Asher's Gone Away
It had been a few hours since Asher died. Mother had taken the children to her and Father's house to give Ila and I time to say good-bye. Ila was inconsolable and sobbed into my chest. I held onto her tight as I cried into her hair. Once she seemed to calm down a little bit, I covered Asher's body with a sheet and went to make some tea. I could still hear Ila's sobs from the kitchen and when I went back to give her a cup of tea, she was on our bedroll with Asher's little body cradled in her arms.
"Ila, please do not do this to yourself." I pleaded with her, trying to get Asher.
"No, you cannot take him!" She screamed.
I had never been very good at showing my emotions and as heartbroken as I was I still felt the need to be strong for my family, but seeing Ila in this state was unbearable.
"Ila, love, there is nothing we can do now or that we could have done before. He is gone and there I no bringing him back. Now he is not suffering or in any pain." I told her.
She eased her grip and allowed me to take Asher's body and brought it into the back room. I handed Ila the cup of tea before picking her up and carrying her to Mother's. She was still crying and when we got there Mother took her into her room and away from the children. I sent Father over to our home to prepare Asher to be buried while Ham and Japheth went outside to dig a grave.
I walked into the sitting room to see the kids in a miserable state. Adah had a crying Naomi in her arms while Elijah and Evi were huddled up in the corner hysterical. They looked at me when I entered and immediately knew something was wrong. I sat down in front of them and took a deep breath.
"Asher has left us." I told them. "He was too weak and his body could not fight the illness he had."
"Where did he go?" Naomi asked.
The other children had taken the news terribly and were a mess, but seeing as Naomi was only five, she did not understand. I pulled Naomi into my lap and looked in her eyes.
"He went to heaven. He is with Mama's family now." I told her.
"And with the Watchers?" She asked.
"Exactly." I replied.
"Well when is he coming back?" She asked.
"He isn't." I heard Ila say from behind me.