside me, pale but composed.
Then the doors opened. A woman, at least seventy, entered slowly. She wore a white lace wedding dress — elegant, old-fashioned, not a costume but something real, something sacred. At first, I thought she must be lost. Then I saw my mother’s face drain of all color.
The woman walked straight to my father’s casket, placed her gloved hand on the polished wood, and whispered: “You finally got to see me in white, Daniel.”
The church erupted in gasps and whispers. She turned, her voice trembling yet clear: “I’m not cra/zy. I know how I look. But if it’s alright, I’d like to tell you a story…” She clutched a bouquet of lilies and began: “Fifty years ago, I fell in love with a boy named Daniel at our high school prom. He wore a blue tie that clashed with his suit, and he danced like he didn’t care. That night he told me, ‘One day, I’ll see you in a wedding dress, Ellen. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday…’”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Two weeks later, he was drafted to Vietnam. He wrote me every week. And I wrote back. We planned a life in letters. But then his letters stopped. Two weeks later, I received a telegram: Killed in action.”
She gripped the casket tighter, her voice breaking. “I mourned him. I never married. I kept my promise — I saved the dress he was supposed to see. For fifty years, I lived with the memory of the boy who said he’d love me forever.” The church was silent. My mother’s hands trembled in her lap. And that was only the beginning of Ellen’s story… 👉 Read more in Comment or Most relevant -> All comments 👇