Nmyownworld on Nostr: I was hired for a job, and after starting I learned that the person who had the ...

I was hired for a job, and after starting I learned that the person who had the position before died in a car accident. That person was very well liked. This was a civilian position, and there was no day to day thought given that a co-worker might die. It was strange situation for me.

I never knew the person, but my co-workers continually looked for some sign of them in me. I sat at the same desk, and people would comment about how I did something the same way as their friend and co-worker. How I held my coffee cup or pencil. How I tilted my head. The freeway where the accident occurred could be seen through the office windows.

These folks were in shock and grieving.

For about a month, I didn't say anything about constantly being compared to a ghost. After a month, I started gently asserting that while I understood and empathized that they missed their friend, I was not that person. It took a few weeks after that, but I was accepted for being me, not a sort of reincarnation of their friend.

Because of that experience, Nilsson always resonates with me.