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It has finally come to this then, my earthly remains are held captive in a bronze vessel. The metal container that holds my earthly remains stands atop my dresser, facing the very mirror in which I used to inspect my visage only a few months before. How many times had I watched my reflection look back at me from the opposite side of this very same mirror when I still breathed this worldly air? Yet during the last two years of my life I had looked at that reflected image with dread as I watched how my therapy eroded my vibrant features and drew dark circles beneath my eyes. Now my face will never again appear in this looking glass. All that will be there is a refection of the vessel that now holds what remained of me after the flames had consumed my body.
To the left and right are two candles and bathed in their warm glow are framed pictures of my family, Michael’s family and also of Michael and I together, in happier times.
Here I am now, in the loft bedroom of our small log cabin, located in this small country town in South Dakota, USA. My remains are half a world away from my family, yet it was here, in this tiny cabin, where I found a purpose in my life. It was here where Michael and I spent so many happy hours together and it was here in that bed where I finally departed from this world nestled in his arms …