MBEYA, 2020
Christos waited till night. He couldn’t dig out the grave in daylight. No one would. His watch read 0100hrs. Mbalizi was dreadfully silent. Most of the lights were off and people were doubtless in their beds. No one likes walking near cemeteries at nights unless they turn night into day. But in mbalizi cemeteries, deep in obscurity, there was Christos, Zander, and a bunch of ten young men. As the saying goes, all true stories begin and end in a cemetery. Christos was about to find Rayhan’s story.
He sat on the chair, seeping coffee. The weather was cool that he didn’t need a jacket. Rayhan’s grave wasn’t covered with cemented walls or tiles. Just a hill of soil. The cross was nearly collapsing. But as Steve Jobs said, being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters. He watched the young men digging off the grave.
“Are we doing the right thing?” Zander said.
“I’m not sure.”
“We can stop and leave.”
“My reputation is about to be obliterated.”
“We’re digging a dead man’s grave.”
“Zander, I’ve done everything I could to look after this country. This country could’ve perished a long time ago if it wasn’t for me. Yes, I’ve killed people, but it was for the better. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a sacrifice, offer it. Life is love, enjoy it.”
Zander took a deep breath. His forehead puckered. The young men continued digging the grave.
Christos sighed. “What we did is sacrificing our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow. People will remember our forfeits someday.”
“Have we truly helped this country?”
Christos chuckled. “Zander, do you trust me?”
Zander exhaled. “We’ve given many things to the capitalists.”
“Our country had to survive, Zander. We had no choice.” Christos patted zander’s shoulder. “To live is to suffer, and to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.”
“What if we are doing all these just to save ourselves?”
“Self-care is not selfish, Zander. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
Zander glanced over the sky.
“Our country still needs us. Till we make it the superlative, no one can reduce to rubble my reputation.”
“What if we’re blind? Blind people who can see but do not see?”
“Zander, I—”
A whisper came from young men. They beckoned them. Zander helped Christos stand. Using his cane, he bit by bit sauntered to the grave.
The timbers were already started being annihilated by scavengers. Three young men were inside the grave. They opened the relics of the coffin. Christos held his cane tightly. His eyes widened and his heart started running fast. The coffee cup fell off his hand. He was shuddering. Zander helped him standing. Inside the coffin, there were only dresses. Those white dresses used to cover dead people. There were no signs of bones, skulls, or vestiges of the body parts.
“It’s empty sir!” A young man in the grave shouted.