The 2003 Hanover Funeral Reflection

In 2003, inside Shepherd & Hollis Funeral Home in Hanover, the casket’s lid was polished so bright you could see your face-unless you looked too long. The first mourner, Mrs. Raymer, saw three strangers clustered around the body-none standing in the room, but all reflected beside her in the brass. On her third glance, one leaned in and whispered her first name. Soon half the chapel lined up to look, everyone catching flickers of blinking, grinning faces no one could place. It wasn’t until the lid fogged with a single breath-spelled backwards-it’s not your turn yet-that anyone stepped away.