It was 3:35 pm when Aunt Bernie stopped breathing. I have
never seen anyone die before and I admit to being surprised by the experience. I was sitting
next to her and watching closely as her breathing had faltered a few times and
had become very shallow. When the end finally happened, she turned her head a
bit, squeezed her eyes, and drew her eyebrows together.
Then her breath stopped. She became blue before her look of discomfort faded
and her heart gave out. I felt for her pulse but there was nothing. It all
seemed surreal. I had never seen anyone who wasn’t breathing.