Beyond Surface

Chapter 41_ Farewells

Ann's Point Of View (P.O.V)

Song Credit_ Ride On: Christy Moore

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'True you ride the finest horse I've ever seen.
Standing 16 1" or 2" with eyes wild and green.
And you ride the horse so well, hands light to the touch.
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.

Ride on, see you, I could never go with you.
No matter how I wanted to.'

'When you ride into the night without a trace behind.
Run your claw along my gut one last time.
I turn to face an empty space where once you used to lie.
And look for a smile to light the night through a teardrop in my eye.'

'Ride on, see you, I could never go with you
No matter how I wanted to.' Jireh sang as he knelt beside the nude, lifeless body laid on a mattress in the room. I looked at them both, even though tears blurred and my legs were shaking.

I stood three steps away from where Chris's body laid, rigid and fixed to the spot, temporarily unable to move. I watched as Jireh whispered softly into his ears, like he was listening. I stood, looking and thinking about how vague the life cycle is.

Here's my brother, lifeless. Naked. Long dead. Yet he looks just like he just took a shower and was taking a nap. He looked just like he was sleeping, as if he still had his life and had control over the things that happened to him.

But he doesn't, because if he did,he wouldn't have let them insert a fat, thick bulb of wool into his nostrils and ears. If he had control of his life and his body cells were working inter-functionally with his heartbeat, he wouldn't have let me see his nakedness. If he was having a life, he wouldn't be sleeping on this bed.

'Wake up Chris! Please!' I said and hurried to where his remain was laid and went on my knees automatically, without  hesitation.

'Junior, wake up. Mum is waiting for you. She wants to send you on an errand. She wants to... She...sh...', Jireh got hold of me tightly by my shoulder and held me in place.

'Shhhhh,' he hissed and gestured to me to calm down. I went mute and held onto his hands placed my head upon his chest and bursted out crying loudly, uncontrollably.

'My brother is dead Kola! My only brother! Why does everyone leave me? First it was my dad, he just vanished into the thin air. Then my mom, she passed away almost immediately she had me, and now Chris? Why? Why me? Am I a bad luck to everyone? Why am I the onl...' I paused, when I felt a tear drop on my cheek.

I slowly lifted my head off his chest and broke away from his embrace, only to see him crying.

Jireh is crying? Looks like the death wasn't planned after all. It's real and true.

'Are... You are... You are...' I went speechless and looked into his pained eyes, before enveloping him in a hug.

'Shhh, we're going to be fine,' I mustered faintly into his ears. 'We're in this together, remember?' I asked him, but he went on crying. I wanted to do something, anything to make him stop weeping, but there was nothing I could do, because I was also crying.

I just held onto him, and allowed us cry our pains out. Freely.

'May we?' The middle aged man said. We broke away and looked up to see him and three other men of his age standing around us and looking down at us. They had their hands covered in gloves and were ready to...

Ready to what? Ready for what?

He said 'May we?' Meaning they want to take him away to... You know, the graveyard or morgue or something.