My girlfriend was originally from the islands . She had an enormous family ,
brothers , sisters, first , second ,third cousins , aunts and uncles , and everyone
in between .! Most of whom lived on the mainland , near us . There was hardly
a week go by without another wedding , christening , or funeral to attend .
Or all three !
I'm not big on funerals , and I usually came up with an excuse not to go.
On this particular weekend it was not considered optional , so of course I went .
Her Auntie Merry had passed away unexpectedly , and when we arrived at the
house , there was the usual crowd of about three hundred . These events were
always fully catered , and I made myself comfortable , with food and drink , in a
shaded part of the back yard . Everyone seemed to know me , but I'm pretty
hopeless at remembering all of them , so it was "oh yeah" , "now I remember"
but usually I didn't .
Her whole family was very religious , and being Islanders , they had a whole
raft of traditions and ceremonies for these occasions , but I guess I never paid
much attention to what was going on .
After lunch , someone told me they were going inside the house, to pay their
respects ,and there was an open coffin . I had never done this before , but got the
impression that this time , it was the right thing to do .
I sauntered through the crowd outside, and wandered to the living room where
the coffin was .
There didn't seem to be anybody else inside , until I reached the coffin . No big
deal I thought , they'll be in here in a minute . I said a silent prayer over Auntie
Merry , and as I turned to leave , two guys in suits , [who I hadn't met before],
stopped me and asked what I was doing inside the house , before the Elders
had performed their ceremony . That was not allowed , they explained , and I
was shown the door , and asked to wait outside until then .
Upon exiting the house , I was confronted by the Elders , and they to
admonished my premature entrance . I explained that the two guys inside had
just told me to get out , and why .
The Elders turned to each other , eyebrows raised , then back to me , and said
that nobody [no pun intended] , was in the house!
They insisted I accompany them back inside to point out the two strangers .
We walked through every room , and you know what , they had disappeared
into thin air ! You just never know ... or do you ?
THE END [thankyou for your time]