"When the dead started coming back, it began as you might expect: in isolated incidents. No one seemed to know quite how to react, as it went from something that simply had to be a hoax or a sick prank, to something that you had confirmation of through the grapevine: a friend of a friend of a thing. Somebody four or five steps in the chain away from you had had it happen to them.

"The news started taking it seriously when that man in Texas walked in on his own funeral, scaring the living shit out of all the mourners. When they interviewed him, he gave the same answers all the other undead people did: yes, he was back from the dead. No, he had no idea how or why he was back. Yes, he felt fine–and the doctors would go on to confirm this, showing that the congenital heart defect which had killed him in the first place was now gone. No, he had no idea why he was walking around in a new body while his old one could be plainly seen in the coffin at the funeral home. And no, he didn't remember anything between shutting his eyes for the last time in the hospital and finding himself walking through the center of town feeling a little hungry and confused. And on and on. He was just glad to have his life back. To have more time with his wife and children.

"Then it began to spread. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents all returned in much the same fashion. Relatives seeking shelter began to stack up until the living began to run out of room for the dead to sleep.

"The miracle was going bad…and speeding up. From further back, the dead arrived: Civil War veterans wandering out of state parks, luckily too dazed and mystified to rehash old grievances; entire tribes of Native Americans seeking out land that was unrecognizable now; victims of flu and plague epidemics appearing in droves in Europe hale and hearty until the streets and cities choked on the life. And it hasn't stopped. The latest trend is teenagers who kill themselves for kicks and arrive again fresh and new hours later. Hopefully they will tire of this…it's hard to find room for the undead, much less their spent corpses.

"But I can't keep up with all that's happening on the news. Not anymore. The former owners of our house want it back–plain and simple. So far the courts side with us: that dead is dead, whether or not the state is temporary, but we'll see. It's all out on appeal.

"But it's not even that. My wife's first husband is back as well, and he wants what's his, too. And my wife…it's not that I doubt she loves me. It's just…well, I was the second husband, right? Let's just say that I may be losing that appeal as well.

"It's funny in a way that really isn't. I remember watching those horror movies about the walking, restless dead and being scared shitless as a kid. I thought how horrible that would be if that happened.

"But…this is worse. They're not here for our brains or to try and eat our flesh…they just want their lives back. And honestly, we didn't even have enough life for ourselves before they showed up on our doorstep."