Whisper

41

The next morning, I returned to the cemetery.

It was what I would expect a cemetery of a small village to look like.

Near the front of the cemetery were well kept graves, obviously holding the more recently deceased from the village, but as you went deeper into the cemetery and more toward the north end, the graves were obviously much older.

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Many of the wooden headstones, were faded and broken and some graves, showed no signs at all, as to who might be buried there.

The graves were overgrown with long grasses, dried and brown from the winter and many others had brush growing through them and even a scattered birch or fir tree could be seen, growing besides a grave.

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I felt a sadness, as I walked through the cemetery.

"All these forgotten people," I said aloud.

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"Dat dey be."

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I jumped, at the sound of the voice.

I turned to see Franklin standing a few feet from me.

"Shit, you scared me."

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He laughed.

"Well, Will, me son. Youse is in a graveyard."

He looked toward my feet.

"And youse is standing' right top be me."

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I stepped back.

"Sorry."

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He laughed.

"Dat be okay, me son. No 'arm done."

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"Was it you I saw last night?"

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He nodded, puffing on his pipe.

"Yes, boy, it be me."

He pointed to a faded wooden marker, just to my left.

"Dat be who you be lookin' fer."

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I walked to the marker and cleared away some brush. I could barely make out the word, 'Dove'.

I looked at Franklin.

"This is Calvin and Alice."

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He nodded.

"It be dey. Nobody ever looked after da graves, me son. Dey really 'ad no family left."

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I looked back at the graves. You would barely be able to recognize the fact that it was indeed a grave.

"It is sad."

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"It be da way it be, Will. Peoples die and dey be forgotten'.

Dat's life."

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I looked around the cemetery.

"So much history here, that no one knows."

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Franklin laughed.

"Yes boy. Ifin only da dead could talk, eh Will."