Last Goodbyes

by Katherine Moore

Twelve-year-old Oliver has spent the last two years in a pediatric care facility, watching his leukemia progress from hopeful treatment to palliative care. Isolated by his illness and his father's inability to face his impending death, Oliver finds an unexpected companion in Benjamin—a teenage ghost who has haunted the facility since dying there in a tragic accident years ago. Benjamin teaches Oliver to cook, shows him hidden corners of the hospital, and most importantly, helps him see that even in dying, there is still beauty worth finding. Their friendship becomes a lifeline for Oliver, offering him the connection and understanding that the living cannot provide.

As their bond deepens, Oliver discovers that Benjamin has been trapped in the hospital, unable to move on because of his younger sister Elena—now a nurse at the same facility, consumed by guilt over not being able to say goodbye when Benjamin died. Oliver realizes he has the unique ability to bridge the gap between the living and the dead, and sets out to reunite the siblings separated by grief and unspoken apologies. In helping Benjamin and Elena find their way back to each other, Oliver must also confront his own family's fractured relationships and the question of what it means to truly say goodbye. Through cooking lessons, shared secrets, and the transformative power of forgiveness, four people learn that love doesn't end with death—it simply takes a different form.

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 2, 2026

About the author

Born in Washington, D.C., Katherine Moore now lives in a small Pacific Northwest town very much like Silver Birch where she sets most of her stories. She has worked as a food writer, a caterer, and a movie extra as well as a freelance lifestyle reporter and staff writer for magazines in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Richmond, Virginia.