They were about to cre:mate my pregnant wife when I pleaded, “Open the coffin… just once.” They all laughed, until her belly moved. My mother-in-law turned pale. My brother-in-law hissed, “Close it now.” But I’d seen enough.

stood Dr. Crane, the family physician, looking pale beneath the dim lights.

“She’s gone, Daniel,” Helena said smoothly. “Please don’t make today harder than it already is.”

I stared at the coffin.

Inside lay my wife, Clara, dressed in the same white gown she had chosen for our baby shower. Seven months pregnant. According to them, she had died suddenly continue reading …