Lifeless reminders

Six Word Photo Story: “December Freestyle”

I feel uncomfortable among the dead.

I did not want to go. Yet I felt I had to. I had never visited my mother’s resting place. We were continents away from each other when she died. I did not attend her funeral. That’s another story.

The Santiago General Cemetery in Chile is huge. 85 hectares huge. It is one of the largest cemeteries in South America. When I visited, the population of the city had surpassed 6 million residents. People die, every day. An estimated two million burials have taken place in this park-like site since it was established in 1821. (source)

The family members who took me there had a difficult time finding my mom’s grave. The site was a labyrinth of pathways and structures with no markings to guide you. Opulent mausoleums and countless sculptures set amidst lush gardens dot the grounds.

I did not want to be there. I feel uncomfortable among the dead, and adding to my discomfort was the fact that my mother and I had a fractured relationship. My visit was meaningless. It was not going to repair, heal, or alter the dysfunction of two lives that failed to bond as they should have.

I place no blame.

I wanted to feel sadness, remorse, repentance. Yet I didn’t. Because of that, I felt guilty. I felt that those who were there with me expected me to feel emotions that unfortunately — I just did not. I was not about to fake anything.

All I wanted to do was leave.

Looking at the dead flowers in the summer heat provided some relief. They mimicked the life cycle of humans. From seedlings to decay. Is that why we leave flowers at grave sites? I have no answer to that question.

I took a few photos of the lifeless reminders that life is as beautiful and fragile as flowers dying under the scorching sun. I walked away.

Bye, Mom.