Young Matilda, whose last name is Handy and who lives near Nottingham, in England, came up with a matter-of-fact way: treat them as postal customers. Her grandparents died within five years of each other, and Matilda, who is 10, still misses them dearly. She came up with the idea of a postbox for letters to people who are now gone, and that idea has become a reality.

Matilda's mother, Leanne, went to talk to her colleagues at a nearby crematorium. Their response was an enthusiastic one: They found an old postbox, painted it white and gold, and then labeled it "Letters to Heaven." Then, they put it near the cemetery where Matilda's grandparents remains are. And, as it happened, Matilda's grandmother used to work for the post office.

That was in 2022, and that postbox alone got more than 100 letters put in it. This year, similar-looking postboxes have appeared in more than three dozen locales across England, Scotland, and Wales. Late word was, as well, that such things had appeared also in other countries, including Australia. Westerleigh Group, which owns a number of crematoriums and which installed the special postboxes, reported that those postboxes had received more than 3,000 cards and letters so far.

Matilda's next goal? Getting the Royal Family to participate. She has already written to King Charles III, asking him to install a "Letters to Heaven" postbox outside Buckingham Palace.