I've worked for the United States Postal Service for most of my adult life.

My career started 40 years ago in the sorting room and it will end today after I post

this message.

There's a pressing any leaks that might even find a way to sweep this under the rug.

But I have to put this out there.

I don't, I'll never get another night's sleep.

There's a good chance you'll receive a black envelope in the mail one day in the near

future.

If you do, please don't open it.

Nothing bad will happen, not right then.

The envelope itself isn't really special, but inside of it, you'll find a white condolence

card with your name and a date written in a pretty golden font.

I promise that you don't want to know that date.

None of us should know the day that we die before it happens.

The first time I encountered a black envelope, I was in the sorting room.

I remember pausing to study the paper for a moment.

Besides the unusual color, it also felt different than any of the thousands of other envelopes

I'd handled before.

The paper was thick, almost porous, slightly warm to the touch.

It was heavy for how thin it was.

In my supervisor notice what caught my attention, she pulled me into her office, she shut the door.

It was hoping that we wouldn't see any of those this year, Diana told me, nodding for me

...