It was late at night. In my sleep, I heard voices.
They were deliberately hushed, as if people were talking and someone was trying to stifle their sobs.
Who was it?
Mom and Dad?
What had happened?
I tensed up at once.
I wanted to wake up. I wanted to make out what they were saying.
But it was as if something was pinning me down. I was paralyzed, unable to get up or even open my eyes.
The broken snippets of conversation gradually became clearer.
I could also sense a little light, as if my eyelids had lifted slightly...
Black...
No, people wearing black clothes.
"What a pity. Her granddaughter's wedding is only a few days away."
"Has the wedding been affected?"
"No. The groom's family came by today, too. They're very understanding."
The voices made me stop struggling.
Those voices... They were completely unfamiliar, and the language they spoke was unmistakably foreign...
I woke up fully.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw a crowded living room.
Everyone around me was dressed in black. The women wore long black dresses and black veils that covered most of their faces. The men wore black suits, and some even had on top hats.
Someone was holding my hand. I turned and saw an unfamiliar woman dressed in black, too.
My hand was so small, and it was clasped in the woman's black-gloved hand.
I floated up and saw the person I was possessing.
I remembered that face vividly. It was the same one I'd seen in the photograph that afternoon. The picture was blurry, a family portrait with a little girl standing beside her parents at the very edge of the frame.
It was Grandmother Enna! She was a little girl!
I'd never imagined I would dream about