Rise again

The atmosphere was filled with sadness. The final ritual was performed by the chief priest of the village. It was time to say the final goodbye to the young man who died an untimely death as a result of a fall from the tall durian tree. Everyone talked about Apo and his kindness in helping others in his lifetime. He was ever ready to help other villagers whenever they wanted to build new houses. From now onwards they were going to miss him and it was hard to find someone to replace Apo in building houses.

          His family members, relatives, friends and villagers gathered around the corpse lying on a makeshift stretcher. The corpse was neatly covered with white linen. Once it was time for burial, the stretcher ‘coolies’ then started to carry the stretcher out of the house to a cemetery sited some distance away. As they carried the stretcher, the people started to mourn and wail. They followed the men who carried the stretcher for some time until they reached the end of a jungle path. Then they stopped and turned back after sending Apo off the final journey to the next world.

          It was late afternoon. It was never an easy task to carry the corpse on a stretcher over the difficult terrain as there were no roads around. There were also wild animals lurking somewhere in the virgin forest. You always had to watch out all the time.

          Belawan perspired heavily. His arms and legs shook unsteadily. He called out to his partner to take a rest. They stopped and rested under a tall shady tree. The stretcher with the corpse was lying next to them. Then all of a sudden they heard a swishing sound coming down from the tree. It became louder. Then there was a loud thump on the ground. They saw a big durian next to the stretcher. It was eerie and frightening indeed.  They all knew very well the cause of Apo’s death. And before they could figure out what to do next, the limbs of the corpse started to move slightly even though they had been securely tied to the stretcher.  The duo could only stare at each other in horror.  It was even more scary when they heard of someone moaning. They were certain it came from none other than the corpse. Suddenly a crow appeared and landed on the corpse. It started to crow incessantly as if it was trying to ‘wake’ up Apo. Everything that happened before their eyes was beyond comprehension. Horror and fear overwhelmed them. By now they had started running as fast as their legs could carry them. There was no time to think about the corpse. They had to literally run  through the thick forest to reach their village.

          Once at the village, they related the scary incident to the elders and other villagers. Belawan’s face looked pale. He kept mumbling about Apo and the durian. He must have been too frightened so to speak as his face looked very pale. He shivered as if he was possessed by an evil  spirit. Their story was enough to send shiver down everyone spines. Everyone was talking about the strange happening. The villagers decided to wait until the next morning to go to the forest to look for the corpse as it was almost dusk. It would be too dangerous to walk through the dark forest.

          Apo’s wife, Mina, wept uncontrollably as she sat in a corner surrounded by other members of her family. They all tried to console her and keep her company throughout the night. Mina was talking to herself. It was all about her beloved husband as she reminisced about his caring attitude and kindness and above all his deep love for her and family.

          Then all of a sudden everyone heard a faint knock on the door. It became louder. There was someone calling outside. Mina listened again. Unmistakeably, it was the voice of her husband. Everybody was terrified. Nobody dared to open the door because they were certain it must have been the restless spirit of Apo who came to ask for something that he wanted to use in the next world.

          Mina stood up and raced to open the door as the others were too scared to do anything. She could not believe her eyes. It was Apo, her dear husband standing in front of her. It was really Apo minus the linen. She stretched out her hands to embrace him. She cried and wept uncontrollably as she was simply too dumbfounded to say anything. It was not hallucination. Words could hardly describe her happiness to see him come back to life. It was a miracle. Quickly Mina helped her husband inside and got some warm clothes for him to put on. Apo looked weak and haggard.

          The news that Apo had risen from the dead spread far and wide. Everybody in the nearby villages talked about the second life that Apo had.

          When he became better and stronger, he related what had happened in the afterworld that he had visited. He saw an old man carrying a big durian in his hands. The apparition gave him the durian and asked him to return home. It was like a dream. Then all of a sudden he came to and  realized that he could hardly move and he had to struggle to unwrap the linen on his body. There was intense pain all over his body.

          It was probably because of his karma that had saved him and he really treasured the second life that was given to him. He looked forward to his new life and was determined to live it to the fullest and forever be God-fearing in his deeds like before.