For as long as anyone could remember, Mara had a strange gift.
Whenever someone dies without saying goodbye to the ones they loved, Mara will hear the voice they never got to speak. They would always come to her in dreams and whispers some words to her.
At first she didn't understand what was happening to her.
The first time this happened she was only nine years old. She woke up to the sound of a man crying.
At first, she thought the voice was coming from the window but when she pulled the curtain aside, the narrow street was empty, the crying continued until it became a word.
" Please tell Gloria I'm sorry..tell her the money is hidden inside the old yellow box beneath the bedroom floor " the voice disappeared as suddenly as it had come.
Mara, didn't sleep again for the rest of the morning.
Everyone in the village knew that Mr okeke had died the previous evening after suffering from a heart attack. His wife Gloria had been unconsolable, weeping so loudly that neighbors stayed with her throughout the night.
Mara, tried to forget what she heard. She was only a child, who would believe her?
Yet the word refused to leave her mind.
By afternoon, she found herself standing outside Gloria's small hut, twisting the edge of her dress with her fingers.
" What is it? Gloria asked as she opened the door
" I..I think your husband your husband asked me to tell you something" she managed to say while facing the ground.
For a moment Gloria stared at her.
"My husband?" She asked
" He said he was sorry he couldn't say goodbye. He said.. that the money is inside the yellow box beneath the bedroom floor " Mara managed to say.
Silence filled the air for some minutes.
"Child, this isn't the time for stories" one of the neighbors said frowning.
But Gloria hurried into the bedroom and few minutes later everyone heard a sharp cry., she returned carrying a dusty yellow box , her hands trembling as she carried it out, then everywhere fell silent.
From that day, everyone looked at Mara differently.
Some believed that heaven has chosen her to deliver the last message. Others called her possessed, whispering that no ordinary girl can be hearing from the dead.
Sometimes the messages were simple
" Tell my daughter I kept all the drawings she made"
" Tell my brother I forgave him long ago "
"Tell my husband I was never ashamed of him"
Every message lifted a weight from someone's heart.
After few years have passed, people started searching for her whenever death visited the village.
She never asked for any payment.
Seeing grieving faces soften into peace was reward enough.
But one thing kept worrying her, she wondered what would happen when someone she loved die without saying goodbye.
