It was most unexpected.
I had an intern shadowing me that week and as with every patient who entered my consultation room, I would ask the patient's permission for my intern to sit in.
Most of my patients were lovely; not only do they say "sure" or "no problem", they would even say "good luck with school" to my intern when the consultation had come to an end.
When "Jill" came in that day, I expected her to tell me that she preferred not to have the intern around, as I knew that she was going through a particularly trying patch in her life, and maybe did not feel comfortable talking about these things with a stranger around.
She hesitated for a moment, and then said, "It's okay. Your intern can stay." When her session with me ended, she turned to my intern and spoke, without looking at me, as if I wasn't there.
It felt slightly surreal, like I was listening to my eulogy as Jill, in her unselfconscious and heartfelt manner, told my intern all the things she appreciated about me, as a person and as a friend.
I could feel my cheeks getting flushed and sheepishly I muttered, “太夸张吧！” (Chinese for "that's too much of an exaggeration!")
Most times the dead don't get to hear their eulogies at their funeral.
I was so lucky to hear mine.