The day was shrouded in gray mist, as if nature itself was mourning. People in black gathered slowly in the church, whispering memories of the kind, radiant woman they had come to bid farewell. Everyone said she had died too soon, leaving behind a loving husband and a four-year-old son.
The boy stood beside his father, clutching a stuffed rabbit. His lips trembled, but he didnt crynot until the priest invited everyone to approach and say their final goodbyes. Then the boy suddenly broke down, wrenching free from his fathers grasp and screaming at the top of his lungs:
“Thats not Mom! My mom isnt here! Shes not there! Daddy, dont let them! Take me to Mom!”
At first, everyone assumed it was just a childs grief, his incomprehension of death. But the boy kept sobbing hysterically, clinging to the wooden coffin:
“Thats not Mom! Thats not her face! Its not her!”
People exchanged uneasy glances. The boys father turned pale, frozen as if struck by lightning. Something in his sons voice made his heart stop. Suppressing his horror, he raised a hand and, voice breaking, demanded the ceremony be halted.
“Open it” he whispered barely audibly. “Open the coffin.”
The workers hesitated but obeyed after seeing his expression. The lid creaked openand then everyone saw something terrible and unexpected.
Silence fell. The coffin was open, and in the next instant, someone screamed. Hands flew to faces; people staggered back. A woman lay insidebut it wasnt her.
A completely different woman. Her features were wrong, and despite the makeup, she looked nothing like the deceasedthough her hair and build were similar.
The boys father recoiled, gripping the coffins edge. He realized his son wasnt delirious. He had been right. It wasnt her.
The scandal erupted instantly. Within an hour, the morgue confirmed the horrific mistake: the bodies had been mixed up. Due to staff negligence, the boys mother had not been among those prepared for burial.
Where she actually wasno one knew for sure. A frantic search began. The morgue called relatives of other deceased, checking records, verifying tags, questioning staff.
Her real body was found six hours later. She was being prepared for cremationin another city, at another morgue. Had it not been for the boys screams, she would have vanished forever.
