"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust..."

The road from his house glistened in the rain. It is a belief that when someone great passes away, it rains. The mist was heavy. Silence hung in the air, without reason. We saw it coming towards us. Not a word was spoken for the past hour or so. What was there to be spoken or heard? Some wailing reached my ears, I looked up to the sky. I wasn’t looking for someone who was not there; I was trying to hold back my tears. The gates opened and the van went in.

They asked us to see his face for one last time. I did. I thought of the times we were together. If only I had known. I offered him my salutations; it was all that I could offer, to him and his family. Like a true ‘Christian’ I knelt down in front of him. I knelt there with my eyes closed and my hands cupped. I didn’t realize then, that I was to give, not to ask. My friends followed the suit. We knelt still, in mourning. We rose like brothers and wept like men. One of us was taken away. They carried him to the van, covered his face with a black-satin cloth. A cloth was all it took!

The nine of us walked to the graveyard. We took the shorter route. As we roamed towards the cemetery, we caught each others glances. The eyes showed no hope, no future. It showed loneliness and loss. We then realized there was never a shepherd, but only us and him. I looked back time and again. Maybe, he was still back there sitting on his bean bag, munching on his cream bun. The van was there before us, it had already started unloading the coffin. We offered to carry and they told we were too young. One of my friends smiled at this, a tear drop fell from his cheek. They carried him across the gate and we were left behind. We couldn’t follow him onto to death. He had taken the stairway to heaven. We stood there not knowing what had to be done.
Then a small boy came running towards us. He looked familiar. He asked us to follow him. Before I could think, my feet started following him. We ran after him. For a fleeting glimpse it was like the old days. We ran like the wind, breaking all barriers. Up the curvy roads we ran, till we came upon a peak. From there we could see the whole cemetery, every inch of it. Lines of tombstones and crosses lay in front of us. Right in the centre, there was a gathering. We realized then it was not burial.

We stood there against the backdrop of a morning sky. The sun shone brightly behind us. We saw it all without the blink of an eye. It was hope that had dawned. A new chapter that was to begin. The boy stood along with us. He must have seen this happen a lot of times. We shed the boy in us then, grew up into men. Men, who shed tears, who made sure for every drop of tear we shed we’ll will make Him pay. The fire that burned in us then, was a fire that will rage on for the rest of our lives. We shall bring down those barriers that make us mere mortals. We shall tear away those fabrics that arrested him with fire. We will come to claim him, then be prepared, we will not beg nor will we ask. We shall come with our swords brandished. We seek neither vengeance nor vendetta. We seek blood, we seek your life. Await the sound of the hooves. When we are ready we shall come to kill.

Reasons, you gave us none
But we, shall give you one.
Not as silent whispers,
But as strong voices,
him, him, him....