"...And the silence of the dead..."
Coming home to this empty silent house, it is no longer home, is now always bring to mind the song “Still In Saigon” by The Charlie Daniels Band:
…All the sounds of long ago
Will be forever in my head
Mingled with the wounded cries
And the silence of the dead…
Karen's soul filled this place. I could 'feel' if she was in it or not. I never told her that. 
Now it is just empty, as am I.
~~DISCUSSION~~