realized I barely understood. Losing him felt like losing my parents all over over again, a final severing of my ties to the past.
I spent the weeks following the funeral in a haze, slowly sorting through his belongings. Every book on the shelf and every photograph in a frame felt like a heavy weight. I was looking for closure, but all I found were reminders of his unwavering devotion. Or so I thought until the afternoon the stranger appeared.
I was standing in the living room, staring out at
