Buried Alive

Example 4

This is a short story, often told in South America. Not exactly where the victim is buried alive, but very similar.

One day, a young man, angry at his mother, for not exactly I know, yelled at her and said he hated her. He ran away to his friends house,(as he had no other relatives and was fatherless) the next morning, he went home to apologize to his mother, he had never said any such thing to her, even as a child. He opened the door and yelled for her, but she didn't answer. He went upstairs to her room and saw her form on the bed, she looked to be sleeping. It was pretty late in the day, so he went over to wake her up. He turned her body over, she was cold. Dry, sticky tears covered her face. He panicked and called 911. A few hours later, she was pronounced dead. Of a broken heart.

The young boy had her buried and was very sad. A few days later, he got a call from the cemetery groundskeeper. Apparently, her hand was sticking out of the ground! He told the groundskeeper to rebury her. He hung up. He was shocked! How could this be possible? He got similar calls all through the month. At the seventh call, he knew something was wrong. He remembered what he had said to her the night of her death, and met the thought with tears. He wiped his eyes and told the groundskeeper he would be their in a few minutes. He left his small apartment and hopped into his rickety mustang.

He arrived at the cemetery and walked to the grave. It was true. Her hand was sticking out of the ground! He asked the groundskeeper, Jesus, for a moment alone. He left. He kissed his mother's hand and told her he was sorry, tears dropped onto the hand of his mother. He instantly felt relieved and gave the hand one last kiss. It sunk under the ground and he sat in silence. He was forgiven.

As told by Aida Tecla Perdomo Savage, 2008. Written by Emily Louise Savage, 2013.