For Elder

I am in pain!
Death has struck again and I am stuck with all these questions again. My heart aches not just for the family and friends of the deceased but for another brilliant mind taken from us, our loss.

The last conversation I had with Elder went like this;



Elder; "hello ma" bowing with a wide smile on his face
Me; "ma yourself, don't turn me into an old woman oh, Elder" pointing my finger in feigned anger and he laughed
Elder; "respect ma" I laughed
Me;"i heard you are the emir of this area, no be small thing" to more laughter
Elder;"me? no oh" with a forced frown on his face
Me;" I wasn't sure of your house anymore its been over 2 years, so I asked some kids if they knew the Anyebes and they said no, I tried again with John and Ene and the kept shaking their heads and as soon as I said Elder they all started smiling and pointing excitedly" now everyoneg was laughing
Elder;"I don't know oh" now shyly
And we all laughed

Last night I received a message that Elder had just passed away, in shock I didn't reply but today dawned and I remembered this conversation and realized that was my good bye. Most of our interactions were just "hello's" and "hi's" or arguments about the need for "aunty" or "ma" in reference to me and now I realize that brilliant smile is gone and that rare calmness has be taken from us all.
I will be sad today and mourn, maybe tomorrow I will feel better or worse but as I mourn today I thank God I had my last conversation with him and it will stay with me forever.
To Uncle Willie, Aunty, John and Ene; I grieve with you until we can pass this phase and laugh at the memories we made with our precious Elder, until we can accept this change.
My deepest condolences

Elder, I will light my candle for you knowing that you are at peace with your source of life.