FOR MONTHS, AS I've visited Evan as his hospice social worker, he's been praying to die. He's in his 90s, and he's been fighting cancer for more than four years. As he sees it, his life has turned into a tedious, meaningless dirge with nothing to look forward to other than its end.
On this visit, though, he's engaged and upbeat. This sudden about-face arouses my suspicions.
"You seem to feel differently today," I say casually. "What's going on?"
He looks at me cryptically.
"Do you believe in ghosts?" he asks.
It's not the first time a patient has asked me this. People can have unusual experiences when they reach the end of life: visitations from spiritual beings, messages delivered in dreams, synchronicities, or strange behaviors by animals, birds, even insects.
"There are all kinds of ghosts," I respond seriously. "What kind are you talking about?"
"You remember me telling you about the war?" he asks.
How could I forget? He'd traced his long-standing depression to his time as a supply officer for a World War II combat hospital.
"I remember."
"There's something I left out," he says. "Something I can't explain." He goes on to describe one horrific, ice-cold autumn day: Casualties were coming in nonstop. He and others scrambled to transport blood-soaked men on stretchers to triage.
"I'd been hustling all day. My back felt broken, and my hands were numb from the cold."
He grimaces and swallows hard.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2022 من Reader's Digest US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 2022 من Reader's Digest US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Election Day Memories - Stories about voting by the people, for the people
A Convincing Argument When my boyfriend and I were finally old enough to vote in our first presidential election, we spent months debating with one another about our chosen candidates. We were quite persuasive, as we discovered when we got home from the polls and learned that we'd both voted for the other's initial choice.―SHERRY FOX Appleton, WI
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Who can benefit from this wearable technology
A Flag for Dad
An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit
Town Meeting Is Called!
Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy
Just Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.
