This is your nephew talking

I've come to see you twice over the last week and a half, the last time last Thursday. You look a damn sight better than you did a week ago. A lot of the general redness is gone and the scars on your skin are darkening and hardening. You're going to have to go through some skin grafting on the backs of your shoulders, which is gonna suck. As I understand it, the only way to do it is to take patches of skin off your legs. They'll also have to put you in hot baths to scrub away the dead burned skin. That will suck worse.

This is nothing you can't handle.

Your fever was down to thirty-something Celcius- I made the nurse translate it into American for me: 102 F. They have you on Vancomyacin, which means you have a staphylococcus infection. All you have to do is beat this one off and you'll be smiling crooked at your amazing kids again in no time.

You have lots of help out here. Everyone can't wait to hear your voice again, see you laugh again, feel the strength from your words and your arms.

As many in our family know, I am an atheist. I do not believe that human beings have souls. I think that what most people call their "soul" is really their own sentience. I still pray though, and I have wondered why.

Recently, my good friend Chad Clemens' father died. He didn't die right away, he had a heart attack and died about a week or so later. Going through that, I was overcome with powerful emotions that I couldn't explain entirely. I didn't know Harry all that well, but watching Chad lose him taught me this: I am infinitely more prepared to die myself than I am to lose someone that close to me.

As I write this, and as I pray upon you, I can feel the others out there with me. I now know that we do not have souls. We have one soul. One soul that we share with humanity. Under the trees there is one root. Beneath the water there is one breath. Behind the egos there is one soul.

We stand together, Micheal, and we call to you to come back to us. We are not ready for your light to pass on. We want your love with us a little while longer. You must see, again, how amazing your children have become.

This is your nephew talking. You can do this. I have faith.