DOWN ON BENDED KNEES

Catherine Cooper: August 1965 - February 2018

Edward had found it difficult to believe the news that his mother was dead. He had been sent to Libya on a peace-keeping mission last year. Over there he had lost all means of contacting family members and so was not informed of anything going on at home.

After a year of incessant fighting to restore peace to the region, his squad had been relieved from the mission and they had returned home together. On getting back to base, he was handed a stack of letters and a list of calls that had come in for him while he was away.

Opening a random letter, he was confronted with the news of his mother’s burial in April. Abandoning everything else, he rushed down to Abuja, refusing to believe his mother was gone. But it all became real when he was led to where she was buried, with a tombstone mounted.

He had had great plans for his mother, but now she would not enjoy the fruits of her labor. Going down on bended knees, he dug his hands into the soil, screaming her name.