I think I told you what happened last week. I did. I didn’t? Well there’s nothing better to do now so I guess I’ll go over it again for you- one last time, ok?
People die everyday, every second, right now? Anyway the reason for this story is that I had travelled to attend a funeral. No, it’s no one that you know, I think.
I think there was sadness for some minutes and then joy on learning that workers would be allowed to travel to attend the funeral. I confess I was a little bit happy. At my work place we only get official permission to be absent on such occasions. Jose being now a member of the in house welfare association had promised me that all was being organized for the bitter-sweet travel. By “all being organized” I mean he fixed me in the entourage even though the deceased was not in my department. What? My department? Cleaning, but that’s beside the point. Stay focused. Where was I? Oh, the travel.
Yeah, so I got in and I must say it was fun- it reminded me of that time our primary school teacher took us to the agricultural show. Despite the 3 hour walk in the muddy paths we took in our school uniforms it was still fun. The teacher was quite frugal though he made us make groups of four each to share a loaf of bread and a soda. Someone said he took some sodas home for his family. That someone really had it rough for a couple of days later. He experienced what we used to call “global warming”- our frugal teacher lay the rod on his behind every now and then at will. What? The other story? Oh! Ok.
Well we got there and buried our colleague. We made a few stops on the way to sight see- the driver called it “kuuwa nyoka”- killing a snake. Most of the sight seeing was done in the heavily forested areas and individually in hiding. Ok! I’m getting to it. Alright!
When it got to time to travel back some of the deceased relatives said that they wanted a ride back to the city as they had some pressing issues that they had to attend to – rumour had been going on that they wanted to inherit the deceased’s position and the way they saw it the first to get back to our boss would be the rightful heir, thus the race and scramble.
And so they called out for the list of those supposed to have been attending the funeral and my name was not there! I looked at Jose but he was nowhere to be seen. So now I was left stranded in a place I’d never been before with my colleagues not in the least interested in my pleas.
Just before they left I cornered one of them and bled my soul out to her shamelessly. My efforts were rewarded with some money for me to use private means to travel back and that is where the story begins, ok? In the van? The Nissan? The story begins in the van. What? It did not the last time? Do you want to tell this story or will you let me? Fine! So this is what happened….I got in to the Nissan (van) and sat at the back not because the van was full but purely on different motivation… (To be continued)
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