try to speak. You’re too weak to do anything but eat and sleep.”

 

I didn’t need any more encouragement to seal my eyes against the world’s pain of existence. I had expected to see my dead family but instead to find the pain of the physical world was a mystery. Falling back into the loving embrace of sleep, I would not wake again until the next day.

 

My brother was still there. Even though my vision had been blurry the day before, I could tell he hadn’t left my side. He was sleeping. I slowly reached to him to touch his arm. He opened his eyes suddenly, as if I had startled him. I smiled at him. He sat up, leaned forward to look closer at me. Then he smiled also.

 

“I thought I had lost you”, he mumbled.

&nbs...

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