Cry, my beloved people

Tears Part 30

"She is already dead." he sobbed.   She saw how the men of the village hurry with buckets of water towards the fire to put it out.

All the kids were standing around them, staring in disbelieve as their home for the last ten years was burning.  What are they going to do without Gogo, where are they going to live!

When the men brought Gogo's lifeless body from the building none of them could hold their tears back any longer.  Jonathan held Lindie's hand and her little sisters hugged her and held her close.  Joyce and the boys joined into the hug, while raw sobs break out of their bodies.

A big lady came up to them and said: "Come with me, I will give you a place to sleep tonight." She took them to her house and made them some tea.

She showed them two rooms, one with three beds and one with two beds. The girls decided to share the two beds, to allow the much bigger boys to have each their own bed.

"You can stay here until your house is rebuilt.  I heard the priest asking for some volunteers to help you to rebuild your house.  My kids went off to college and some got their own jobs and only visit once in a while."

"That is so kind of you, thank you so much," Lindie said. They were sitting at the kitchen table and none of them felt like sleeping.

"I'm not going back to school, I want to see what they do and help them wherever I can.   I can extend the vegetable patch and sell the vegetables from door to door to cover the extra expenses.  You guys must finish your school, you know that's what Gogo wanted you to do."

"They all stared at her, then Jonathan said: "That is true, Gogo wanted us to study and she would like us to finish school, I will get a part-time job to help."

The boys offered to help after school with the building work and the girls were as eager to help with the vegetables and the laundry.  Then they settled in for the night.

The next day Lindie talked to the priest and extended the vegetable patch with the help of the girls.   She helped the men to clean out the ruins of the house to see what they can use to rebuild it.   She founded a piece of paper left in the corner of Gogo's room, there was something scribbled on it and she put it in her pocket.   Gogo's room and the kitchen were destroyed and they would have to rebuild the entire roof.

They were lucky, most of their school clothes were still fine as the two bedrooms where they slept had little damage and she was glad to find her Bible undamaged.