I woke up with tears already streaming down my cheeks.

The remnants of my mother’s touch clung to my skin like sweat. Her voice, her eyes were so vivid that it took me a few seconds to notice I was no longer in that place. The dreamscape had vanished, leaving me breathless in the stillness of the room.

My chest rose and fell in rapid, shaky, short breaths. I reached for the space beside me, as if she might still be there. There was only emptiness.

The soft sheets were tangled around my ...