When he was just seven years old, a boy accompanied his father to the funeral of one of his dad’s coworkers—a man he’d never met. While the grownups gathered and murmured softly, the boy stood quietly near the back of the room, waiting for the unfamiliar event to be over.

That’s when an older man approached him. With a weathered face and a serious tone, the stranger leaned in and said, “Enjoy life, kid—because it goes by faster than you think. Look at me. I didn’t enjoy it.”

He gave the boy’s hair a gentle ruffle, turned, and walked away.

Later, the boy’s father took him up to the casket to pay respects. But when the boy peered inside, he nearly jumped out of his skin—the man lying in the coffin was the same man who had just spoken to him.

From that day on, the boy was never the same. Nightmares, a fear of being alone, visits to psychologists—it followed him well into adulthood. He was convinced he’d had a ghostly encounter.

It wasn’t until many years later that the truth finally came out.

The man had a twin brother.