Two funeral home workers blocked the coffin. Brenda raised her voice for the first time.
“Don’t let her near it!”
That scream betrayed her.
It did not sound like grief.
It sounded like fear.
With strength no one expected, Aurora pushed past one of the workers. She reached the coffin, placed her trembling hands on the lid, and breathed as though she were about to tear open her own heart.
“Forgive me, son,” she whispered. “But your mother is here.”
Then she opened it.
The room went silent.
Daniel lay pale inside, his lips faintly purple, his hands icy and folded over his chest.
Aurora leaned down to kiss his forehead.
And then she saw it.
A tiny movement.
Daniel’s chest rose.
Once.
Then again.
Aurora’s eyes widened as if she had just witnessed a miracle.
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