zbogom companera

It was the strangest and saddest funeral I have ever been to. And i'm not really sure why. The shock of her death really didn't sit in with most of us until the funeral was over. In the days after her death we were really just dumbfounded. It was hard to react to the reality. She had gone so quickly, only six weeks after finding out that her body was poisoned with cancer.

The Muslim burial was visited by Christians, Jews, communists and atheists alike. And in the end, when her coffin was covered and the last shovel of heavy, wet earth was placed on her final resting place it started to sink in. Of the hundreds who attended the funeral, about fifty of us stayed behind. None of us knew why. We just couldn't go. We just couldn't say goodbye. Nothing was agreed or spoken, we just sort of lingered around her grave. Some cried, some just stared, some even began to laugh and tell stories of the wonderful person that she was. And we still couldn't, wouldn't leave.

Waves of sadness seemed to hit us collectively. People held each other and hugged, but in a very non-dramatic sort of way. We all were just holding on to our last moment with her. We slowly dispersed back to our cars. The entire ride back to Sarajevo no one spoke a word. I think we were all speaking with Farah instead. I hope she was listening. We love you dear friend. I love you. And will miss you. Zbogom companera, sleep with the angels tonight.