She Chose a Digital Phantom Over Me

Summary

I am a volumetric capture and spatial computing designer. After a project I did recreating an interactive hologram of a grieving father’s late son went viral on Instagram, my studio account blew up.

Every morning, my inbox filled with requests from people begging to see their ghosts again.

Most days, I couldn't bear to read them. The weight of other people’s unfinished goodbyes is a heavy thing to carry, but every so often, a story would catch in my throat, and I’d take one on.

That Tuesday, a direct message caught my eye. The avatar stopped my breath entirely.