The doctor was halfway through his night shift when one of his patients began to behave in a most peculiar way…he could see him slowly regaining consciousness and becoming increasingly alert…as if he had regained his energy. Yes, Rolf was staring intently at the foot of his bed…and then he started talking to an invisible presence. Transfixed, the doctor watched from the shadow of the doorway. After a while a beautiful smile crossed Rolf’s face and he seemed to relax completely.

The next day Rolf told his family that during the night his sister had visited him…and that they’d had a long chat. The strange thing was, his sister had died the week before but nobody had told Rolf this because they thought the shock might kill him. It was in that moment that the doctor realized Rolf was going to die no matter what the medical intervention…it had been his experience that when a dead loved one visited a patient, well, his moment had come. The nurses commonly accepted it because they saw it quite a lot.

Indeed, shortly afterwards, Rolf died.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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