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.””