“At my father’s graveside, the gravedigger gripped my arm and whispered, “Sir, your father paid me to bury an empty coffin.”

Then the gravedigger stopped me.

“Your father paid me,” he said.

I stared at him.

“Paid you for what?”

He looked over his shoulder before leaning closer.“To bury an empty coffin.”

For a moment, my mind refused to accept the words.

“My father is dead,” I said. “I saw him.”

The man’s expression did not change.

“You saw what he wanted you to see.”

I almost stepped back.