Both Dead

The widows took her baby from her to avoid her being injured, and the others hauled her to a more quiet place where they all joined her in crying, but even as she cried, she still insisted that her husband is not dead, she claimed that if he died, that she would feel it in her spirit, but she felt nothing, she said he was not dead and that no one should even dare to bury her man.

She was there crying when some youth came out with shovels and diggers to aid them in digging a grave, when she saw this, she cried, she even tried to go and stop them from their plans, but the widows held her bound to the ground, they never let her go, she wept bitterly, begging them not to bury her husband life.

"Please, Alejandro is still alive, please do not bury him alive, if you do this you have buried an innocent man alive" she cried with tears streaming down her eyes like the tributary of a stream. She wept looking into the eyes of the widows expecting them to understand what she was saying, but they were not understanding her points, all they understood was the fact that she was in pain and needed to be guarded against making any irrational mistake.

"OK, call on father Taye, please let the Reverend Father confirm his death before you even try to do this, please wait. You will see that he is not dead." She suggested, and the widows affirmed to her that she should not worry that the father will always be at the funeral.

"Don't worry, Father Taye is the one to say the mass at his burial, he will be conducting the burial mass, so don't worry." When they said this to her, she threw herself to the ground and cried even harder, she cried like a dying dog, but no one seems to understand her, as they only saw her as a woman in shock yet to accept the fact that she will never see her husband again.

A group of old ladies went into the room where Alejandro's body was kept, they went in with a towel and a bowl of water with which they intended to clean him, before then, the village-age grade had already made ready a coffin for him.

"Did you notice something about Alejandro's corps?" An older woman asked, she had been looking at the dead body which was lying on the mat all along. They all spoke in their local dialect.

"His eyes looked strange, this is not the colour of Alejandro's eyes." The woman added.

"Yeah, I noticed as well, but you know what they say, death happens to everyone in unique ways." So said another older lady.

"But why on earth did the men leave his eyes open in such a way? So, he will be staring into our souls? Or do they want him to drag us to hell with him?" Another woman said as she used two fingers from her hand to shut the doors of his eyes which were wide open, staring like he was never dead all along.

"Oh, what a loss, he was such a beauty, I knew when he used to be a boy, he was just like a girl, so beautiful, but as he aged and started his laborious work, he grew masculine, and all these facial hairs on his face shade his handsomeness." another lady who seems to know him too well commented, with a pitiful face.

"Hush!!! We are with the dead, no one must mutter a word any more." So said one of the oldest among the women. After they had succeeded in shooting his eyes, they brought out the towel, soaked it in the bowl of water and began the cleaning, gradually, they cleaned him from his head to his toe, subsequently, they came out with the water and went straight into the woods, they were to pour the water into the river of the dead. There was a tale that the river was formed a long time ago from the water used in washing the dead, and also, the heathens of the community believed that one could see the soul of dead loved ones on the riverside after certain rituals, this ritual will be done by the local traditional priest. The women matched without saying a word to anyone, it was the way it is done in the community. After they had done, the coffin was brought and taken into the room where Alejandro's body was, by then his wife Cecilia was already weak, she could no longer cry, and she was already burning with fever.

"Cecilia, calm down, we all know how you feel, we all have lost our husbands, but if you don't take it easy, you too might die and join your husband, and this beautiful daughter of yours will remain on earth without a parent. Is that what you want? I know that you don't want that. So, my dear, please, take it easy, see how hot your temperature is." One of the widows pleaded with her, but it wasn't even like Cecilia had any leftover strength in her, she was literally drained of all-atom of her strength. All she did was just rest on the shoulder of her supposed fellow widows, pointing over to her house and calling on the name of her husband, still trying to make them see that he was not dead. She had a strong conviction that he was not dead, but it was impossible to see reason from her side since the many had been lying there for hours without a single air in his lungs.

In no time, the coffin was out, and he was taken to the village cemetery, they were accompanied by a whole crowd of villagers who cried along. Cecilia joined them, but from behind before they could get there. Reverend Father Taye was already standing before the grave dug for Alejandro.

Father Taye stood there with his man servants holding their Bible, Holly water, and incense.