You know when I was alive, I met a sage, who once told me that, “It is only at old age that many come to realize they have been haughty for nothing; insulted, worried, angry, hated, envious, jealous, engaged in all ill feelings; all for nothing. By then both the sun and the moon of their lives must have started their journey back to where they came from; and soon after shall wax cold.” Then I didn’t realize much of the import of his words, but its veracity dawned on me when my dead body was lowered 6ft down. It was in death that I realized the true meaning of what he said.

I was twenty and miserable. I spent my youth living for my family without realizing that I needed to live for myself. All I ever thought of day and night was my family. I never for once pondered on my future; on my convenience; on my own happiness. I was so engrossed in making my family happy and fulfilled that I forgot that I had a life to live.

“Have you ever gone to visit your family?” my fellow ghost asked.

“Yeah, funny enough they have moved on with their lives. They have been able to get on with all those responsibilities that were heaped on me while I was alive. I thought my death would put a halt to everything in their lives, how wrong I was!”

“You died and they all moved on, yet they could have helped you while you were alive but they never did. They only sat and watched you carry responsibilities that were way bigger than you, which led to your early demise. You thought without you they weren’t going to survive. I wish you realized yourself earlier than you did. Perhaps, just maybe, you wouldn’t have had this cardiac arrest; just maybe you would still be alive till now. This is just the sad reality of life; a reality that is all-encompassing. Look at how Hitech companies make us believe that they provide solutions to some of our challenges while we are but Guinea Pigs and the Prizes. It’s obvious they’re mining data from humans – for some grand agenda – possibly new world order; possibly human and mind control. The sad reality here is that everyone is being used. They do not care; most people do not care. It’s all about leveraging on the most gain, the end justifying the means.” The ghost replied.

“But my family shouldn’t have used their child as well. They stole everything from me; they killed me. I slipped into depression because of all these but none of them noticed. I was dying silently but none of them could even figure out that something was wrong with their dear sister. Oh yes. On the fateful day that I died, I was done with work and was hurrying to bring some money back home when I dropped dead right there on the road. That money never got home. One of the passersby who came to look at my corpse stole the money. My family came and I saw the pain in their eyes, but I was wrong about the pain. I thought the pain was because they had lost a dear, loved one, but nay, it’s now I know that the pain was just as a result of the realization that their money bag was gone for good. They didn’t care about me; they only cared about the money I brought home. I’m dead but I already learned my lessons, albeit too late. The living should learn to do the ones they can for their family and leave the rest because with or without you, they will survive. You don’t have to put your life on the line for your family. The day I dropped dead, was the day I realized that while the people I was living with had money but they just didn’t bring it out, preferring to keep back their money, while they watch me toil day and night to take care of their needs. I did everything for them that I forgot about myself. I guess I have paid my price. When I come back to this life again I will know better. I will treasure every second spent on Earth, and live my life being happy. The life that I just lost now made me realize that family isn’t always by blood. Yes, I will shout it on the mountain tops, to the end of the world, screaming on top of my voice that my family killed me even while I was on Earth; that what people were seeing while I lived was just my walking corpse. I hope my next life gets a happy ending because I have been through pain that I never deserved.