she was in my dreams again last night.

we hugged for a while. I looked up at her with tear-blurred vision and asked her where she had been for 8 and a half years. She said she had been in Kent.

I told her that was ridiculous, and shot an unsure glance at my dad, who was standing close by. He was beaming at her, fixated, and didn't seem to notice I had said a word. Dad always said you were in heaven.

That's ridiculous, she said, laughing. Once you go to heaven, you never leave. And I'm here. How could you even begin to explain that, honey?