Amentia

Chapter 33 - Burial

The stars and moons were shining in the sky by the time the survivors in the park started moving. No one spoke any louder than a whisper, because the quiet was just too overwhelming. Slowly, they began gathering in small groups, helping each other shake off some of the dreadful feelings. Eventually, they decided to have one single burial ritual for all the victims. Even though Ehlevit was the most populated place in Amentia, it was still a small town where almost everyone knew everyone else; so this tragic loss of lives was felt by all, as they were one people. It had been a very long time since a collective burial ritual had taken place in Amentia, at least three hundred years. This would be an event that the town of Ehlevit would never forget.

The girls gathered with the troupe by the stage, everyone still shaking from the shock, asking each other if they were okay more times than necessary, and hugging as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks. They all decided to stay for the burial, even if they hadn't known any of the victims more than by sight or casual greeting on the street. As much as the girls wanted to learn about Amentia, witnessing a burial wasn't exactly something they were looking forward to. But it was important that they did.

It was a process that took several hours, because it required hard labor and a lot of waiting. The first thing they had to do was take the dead bodies back to their homes and wash them and dress them in their favorite clothes; next, they put them on a cot or any other surface on which they could transport them. Later, all the survivors of the attack and the loved ones of the victims walked out of town, to the forest, carrying the bodies with absolute solemnity. They also carried shovels, axes, and bowls. They chose a wide patch of forest that was mostly free from trees and gathered there. Then they gently placed the bodies on the ground and began digging the graves right next to them, usually in a team effort among each family. Then it was time to collect firewood and flowers. The kindle could be from any tree, but the flowers had to be pirideras, because of their unusually long stems; the flower itself was something like a mix between a white rose and an orchid, a proud beautiful thing.

The regular fire for an individual burial was usually quite small, but these were different circumstances, so they decided to build a bonfire instead. Every family threw a small burning branch to get the fire going. Next was the waiting. While the fire ate through the wood, it was a time for contemplation and remembering the deceased. Everyone gathered around the tall bonfire and paid tribute to the one they'd lost, either by observing the flames in silence or by talking about them with their family and friends. It was a time for unity and comfort, especially in this particular circumstance of violence. Around two hundred people sat around the fire and showed their respects to the victims, some had been present in the park when the tragedy had happened and others had had the horrible news delivered to them afterwards along with the sight of their loved one's dead body. Most of them were holding hands or embracing each other, the girls included, though they made sure to stand far from the fire because they were still outsiders in the town. It was a moving experience for them, not only because of the tragic events that had caused it, but also because of how beautiful the ceremony was. There were a lot of conversations going around, sharing happy memories of the victims' lives. No one was crying because that wasn't the point of the ceremony. They were there to accompany the dead in their journey to the earth, not to ask them to come back to the living. This didn't mean they had accepted the sudden and unfair way in which their loved ones had died, but the burial was too sacred a ritual to be tainted with desires for revenge. There was no place for that there.

It was a long while until the flames finally died out, well into the night, but not a single creature left the site. Once the ashes had settled in the ground, someone from the family of each victim got up from their seat, walked over to the remnants of the bonfire, and grabbed a handful of ashes and put them in their bowl, bringing it back to their family. They stood in a circle holding the bowl with one hand each, and said the words "Fir ed alm eskit; ret u alm ogskit". Then they went to the graves, lowered the bodies carefully, and spread the ashes all over them with ritualistic respect. Then they buried the bodies and stuck the long-stemmed flowers all the way down into the ground, as if to cover the body with them.

From their respectful distance, Omylia explained to the girls that the ashes were used as a conduit for the body to merge with the earth faster than normal, because there was no point in them staying around for years when they could be part of nature sooner and rest properly. The words they'd said were an enchantment that could be roughly translated as "One with the world; back to the start." The pirideras were used because their long stems could reach deep into the ground, close to the body, and they represented each family member or friend that would accompany the deceased in their journey back to the earth.

The next and final step in the ritual was to sing the song of parting, which the whole town would sing together in this particular circumstance. Almar and Meira had brought their nahe, the same instrument that Adam had used back in the caravan after lunch. Before the ceremony had started, they had offered to put music to the song of parting as a way to show how deeply sorry the whole troupe was about the incident, and everyone had accepted gratefully. And so, each family sitting on the ground and gathered around the flowered graves, they began singing.

On this grieved occasion,

we return this soul to its birthing place.

Divine spirits, guardians of all,

we thank you for the life created.

We ask that this journey be blessed and protected.

Your shine may be gone now,

but your glow shall stay here

forevermore.

On this grieved occasion,

we say goodbye,

we ask the Gods to keep your light.

May the earth welcome you,

may you become the seed of another life.

When the voices sang the last word and the strings hit the last note, there was a moment of silence. The majority of the eyes were closed and the heads were bowed down. They let the entire ritual sink in, knowing this would be the last time they would be able to sit next to their loved one; by the following day, their body would no longer exist in the world. Still, no one cried. There would be time for crying later.

The girls were crying as silently as they could. The song had moved them to their core and their emotions had already been riding high since the attack. Zoe was particularly distressed. She had to cover her face with her hands to avoid disturbing the respectful silence. She could almost see their faces through the roots and dirt, a lot of them she remembered seeing alive in the audience just mere hours ago. She could feel the bodies in the ground, already starting to disintegrate. Like the song said, the earth welcomed them. It embraced them, took them back to where all life came from. It was both beautiful and devastating and, for the first time in her entire life, Zoe wished the ground was just the ground, just a place where she walked, and not a vivid picture of what the world was like. What made her even sadder was that this place, where twenty-two people were now disappearing from the world, was still poisoned by that invisible sickness. Not even this sacred place was safe from the madness that had been the very reason why they were all there to begin with. Not even in this moment of tribute and respect could they be free of that poison.

Zoe had to ask the girls if they could leave, because this was too much for her to bear. Zoe's expression of deep anguish was enough for the girls to accept her request, so they left the forest and the troupe, and walked back to the caravan.

As they found their way back to the park, Nati asked if they could take a detour, although she told Zoe they could drop her off at home first if she wanted. Since she was feeling a little better now that she was away from the graveyard, Zoe stayed with the group because, like the rest of the girls, she was intrigued about where Nati wanted to go.