Horizon to horizon
Memory written on the wind
Fading away like an hourglass, grain by grain
Swept away like voices in a hurricane
In a vapor trail.
There was a death in the village. It happened yesterday at 4:00 P.M. Supernova arrived on the scene within 5 minutes of the death.
The person that died was a 23-year old single mother named Ulda. I did not know her personally, although I had seen her many times in the village. Ulda was driving cattle through the village, and her horse flipped out for some reason and tossed her into the air. She landed hard on her head, dying nearly instantaneously. Miraculously, her baby, whom Ulda was carrying on the horse with her, survived virtually unscathed.
When I got there, some of the villagers had carried Ulda over to a nearby bench. There was a huge pool of blood on the ground where she had landed. Her face was very gray, and her eyes had that half-open look that people get when they´re on the verge of dying. Word quickly spread, and before you know it people from all over the village were running over to see the dead woman.
Later that night, the wake began. Here in Ecuador, family members hold the wake for three days straight, allowing people from all over the place to come and pay their respects any time of the day or night. They currently have the body on display for all to see.
Tonight, there will be a religious service for Ulda, and tomorrow they will bury her in the village cemetery, which is high up on a hill.
The most curious thing about Ecuadorian funerals is that on the day after the funeral, all the family members (and anyone else who wants to join in) take the dead person´s entire wardrobe to the river, wash it and then burn it. The belief is that this custom will ensure that the dead person´s spirit will not come back to haunt the family.
Happy Hannukah.
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