# Burial, Wake, and Back Home.
 
<center>https://i.imgur.com/pUth2Y5.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)</center>

<div class = "text-justify"><B>I have always hated burials</B>. I refused to get to the cemetery even when my father died. It has been one of my strongest aversions. This time, I did not have a choice. I had to accompany the family. If my mother and sister with such a devastating blow and poor health could get there, what excuse did I have? My greatest fear was that either of them would suffer a heart attack or just give up life in the face of such injustice.</div>

https://i.imgur.com/WkGOh6n.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)

<div class = "text-justify">It did not happen. They were, as always have been the strongest human beings I have ever met. They cried their pain out, but held their pride up. As her daughter was being lowered down, <div class = "phishy">my sister did not curse anyone; on the contrary, she thanked God for having given her such a beautiful daughter, even if was for just 24 brief years</div>. She thanked Naky for having been such a blessing; for her love and intelligence; her sensibility and sense of humor. That brought us back to our sense, from the hell of anger and despair.</div>

https://i.imgur.com/pUth2Y5.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)

<div class = "text-justify">We got back to her place trying to figure out how to go back to normal; how to face the social conventions surrounding the entertaining of guest at wakes; the paperwork and errands; the getting used to the idea that Naky would not be with us anymore and that somewhere someone was getting away with murder; <div class = "phishy">an institution continued being nurtured with young flesh to feed a perverse and perverting monster called the military</div>. That was the most painful part. We needed to focus on the youngest and the oldest of the family. The former needed hope and protection, the latter love and resignation. I took a picture of my mother and my grand-nephew Edgar Andrés. They represented then the past and the future of our family, and we are having a hard time believing in the future.</div>

https://i.imgur.com/2zgNiW4.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)

<div class = "text-justify">As we shared in the patio, telling outrageous stories of the people from our hometown—stories of <EM>aparecidos</EM> and people whose longevity and jocosity make us believe in immortality (I hope to find the inspiration to write some of those stories soon)—, <div class = "phishy">we were entertained by the beautiful singing of many <B>canaries</B> that feast from the fruits of a Chinese tamarind tree</div>. They were very friendly and easy to get close to, with the help of some bait rice. I thing they showed up to remind us that life is still beautiful; that there is beauty in this world and <div class = "phishy">it would be up to us to get stuck in the mud of hatred and remorse or move on and live whatever time we have left in this world as fully and justly as possible.</div>

https://i.imgur.com/K6LRfY8.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)

<div class = "text-justify">We took the road back home with broken hearts but enlightened spirits. <div class = "phishy">We felt our moral duty with our dear niece to spread the word about her life and her death</div>. That, I have been doing, via Facebook, news portals, and other social media. <B>I am not afraid of the consequences</B>. <div class = "phishy">A life of fear is not a life worth living</div>. We left our mother and older sister behind to keep each other company and support. We’ll soon go back to them and hopefully hear of good news regarding a criminal investigation that my bother-in-law should be demanding as I write these lines. We came back with another passenger; another brother of mine who joined us there from <B>Margarita</B> (northeast island and only insular state). We stopped in <B>Tinaquillo</B>, again. And once more, amid pain and tragedy, we gave ourselves some time to celebrate life and death. We were determined to remain a strong and proud family.</div>

https://i.imgur.com/hf8V4Fl.jpg?1 [Source](https://hlezama.imgur.com/all)

## Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.

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*All pictures were taken by me. Some with a borrowed Samsung Galaxy J2 smart phone; the low-quality ones were taken with my <EM>potesito</EM> (cheap phone) and modified with imgur.com*

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