When you're a child, death isn't a familiar concept. You see people one day and they're gone the next. They've disappeared. You can't see them anymore. What I was taught was that those who died or "disappeared" ended up going to the afterlife. A world completely separate from our own. In my mind it seemed so cool at the time. I told my mom that I was eager to go. She looked at me and said, "It's not a place that children should go."
The first time I visited a graveyard, I wasn't scared, mainly confused. If these people were really gone why was there so many stuff here? Many of the graves were decorated nicely. Flowers were everywhere. Some even had pinwheels by their headstones. It was a land filled with treasures. Almost like a graceful paradise. In the distance I could see some people cleaning the graves. They were probably family members or friends. They looked sad, yet happy at the same time. You could tell that these people who had passed on were greatly cared for and missed.
As we were leaving, heading back to the car, I noticed that some of the graves looked abandoned. Like they haven't been taken care of in years or more so, forgotten. One of the graves, was a child's. His grave had a lot of toys on it. I couldn't help but notice a Red Power Ranger. It had caught my eye.
I pulled on my mom's shirt as she kept walking.
"Mom can I take that toy?"
" Idate (E-dot-tay) you can't take stuff from someone's grave otherwise bad things are gonna happen,"
"But..."
" Do you understand me? Please heed from it,"
"Okay..."
I sat in the car waiting for my mom to finish her conversation with my auntie. The toy kept appearing in my thoughts. It would be great with my other toys I had. I really wanted to play with it. There's so many things I could do with it. It's just sitting there. The other kid didn't need it anymore. My greed and selfishness kept on increasing. I was making myself crazy from my own imagination and the possibilities that came from it. It was hopeless. I wanted something that I couldn't have. My only chance to take it had passed me by.
"Idate I'm going to Aimee's car I'll be right back," my mom chimed.
"Okay!" I exclaimed.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest and an extreme aura of happiness descended on me. This was my chance! I could get the Power Ranger before she'd return. As soon as she was out of sight, I opened the car door and quickly ran back to the kid's grave. I made sure there was no one around before I finally took the Ranger in my possession. There was no hesitation in my footsteps, strenuously running towards the car.
"Hey are you ready to go?" my mom asked. She had finally gotten back from Aimee's ride.
"Yeah, I'm sleepy"
" Me too, Son."
