The Dead is a story about a man realizing the profound influence the dead have upon the living. Our man, Gabriel, has been going to the same Christmas party at the Morkans sisters’ home with his wife, Gretta, for as long as they can remember. But this year, “The Lass of Aughrim,” was sung. To Gabriel, this meant nothing. To his wife, this represented a first love; a first love that died young whom Gabriel never knew about. Gabriel goes through the motions of the party, and upon returning to his hotel room with Gretta, is told the story of her first love. At first angry, Gabriel soon recognizes that someday, everyone living and dead fall into memory. He sees this as a validation for life, and finds a deeper understanding of his own life as well as his wife’s.

The Morkan’s dining room is suspended, surreal…a gathering for a dinner party with chairs, but no table, as if experienced through hazy memory. Gabriel exists in a world he knows, but only finds clarity in his own life when he learns of his wife’s past, only then truly understanding the universe around him for the first time.