Leslie Gordon, center in orange, looks up and waves at a paper lantern she released during the fourth-anniversary party for her late son Jalen Everett at her home in Rochester, N.Y., on April 26, 2023. “It's like a balloon release but it's a little bit more intimate because when you light the fire, the message is supposed to get to him…it goes directly up to heaven.” According to Leslie, she learned about this practice from a grief support group she is a member of on social media.