Walking the Path

The streets went quiet when the sun dipped below the horizon. The people gathered, quiet feet over the smoothed cobbled roads, and lay their hands on the family. A spark of a match, then cndles lit, one by one. It was time to walk the path.

Death is inevitable. It's not a terrible thing to be fought or struggled against. When it's your time, its better to go with death gracefully, knowing rest is waiting for you after a life of hard work. And yet, that soothes the people surounding your absence very little.
In those precious days after a loved one has left this world and moved on to the next, the community gathers around those left behind and helps them walk the path of grief.

The Path of Grief

It starts at dusk after the family emerges from dressing the body for burial. The community gathers around the grieving family in supportive silence. The road lights are doused and a candle is lit, handed to the Widow or mother or sister of the deseased. When they are ready, they will begin to walk.
The path of grief will look different for everyone who walks it, and it will strech on for longer than just that night. yet it is something we all will walk eventually. The community spread out along a winding path, through the city, the countryside, anywhere that was important to the passed loved one. It should wind and twist, maybe even double back on itself as greif is not linear, so neither should the path. those walking it will not know where it is going, nore how long the path will take. they know only that they must walk it.

The Guides

At every coner, someone shall be there to point them in the right direction. They shall pause there, whispering advice and wisdom if they have it to bolster the family on their journy. Some will share memories, gently weeping with them as they remember who it was they have lost. Others will simply give them blankets and food, all handmade specifically for this journey and the days to follow.
Overall, the message is clear: you are not alone, you are never alone on the path of grief, though you must walk it alone. When the journey is dark and the path is hard, someone will always be there to point you in the right direction and give you the strength to go on.

The Dawn

The sun rose slowly, blushing purple and pink over the rooves of houses. Tears glistened as faced turned upward. A new day has begun and, while the path stretches ahead of them, the Family knows they will not be walking it alone.

By dawn, the family will be home again. The people who came at the beginning shall gather again. Women tend to the house while men handle the stock or the wood. Older women rush the family to bed, sitting up with them and talking with them until they eventually sleep. Those who can stay so that they don't wake up to an empty house.
For the next couple days, the community with fill the house with a gentle persistant love.
While it is those who are grieving who must walk, the community can walk with them. They cannot be carried, as it is a journey they must take with their own two feet, but they need not walk by themselves.

Related Organizations

• Apsaloosa

Related Ethnicities

• Apsaloosian

Walking the path is a lot like a funeral, though the attention is on the loved ones left behind rather than the one dead. To most appsaloosians, and even the surrounding cultures, focusing on something or someone who is dead or gone makes very little sense when there are people who need your attention still here.

Common Gifts

The most common thing given is warm, well-made food. Its always nice to make sure people are fed and taken care when thye may not be in the right mind to do it themselves.
Another thing given is blankets and clothes, also handmade. Warmth is good, as the nights can get cold and long. Blankets made with love can warm not only the body but the soul too.
Wisdom and expirience is another gift given, usually by the elders and most expirienced. This wisdom is given though time spent with in silence and in service. Through shared memories and reflection.