As she wiped her eyes, a small white envelope slipped from the purse and landed on the wet pavement.
I bent to pick it up.
Mom reached for it at the same time.
Our fingers touched.
“Leave that, Daniel.””
I stopped.
She had never spoken to me like that before.
The envelope was thick, sealed with a strip of clear tape, and marked with a name written in black ink.
Walter Miller.
I looked at her.
“Why do you have a letter addressed to a dead man?””
Mom took the envelope from my hand.
May you like
Her fingers were trembling.
“Because,” she whispered, “he wasn’t dead when I found him.””