Burying Four Coffins

There on a house were two coffins, side by side. There, looking blankly at the coffins were the orphaned children, who were fortunately old enough and have families already.

There on those coffins were a couple, who were discovered dead on their bed, ending about 35 years of marriage. The woman was already weak at her last years, but the man was very healthy, nursing his wife in what would their final days.

But just a few weeks earlier, the man's sister died. The man was heartbroken, as they have been very, very close all their lives. They went to the same schools, studied together at night - it was like they're twins. But of course, the man was two years older than his sister.

The man's sister had dreams of going abroad, and when an opportunity came, she grabbed it and left for the U.S.A. The man was the one who brought his sister to the airport. He didn't know that would be the last time he would see his sister in person in 30 years.

Fortunately, technology bridged the gap between them. While the two siblings were separated, they would not miss a video call every single night. Christmas, New Year, and every other day, they would get updates on each other's lives. Soon, they had their own families, but they still didn't forget to call each other at night.

But soon, they grew old. The man had been noticing his sister becoming frailer, in body and in spirit. "Why won't you try coming home," the man asked one time. His sister didn't reply.

While time passed, it was discovered that the man's wife had a disease, and the doctor estimated she would have two years to live. And when the wife's disease progressed, the man dutifully nursed his wife. They were the only ones who lived at their home, as their children left to start their own families.

This continued to be the case until one day, someone knocked at the door. "Brother," the voice called, and the man realized that what he's waiting for many, many years finally arrived. "Sister," the man exclaimed as he opened the door, surprised at her unannounced arrival. And soon, the man nursed his weak wife and sister.

Turns out, the sister's husband had died a few years after their marriage, and she was left to raise her children all alone. Fortunately, her job proved stable, as she working in an entirely new land, full of things she didn't saw back at home. And after her children grew old and started their own families, she was left to take care of herself. She was in her home, all alone, and getting weaker.

And when her children visited her one time, she took the chance to inform them that she was thinking of going back home. "They had no choice. I had a brother who will take care of me back home," the sister said of that moment.

And after 30 years, she was finally on the way home. After she stepped out of her son's car, she said goodbye for one last time. She made her way to her plane, and the next day, she was finally home.

The man spent the next days with his sister and wife, talking about their lives while drinking tea on the balcony. They went to church together, and to the hospital together. It was such a sweet sight, a man escorting two women to different places, though sometimes people mistook the man's sister as a second wife.

And then, the time came. The sister's body finally gave up, barely one year after she first stepped foot in her brother's house. She was there on the bed, her hands clasped together, and on her mouth what seemed to be a smile. She was contented, and her brother was comforted to know that.

The man and his wife put her coffin on public viewing later that day, so that the sister's children can hopefully see their mother one last time. And they did. Soon after her children were informed of their mother's death, they went to their uncle's house, and there they saw their dead mother in the coffin. "Thank you very much for taking care of her Uncle," the daughter said. "We were just too busy to even do that," added the son.

In the following days after his sister's burial, the man grew weaker, and he probably never recovered from his sister's loss. His healthy body and lively spirit soon died out, and his wife, who was already weak, grew weaker.

The man and his wife were said to be close and were reported to not have a single fight. A perfectly matched couple others said, and together they raised two good children. They would spend lots of time together, especially in their final years. And it cannot be stressed enough how devoted each was to the other, especially in the time of the wife's sickness.

And one Friday morning, when the couple was not seen drinking tea on their balcony, some concerned neighbors barged into the house, and finding them nowhere, they tried to unlock their bedroom, and were shocked at what they saw. The man and his wife were on their bed, holding hands, dead.

The couple's children organized the public viewing, and there they are today, staring blankly at the coffins of their dead parents. They still couldn't believe what happened, along with others who attended the public viewing. A few days later, those children would bury what would be the second and third coffins they would bury a span of one month.

One month later, those children were informed of another death. Their uncle, the wife's elder brother who also attended her funeral, had died of what was probably a broken heart. Unlike the man's sister, that uncle didn't pay a visit to his ailing sister in her final days, even though the siblings were also said to be close too.

In a span of one month, two people lost their parents, an aunt, and an uncle. Those people buried four coffins in that time span.