"Wuuuu..." sounds of sobs echoed all through the small compound. A small dilapidated brick house stood amidst the cracked ground, in front of it, a woman around her late 20's with sunken cheeks and protruding cheek bones that made her older than her actual age sat in despair. Nonetheless, her beauty could not be concealed by her state, smooth chocolate skin, full lips and big eyes were all clearly highlighted.
Besides her, a small slightly malnourished dark-skinned girl with wide big eyes and a shaved head sat, looking at the large wooden box situated in the middle of the compound.
"Look at this! you killed my child! I knew you would bring bad luck to this family! If only this stubborn son of mine listened to me!" an elderly woman screamed and cursed as she pointed at the woman in an angry tone. The woman seemed not to have heard her words as tears streaked her face.
"Mum, Kato has just passed away! please let's quickly handle the burial arrangements, other things shall come later there are people watching," a tall man suddenly approached and held the elderly woman's hand, stopping her from cursing and almost rushing to the grieving woman as he whispered the last words turning his eyes to the woman and the child.
Rungi looked at the furious elderly woman but had no words to say at the moment. That was her mother-in-law songu and brother-in-law Micheal.
Songu never liked her from the start, claiming that due to a consultation with her native doctor, she discovered that if she really entered into their family as a daughter-in-law, calamity would ensue for generations to come.
She never believed in any of those speeches and so did her husband Mani, but looking at her husbands lifeless body before her eyes and her only helpless child Orisi Mani besides her, great sorrow ignited from within her chest. Why did he have to go, didn't he know that he was the only family she had? why! Tears fell endlessly as she glanced at the coffin.
Rungi suddenly felt a hand grasping hers and looked down, seeing her daughters wide eyes devoid of tears, more sorrow evolved her. Their lives were not simple in the Mani family but with her husband, it was bearable, but now that he was gone, she couldn't imagine what her daughter's life would look like. Her grandmother hated her for being a girl and for her stoic, expressionless face, she however had to be strong for her so she immediately tried to wipe her eyes although that seemed to be futile.
"Mum is here," Rungi said as she patted her daughter's dry face.
"Dad is good. He doesn't want you to cry. The men waiting on him gave him an expensive suit and shinny shoes. If you cry, dad won't go," a small childish voice said.
Hearing her daughter's words, Rungi shrug them off as childish words. Her daughter always said bizarre words since her childhood. She simply assumed that she was stressed and hugged her in comfort, whether she was comforting her or herself, it wasn't clear.
Orisi simply looked ahead as her father eagerly ran towards her. He pressed his hand on her head with surprise in his eyes. The two men dressed in white from head to toe followed along, they were extremely dark skinned that their skin brightly shone with no blemish, coupled with their white clothes, they looked extremely majestic.
"This child. You can see me? You didn't lie to me when you said you saw your elder brother! i am sorry, dad was angry at you, i love you, i would never...alright, i saved up some money for your mother and you. You will have to travel to Mbarara town and look for Uncle Abel, you remember the uncle with a shiny head who carried you on your birthday? I am sure he will take care of you," Orisi heard her father say. She could only nod at his words with red eyes.
"Which kind of little girl is this?" one of the men in white questioned as he approached the father and daughter kneeling down besides her.
"You can talk to the dead? you aren't even scared a little bit, interesting, this is my second time meeting such a person, i hope you wont end up like the first," the man commented
"What are you saying! don't scare my child!" Mani strongly warned the man.
"Hi, i am not the abnormal one, your daughter is. And shouldn't she be scared instead ?" the man defended himself.
"Orisi, don't listen to him okay? listen to what dad says," Mani said as he eagerly looked at his small daughter, dying in such an abrupt way was a shock to him. He had left his wife and daughter helpless in the world, he knew his mother didn't get along well with his wife, he had been working to get them out of this village and give them a better life, he hoped that with the savings he made, his wife and daughter could get by in his absence. Seeing as he was able to talk to his daughter, relief washed over him. At least he could say his goodbyes to his family.
"I won't listen to him," Orisi replied causing the man to snort and the one besides him to reveal a small smile.
"Good girl, now tell everything i told you to your mother," Mani said, Orisi shook her head in understanding.
"We have to go, i have other souls to pick up," The man with a smile said.
"Where are you taking my dad? will i get to see him?" Orisi asked making Mani stand at a loss. If it was his choice, he wouldn't want to leave his family.
"Whenever you see my face, the people i pick are going somewhere nice. Whether you will meet him or not... its up to you. I hope to meet you again weird little girl," The man replied as he called onto Mani who was now hesitating to go.
"Hm? are you planning to stay? you cant survive here and stay pure, do you want to harm your family?" The man questioned as he noticed Mani's reluctance to follow.
When Mani heard his words, he immediately stepped away from his daughter, the last thing he wanted to do was harm his family.He obediently followed the two men after patting his daughters head, Orisi slowly waved at him, seeing his pitiful daughter Mani barely contained his desire to stay behind, he attempted to wipe his eyes but found that he couldn't shade any tears, the three men disappeared in air and the sun's rays.
"Dad is gone," Orisi said. Hearing her child's words amidst her mumbles, Rungi slowly patted her back soothingly.
"Mum is here, she won't go anywhere," She replied.
"Let the wife of the deceased come forward and throw soil in his husband's grave!" a priest called loudly as the coffin was put in the ground.
"I refuse!" Songu immediately stood in protest. Wrinkles graced her entire forehead, eyes deeply sunk in the eye sockets but sharp like a hawk, her elderly hands shook with anger as she cursed. "I wont let that lazy, good for nothing woman to do so! She is the reason for my son's death!"
"Mom! Sister-in-law, pay your last respects," Michael said as she held her furious mother back, burying his head down in shame, people who had come to bury whispered at the drama before them. He couldn't forget that this woman, Rungi left her studies after she got pregnant with his brother's first son but when she was brought in the family, his mother cursed her for being a bad thing. She was given heavy work which led to her miscarriage, how could she not know that among people who would want to harm his brother, Rungi would never be among them. Also, his brother fell from a tree, things happen and death is unavoidable, how could Rungi be responsible for that?
"You!" Songu wanted to curse out this foolish son of hers, looking at that cursed woman with a face of a vixen, she simply spat on the ground with scorn.
Rungi carried out the final burial rites with her child and the ceremony came to an end. Michael helped his mother who was now tired from shouting and cursing and now down in strength out of the compound to the neighboring house. Rungi was relieved and thankful to him but she knew this fraction of peace wouldn't last. She was helpless on what to do.