She asked her late sister to send a 'sign' during the family trip to Alaska — then they spotted it

Alex Ostebo, a fantasy writer, was on a trip to Alaska with her family when they received a sign from her dead sister. The group was traveling across the Gulf of Alaska in a ferry when, midway through the ride, Alex's grieving mother began wiping her tears with a tissue. Recognizing the collective grief they felt at Denali's absence, Alex asked her mother how she wanted Denali to confirm that she was still around, to which she said, “We want a whale." In a video shared to her Instagram account @ostebograms, Alex shows the audience how her sister responded from the beyond.

After a loved one passes, no family stays the same — and neither do their traditions. Christmases, holidays, weddings — everything begins to look different, a bit melancholy, perpetually preserving the seat never to be filled again. As Alex's family registered this very void on the trip, she quickly sent a message into the ether: “We want a whale, Denali. Give us a sign.” Within minutes, the ocean sported the sight of a hunchback whale arched into the air. Within seconds, the camera focused on another one spotted a few meters away from their boat. “Before Denali passed, we had a trip to Alaska planned as a family. After she departed, we decided to still do the trip. Throughout the trip, we received signs that she was with us, and it felt like magic. I am a true believer that our loved ones send us messages from the other side. What do you think?” Alex captioned the video.

Denali Ostebo was a captain in the US Army who died in her sleep in June 2023, at the age of 29. Alex and the family were quite shocked by this sudden and unannounced death. Alongside fantasy writing, Alex also creates content for those coping with depression after losing a loved one. This trip was in her Denali's honor — a testament to what psychologists claim an after-death communication (ADCs) looks like. It's "defined as perceived spontaneous contacts with living individuals by the deceased," as posited by researchers in a study by the University of Virginia. "ADCs can occur in a multitude of forms and situations as well as in a waking or sleeping state."

In a similar vein, Alex shared another video from when they reached the harbour to board the boat for this trip. The name displayed on the hull was 'Denali'. Alex was not surprised but rather relieved by the idea of her sister's presence since she missed her so. “A quiet sign that she was with us after all," she captioned the video.

People supported Alex's emotions, sharing their own stories in solidarity. "In Alaska, I received the most amount of signs from my mom. It was my first birthday without her. A bus driver from Arizona overheard us talking Spanish and approached us because he wanted to practice his Spanish. He said, 'Oh, I learned a song from a Puerto Rican singer (we are Puerto Rican). I don’t remember his name, but the song goes 'vamo pa la playa'… That song was the song my mom and daughter would sing together every single time they talked. My mom didn’t speak English, and my daughter isn’t too fluent in Spanish, so they always had that song. The other thing was when we were about to leave and go back to our cruise, a the end of the aisle, we were walking there was a sign that said 'FORGET ME NOT' which is the flower my mom named me after: Miosotis. It was beautiful, and for sure, it will always be the best vacation ever. Even my 10-year-old daughter, who was 7 at the time, says it’s her favorite trip," wrote @miolooks.

You can follow Alex on Instagram at @ostebograms for more updates on her healing journey.