I watched him leave. Held him as he took his last breath. He didn’t say a word, just fell to the ground. Collapsed right in front of me like a deflated balloon or a candle melting under flame. He grabbed onto me briefly, then just let go. I could see his spirit floating in the air.

Before he passed on, he told me how angry at God he was. Said the almighty took his wife from him, left him alone in this world. Hard to let go after fifty years of marriage. The old man never did.

He’d take out her picture from his wallet every day and look at it. Sometimes, at night, he would talk to her in his sleep. Asking how her day went and what was for dinner? He smiled as he dreamed.

Now he’s with her; if you believe in that sort of thing. They’re in Heaven, taking walks on paths of green and streets of gold. The two of them are holding hands. Life goes on.