When I was 10, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my Mom standing at the foot of my bed, smiling. I said, “Mom?” and she turned around and walked out silently. I got up to follow her and saw her lying asleep in her room.

I asked her the next morning if she came to my room. She said no and laughed it off.

I’ve never forgotten the way that figure smiled. It wasn’t my mom's smile. And it didn’t blink.