"You look like you've seen a ghost!"

I was working today, and An elderly woman whom I was setting up cutlery for asked me,

"Is your mother at work?"

For those who do not know. My mother's been dead for 3 years. Cancer of 8 years. This old lady mistook me for someone else. She then asked if my mother was not "Margarita", I explained that my mum had been dead for 3 years, that she was an English Cypriot lady, and that I was the Grandson of my grandfather, who's pretty well known in the village. Turns out she's my grandfather's sister.

But that question, it hit me hard. I don't really mind talking about the loss of my mother. She died beside me. She was a strong woman and fought til her very last breath- always saw it as she never "lost" to cancer, but won and kept going until she grew tired and finally had to rest. But during the early years of her diagnosis, when she had to close down her indie dog grooming business, one of the most heartbreaking moments were when people still called to book an appointment. Having to see her tell people,

"Sorry, but I no longer groom dogs due to an illness."

But it's been over a decade since I heard anyone ask me that question too. I had to hide in the kitchen, and coworkers started asking if I was okay saying,

"You look like you've seen a ghost!"

I guess, in a linguistic sort of way, yeah... I sorta did.