In loving memory…

Topics about death are always so touching and most times pathetic. But the fact remains that death is inevitable. It's a promise we all have to fulfill. As much as we keep breathing in and out. There will come a time when it will end.

At some point in my life, I was so scared of death. I have always thought about the dead as ghosts. Not until I witnessed the death of my grandmother right in front of my eyes.

She was old and had lived a great life, but notwithstanding, we never wanted her gone. She would always say to us when we were children that her death would be in our presence and she would take her last breath in the hands of my mum.

I have long awaited the day her words would come to pass but that took years. She got so sick and asked us not to take her to the hospital. Mum tried all she could to care for her. But nothing worked out. I felt she already saw death coming.

At some point, all the food and medicine she was given couldn’t go anywhere again. Her legs began to vibrate and gradually the vibrations stopped and continued up to her arms and then her face. She held my mom's hands with all her strength and tears dropped from her face.

Her eyes remained wide open as my mum did the wiping too close. Grandma has gone! Tears and screams from everywhere, my sister ran out of the room after the experience and cried till she slept off where she was.

I remained on my stand looking at her with wonder, all I could think of was the time when she said she would die in the hands of my mum and we would all be there. I saw it come to pass. I wanted to ask her how she saw that coming but she couldn’t respond to her name anymore.

Lying cold in front of my mum, and all of her children and grandchildren. I reminisce about the nice moments with her which would no longer happen.

Grandma has been a good cook, at times we pray Mum should travel so we can have Grandma cook for us in the local ways. She would ask us to gather firewood and prepare our meal, the joy from gathering together at the smoke from the firewood was enough. We hardly experienced village life, but she taught us about it.

Those days when she would call us together at night under the full moon, tell us moral stories, her biography, and her family background. She was always ready to impact our lives morally and mentally. Though she’s jovial but also full of discipline.

I knew old age took a lot from her, but she would always tell us a lot about my dad and his siblings. She witnessed our births and how we grew up. Many times we would always ask her to know more about ourselves. There were times when she would take out her savings and buy things for us as surprises just to see us happy.

Death knows nothing about how happy we were or how much we needed her. When it was her time it came and took her away right in front of us.

Knowing that I would leave the world one day sounds scary, but I am not scared to leave. What's scary about it is not knowing when exactly I am leaving. And the most scary part is seeing people i loved leave the world without saying goodbye.

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This is my response to the HIVE LEARNERS weekly prompt in hive learners community for the Week 117 Edition 1 and the topic to be discussed is IN LOVING MEMORY

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