I was sitting next to my mother. We were in front of a Venetian canal, the sun was setting, and the water reflected all the brilliant pinks and oranges of the sky. There was some sort of golden dust in the air, reminescent of lightning bugs, but better in a way. I remember thinking that this was one of the most beautiful things of my life, and this made me cry. I leaned my head on my mother's shoulder; "I have a question for you... it's hard to ask though..." She put her arm comfortingly around me. "You know you don't have to be scared of asking me anything," she said. I thought about this for awhile, as this really was a difficult question for me, and the thought of her actually giving me an answer scared me even more. "Mom.... what's it like being dead?" "It's different, honey. Just different." We sat awhile longer, staring out over the water, comforted with eachother's presence.