Without hesitation, Astoria reached the coffin, and with a mighty leap, her hooves landed squarely on top, the force causing the lid to crack open. The sound echoed through the air, a haunting symphony of splintering wood that silenced the crowd and froze everyone in place. Gasps and exclamations rippled through the throng as eyes turned toward the unexpected spectacle.

What lay inside was a sight none of us could have foreseen. My husband’s body was not lying in peaceful repose as expected. Instead, his face was contorted in a grimace of pain, and his hands were clenched into fists across his chest. The undertaker’s assurances of a peaceful passing now seemed like hollow words.