Short drabble for the occasion of All Saints Day in Poland. Since everybody will be posting Halloween fics today, I've decided to post this.
And znicz (zneech) is a glass or plastic container with candle, you light and put on the grave. It can have various shapes and colors... Well, type it in google graphics. I'm using Polish name, because I'm sick of calling it a light.
Five zniczes
So it came. October 31, All Saints Day. The day, when his people were gathering on the cemeteries to put there flowers, light the zniczes and pray for their closed ones, who had died. When everybody else were celebrating Halloween, Feliks with his people and cities was drowning in reflections over passing time. Obviously – as a nation – he just couldn't go to every cemetery and to every grave on his lands, so he just gone on the walk with five zniczes in the bags.
Poland lighted first znicz on the grass near the highway. It was for the victims of the car accidents. For both – people, who died in their cars, and people, who had been hit by drank drivers, when they were peacefully walking on the street. Feliks made a sign of cross and started to murmuring:
"Wieczny odpoczynek racz im dać, Panie, a Światłość wiekuista niechaj im świeci. Niech odpoczywają w pokoju wiecznym. Amen."*
The second znicz had been lit in the forest on the grave of scouts, who had been killed by enemy during the WW2. Brave, young people – girls and boys in their teenage years – who worked and sacrificed their lives for their homeland. Poland will never forget about them. That's why he was standing there right now and praying for them with words: "Wieczny odpoczynek…"
Third flame was burning for his soldiers, who were fighting inside and outside his borders; for him and for other countries. He especially prayed for his soldiers fallen in Afghanistan during this summer.
Feliks lit the fourth znicz on Powązki. In the place, where was lying his most famous and graceful people, he was showing his respect to them all by simply putting the znicz at the wall and praying for all Polish souls, who had been covered there.
Finally the fifth znicz wasn't lit for soldiers, scouts or most respectful citizens of Poland. The fifth flame was burning for ordinary people, who passed away in this year, or long time ago. Also for those, who weren't Catholic Christians and who were lying on cemeteries near this place – Jews, Calvinists, Lutherans, Muslims… They've all made him the way he was. After all he was the nation – a gathering of people, who were sharing the same language, traditions and history. And he was dying with them a little bit, every time, when someone were passing away.
Sometimes he was wondering, if he will someday die just like them. He couldn't be killed by the way, they could be, but he knew too deeply that someday he could vanish like Ancient Rome. Sometimes this thought was making him sad, sometimes – happy. Happy, because he was living long life full of pain. Just from time to time he was wondering, how wonderful would it be finally rest in peace…
But no. He couldn't and, after all, he just didn't want to leave this earth. Life was beautiful, even if sometimes it was also cruel. And there are lot of things he wanted to do, before he will vanish, just like Rome.
For the last time he made the sign of cross and murmured:
"Wieczny odpoczynek racz im dać, Panie, a Światłość wiekuista niechaj im świeci. Niech odpoczywają w pokoju wiecznym. Amen."
*Eternal rest give them, Lord, and let the everlasting Light shine them. Let them rest in eternal peace. Amen.
