The shortest way to the village from the shops passed through the grave-yard. For "obvious" reasons people preferred taking the longer route that went round the hill, avoiding the you-know-what. On this fateful, pitch black summer night which was so dark one could choke in it, only two men at different times decided to use the short cut. Unbeknown to both, earlier in the day a grave had been dug next to the path, but due to a heavy downpour, they agreed to leave the grave open preferring to bury their loved one the following day rather than "soak" him. The first was a young, sober, energetic and non superstitious man whose reason for using the path was to get home early, period. He stumbled into the heap of wet, sticky, freshly dug clay, lost his balance before gravity invited him "downstairs". Each attempt to climb up and out was frustrated by the slippery and muddy walls. After several unsuccessful trials he reigned himself to the corner of the pit, waiting for rescue time the following day. As he huddled in the corner, he heard the unmistakable voice of Mdhara J.J. a fellow village old man well-known for drinking to late as well as his superstitious beliefs. In this case he was clapping his hands in respect, apologizing "to those that rest here for disturbing your sleep". Soberman knew that if he shouted for help he would scare his only hope for an early rescue. Rather, he should let him suffer the same fate and then the two of them would negotiate their bail out. Sure to his prediction, there was a brief commotion outside, a shout, a thud and for the next 2 minutes or so he watched, rather imagined, the old drunk J.J. try what the young sober him had failed to. Too exhausted to try any more and unaware of his company, the frightened-to-death old man was now appealing to the ancestors to help him out. Soberman thought time was ripe for them to work out a plan. So he stretched out his hand in the dark, gave JJ a soft but wet and muddy pat on the back and said "No matter how much you try, you will never get out un..." That was a mistake. Sobered up J.J. rolled himself into some coil, sprung up and in one attempt he was out and sprinting homeward, leaving our surprised young man back at square one. LESSON: Sometimes we need some dose of FEAR to push us do things we would otherwise not do if all things were normal. Good Day Pals!
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 08:27:15 +0000
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