The Night Before My Birthday, My Late Father Came to Me in a Dream and Said, “Don’t Wear the Green Dress.” The Next Morning, I Saw It — and Realized He’d Been Right to Warn Me.

he gathered his briefcase and car keys. I walked him to the door, received a routine kiss on the cheek, and then I was alone in the suddenly too-quiet house.

The silence felt almost oppressive.

I walked through the rooms aimlessly, straightening curtains that didn’t need straightening, wiping away nonexistent dust, but my actions were purely automatic.continue reading …