Diary of a Castaway

Chapter 4

DAY 13

     I heard a strange sound coming from outside the house.
     I looked out to see what was happening. Part of the town was wearing their best jewelry, escorting a young man they had once seen in the loom store. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. Could it be their celebration?
     My curiosity got the better of me, because it was strange that they did it at a time when everyone was asleep.
     I got out of bed and proceeded to follow them, hiding in the shadows.

     They came to a clearing with several graves. Since I was here, I hadn't seen any cemeteries. They had to respect the dead so as not to name them again.
     They stopped at a kind of altar, Arael carried the body and his face painted with symbols that he did not know. The young man approached calmly and with a smile.
     Arael said something that I only managed to understand, a variant of "He will be back." The boy repeated the same thing and raised his head looking at the sky.

     The next thing I saw was horrible. He made me scream. Arael cut the young man's throat. His blood splattered on him, everyone looking in my direction.
    ''How dare you kill someone?!'' I shouted, pushing people until I reached Arael. ''You are murderers!''
     Arael wiped his face, not angry or scared, just sad. It was at that moment that a baby's cry was heard in the distance.
     Everyone shouted for joy going to the grave. They started digging, something that seemed disrespectful to the dead man.

     My eyes couldn't believe what I saw.

     From the grave, they took out a newborn baby. Everyone celebrated it and immediately gave it a name.
     What was happening on that island?
     A few left with the baby and the rest began to bury the young man, to which they proceeded to pronounce the word "Ashes."
     I looked at Arael, not understanding anything. I hadn't noticed that his wife and daughter were behind him. Seeing the little girl with her face full of blood scared me. She didn't seem surprised. How many times had she seen this?
    "He should know what's going on." Haniel spoke to Arael, with a worried look.
     Arael approached me and put a hand on my shoulder, with an intense look.
    ''You will know our truth''

DAY 14

     Arael and Haniel explained to me slowly and in a way that I could understand what was happening based on drawings.
     I did not know how they were like this, only that they could be reborn from the earth.
     They were a race of immortal beings, but they could get sick like me, but thanks to the golden drink, they avoided that.

They wrote their memories for the next "Me" and thus knew who their family was, their friends... Until the moment when they decided that they had lived long enough. The children took care of the parents when they revived and the parents of the children when they revived. It was a cycle that kept repeating itself, but it was clear why there weren't that many children: There were already enough.
     The marks on their necks were where they had been stabbed to death. In their ancient writings, they were in different places before discovering that it was quicker and less painful to die instantly with a cut to the throat.
     I look at little Nuriel. When she grows up, she will have to see her parents die and be reborn, take care of them. She knew her role in this world and she was just a child.

    ''We did not choose this, Nahúm'' Arael smiled, calm ''. We were born from the earth, we returned from the earth. We continue to make mistakes, but we dedicate ourselves to listening and learning from those who created us, to continue giving those teachings to our children and our children to us. We are Resurrectors. We are the creation of a divinity who offered us immortality in exchange for following his words. We will never be what you are, but that does not mean that we do not understand how you may feel about what we have seen. But that was the gift, giving our lives so that others can continue and they can teach us again. We are not yet ready to be able to preach his word, for now we are learning even more of what he teaches us, so we ask that when you return, do not tell anything about us, mortals are not prepared for what we have to tell.''

     It was too much information. A madness to everything I believed. But it seemed like they believed in the same thing as me, only they had the gift of being able to live forever. We mortals were the ones punished. But I didn't feel envy. Jealousy did not occupy my heart.

     I knelt before them as if it were a gift from God. He had saved me, he had brought me here to learn and listen. I wasn't going to betray people who had done so much for me. They were angels in my eyes.

    ''Thanks for saving my life. Thanks for teaching me. Thank you for being your friend. I will not betray you. I will not harm you. You have my word.'' I cried when I said those words.

     Then they laughed saying not to treat them like gods or angels. They were just beings who one day would teach the rest of us mortals the words of peace.