ASHES




ASHES
I cried more tears than my eyes could bear. And I drove at a top speed that a mother would fear. Just in a day, my whole world had been burnt down to zilch. All I had left was an old rusty car that Father forgot to park in the garage and the petrol that kept it on the road. I still remember the tears that the burning house squeezed from my eyes as I watched puffs and puffs of deep choking smoke escape into the sky. My heart tore out of my breast as I ventured into the burning house but the firemen held me back. I kicked dust into the air as I held on to their clothes. Did they know the whole of me was in that burning house? My eyes sparked more flames than those of the burning house. I couldn’t bear the pain. My little daughter, Kate, was in there with my aged father. I blinked continuously hoping the gruesome images that passed before me would disappear, but I was to see the worst. The firemen rushed out of the house with a stretcher. It had the remains of Father. He was burnt beyond recognition, almost burnt to ashes, as black as soot. “Where is my daughter?”  I questioned the fireman in the lead. The look on his face was as cold as death and without uttering a word, his face sank. A sudden chill engulfed me. I sat in the sand and wept my insides out.
            I was so lost in my thoughts that I did not realise the car slowing down. I jerked from my seat when it finally came to a grinding halt. The tears that had dried up on my face made my face feel heavy. My wrist watch beeped. It read ‘2:00 AM’. It was then that I became aware of my surroundings. The car had stopped in the middle of a dusty road. A sign post partially covered by creeping plants read “WELCOME TO RIVER KAKUM”. I could hear birds chirping in the trees I walked past as I made my journey to the end of the road.
            Finally, it became visible – a still river that shone silver from the full moon that cast its image on it. I sat at the edge and watched as the water lilies made their silent journey past me.
By the river, I found peace.





Location: Gerlandstraße, 34130 Kassel, Germany

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