Another Death

Brother-in-law stay in bed this morning. His eyes very bright
“Oh, Kim, such a beutfiul dream. Do you remember Thom? He in my dream. Just down road, he say, so much food you not believe. I follow him down into village, big market all kinds of food, sardines, bananas, pineapples, noodle soup. Free. We eat everything.”
Everybody love share these dreams, feel so good, so happy this morning I no patience to listen, too hungry. Rush out to join my group. Angry at him, why he not get up to work? He need real food, not dream food.
Only corn to eat now. Over a month. Brother-in-law always so clever. He never stop finding new things to eat. He catches ginkos crawling on the walls, under the trees. Takes off skin look like chicken, he cook them. He not find anything for week now.
Lunch time. Brother-in-law sleeping. He wake up when my niece return from dining room with bowl of food. He sits up and grabs her, tries to take her food.
“Give me food, give me food,” he yell at his daughter.

She scream back, “No, no, don’t take my food.”

I rush between them, slap his arm away.

“Gee, why you do this?” I ask, placing the bowl firmly in my niece’s hands, shooing her away to eat. “ You always do this.”
“You know I so hungry.”
“Why don’t you just wait? I hungry, too.”
When the bell rings for our food, brother-in-law asks me:
“Can you get my food, too? Too weak to get up. cannot go.”
I go to dining area and fill our bowls and rush back with food. I hand bowl to him. He still lying in bed.
“Thank you,” he whispers. “Just leave bowl on my chest.”
I place bowl there and begin eating my meal. He folds his arms around the bowl. Not try to eat anything.
I finish my meal and walk over to wake him. He is dead.
Sister, children and I cry next to his body. This death is my fault. Why I not realize how sick he was? Why I not realize he going to die when he tell me dream this morning? Why I get so angry at him?.
“I am so sorry,” I cry. “I didn’t know that you were that starving”
The KR come to take his body away. A few months later his wife is also dead. They take her away, too.