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Dee came
back to school on Tuesday. I was really
happy to see her, though she didn't seem
all that happy to be back. She looked
different. Kinda sad, you know. Like maybe
she had seen something she wasn't ready to
see. The kids talked to her the way they
usually do, all laughing and joking, you
know. Maybe they thought if they didn't
mention anything about her grandmother
dying that Dee would forget about it too.
If they had looked at her closely, like I
did, they would have seen for sure that
she was thinking about it.
I don't
believe that people should forget the ones
we loved, just because they have died. In
Mexico, where my family is from, we have a
wonderful holiday called los Dias de
Muertos which means The Days of
the Dead. It's a time to celebrate and
remember family members and friends whose
spirits have passed on. We often have a
parade in the community and people dress
up like skeletons or mummies. There is
music and flowers and candy and fruit.
This might seem strange to someone who
does not understand. You might think that
we are showing disrespect for the dead,
but that is not it at all! Like all
people, we feel sad when someone we love
dies, but each year, during The Days of
the Dead, we rejoice and welcome the
spirit of that person back home again.
We make
a trip to the cemetery and clean up the
graves of our loved ones. We scrub the
grave stones, pick weeds that have grown
around the graves, and leave fresh
flowers. Lots of people come, with their
families, to do this work and show their
love for the dead. At home, we make an
ofrenda, that's an offering, a
collection of things that the dead person
liked - favorite foods, flowers, or
treasures they owned. It could be a book,
a hat, a photograph, a baseball glove,
anything that has a connection to the dead
person. The ofrenda is usually
set up on a table and we place a special
candle there, one that will burn all night
long, to guide the dead person's spirit
home again. I have always liked to stand
in the room, at sunset, and watch the
candle shine into the darkness. It makes
me feel peaceful, as if the one whose
spirit we are welcoming back, is already
there.
After
lunch Dee and I both have a free period. I
had been thinking about asking her to the
dance next week, but when I saw the
sadness in her eyes, I thought that maybe
it wasn't right to ask her to go to a
dance. Like maybe she wouldn't be in the
mood for all that noise and stuff. But I
really wanted to ask her out, so we could
spend some time together, outside of
school. I told her that I was really sorry
to hear about her grandmother. I told her
how I felt when my grandfather died. I
explained to her about los Dias de
Muertos and how a person will
always be with you, even after they die,
if you keep their memory alive in your
heart. She said that she liked that idea
because she didn't ever want to forget her
grandmother. I asked her if she was
thinking about going to the dance, and she
said she didn't think so. She said that
she wasn't up for crowds. Then I asked her
if maybe she would like to go out for some
food with me, next Friday night, instead
of going to the dance. She looked at me
like she was trying to see inside me or
something. Then she smiled and said she
would like that. I am really happy to be
going out with Dee! It's great, you know?
Now all I have to do is get some money and
figure out where I should take
her!
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