Chapter 23 Chapter two

The truck stopped. The former headmaster's house was a one-story house, but it was big compared to the average Tongan family.Outside, like a Japanese funeral, neighbors and relatives are busy. The colleagues who were making a lot of noise on the cargo counter looked serious when they arrived at the change.After getting out of the car, they walked towards their relatives, and while speaking of comfort, they also hugged each other and shed tears.Some people sniffed watching this scene. Tongans are very forthright in their expressions of affection.Laugh when you are happy, cry when you are sad, and stop crying when you are not sad.So, it doesn't have to be like a Japanese funeral?Even though he was not familiar with the old man, he had to pretend to be sad in accordance with the atmosphere of the scene.People in Tonga would find it strange if I, who had never met the former principal, showed a sad face.

I heard from Sister Shangmei that the form of the funeral varies from sect to sect, even if it is the same sect. This time it seems that it was held at home in the evening, went to church in the evening, and was buried the next morning. Tonga is a burial, but the tombstone is not made of stone, but cloth. Cloth can be big or small. Sister Shangmei asked me to help her husband make it. Is it 1.5 meters long?The cloth with a width of one meter, I thought it was too big when I made it, but when the two ends of the cloth strips were inserted into wooden sticks and erected on the raised mound, I knew it was a sign when I compared it with the surrounding tombstones. Huai size.

Although it is a tombstone, the color tone is not the quiet and low-key colors such as black and white, orange or purple, which are common in Japanese funerals.When I saw it for the first time, the colors were so bright that I couldn't think of a tomb at all. Mrs. Shangmei’s tombstone is sewed with the name on the red satin cloth with a dark blue ribbon, and the edge is decorated with lace and roses made of the remaining red satin cloth.There are no roses in Sister Shangmei's sketch.Because I remembered that Naomi-san had mentioned before that her husband liked roses, but Tonga didn’t have roses so they couldn’t be enshrined in front of the grave, so I tried to do this.

I showed Sister Shangmei the sketch, and she said that she must go to K. After seeing the finished product, she was very happy and said that this time it was the best.Cloth headstones are not permanent.It will fade and be damaged by strong sunlight and sea breeze, so it must be renewed regularly. Therefore, even if Sister Shangmei asked me to make a tombstone, I would not be full of sadness when I agreed. I followed my colleagues to the gate. Lizzy, who had already come first, stopped me and led me to the front of the long line to bid farewell to the old people.An insignificant person like me should wait until the end, but they will definitely regard me as a guest of honor.In this country, the Japanese are treated like this.

Before entering the house, they gave me a large wreath of white fake flowers.This wreath seems to be one of the gifts that I want to give to the close relatives sitting around the deceased, such as some flowers and cloths (they are supposed to be enshrined), and I feel even more uneasy—do you really want me to come? ——Looking at Lixi, she told me that she would also like to give a gift of cloth, just follow her example. First, enter the room where the deceased was placed, and give gifts.Then he kissed the old man's cheek, left the room and asked - can I go on kissing? Through movies and so on, I certainly know that Europeans and Americans use kisses instead of greetings, but I didn’t expect Tonga people to do the same. When I first took office, I was at a loss in every occasion that required greetings.But with the spirit of "do as the Romans do when you enter the country", after nearly a year, greetings with kisses are no longer a big deal.

Kiss in Tonga is called "uma".Just like the chocolates on Valentine's Day are divided into lovers and human feelings, it is easy to distinguish them if they have another name.This is not a kiss of love, but a "wu ma" for greeting.Isn't the name cute?Just like this, I just greeted the five new teachers who took office this month at the beginning of the new semester. But what about the corpse?It's all come to this point, I can't help but say that there are different cultures and different religions.It's my turn.I handed the flower to the person who looked like the daughter of the deceased, and sat down beside the pillow of the dead body.

It's like the landlady of the apartment "Violet Villa" where I lived in college. I stared blankly at the face of my old friend, Lixi whispered in my ear: "uma" right.This is also "Uma".I squatted down slowly, and put my lips on the corpse's cheek.So cold.This person is no longer here, I think...