“Oh, Horace. Oh no,” I keened. I put my arms around my husband’s still body, leaned into the weight of him. Not gone. Not yet. Please not yet. The absence of him already threatened to engulf me in its suffocating depths. I cried against his neck until I noticed a glint of light bouncing off his chest.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and touched his shirt above his still heart. I thought the light was the sun reflecting off the ivory button there, not realizing it was something different until the light began to grow. I moved my hand away, surprised, and a little frightened as I watched a glowing version of Horace rise out of the suddenly lighter body beside me.