Which of the following could be absent from the grief process?

In the grief process, it's possible for one or more of the stages to be absent, depending on the individual and their unique experience with grief. Among the options given, "bargaining" could be the stage that is absent, as not everyone goes through this stage. The stages of grief (such as those identified by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) may not occur for everyone in the same way or at all.

However, "death" is a factual event that occurs and cannot be absent from the grief process.

The correct answer is bargaining.

While the experience of grief can include various stages (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), not everyone goes through all of these stages, and bargaining can be absent in some individuals' grief processes.