My 5-year-old son died in 2020. My friend urged me to “move on,” and eventually, I did. Two months later, she suddenly moved away for a new job. When I made a surprise visit, she turned pale at the sight of me.
Inside, I was stunned to see my son’s photos covering her walls—some I didn’t remember sharing—and his clothes on her sofa with a box of his shoes and socks. She admitted my husband had given them to her when we packed them away. Though she had loved him dearly, it felt like an obsession. Shaking, I took the box and left. I never saw her again.