While I struggled to absorb the news, I knew we also had to deal with the practicalities of death, and I called my mother to find out about the arrangements for the burial. She was as stoic as ever, but her voice was shaky, and I knew she was only just holding it together as she tried to reassure me: ‘We’re of strong stock, Somi. Nani Mummy was the same. We will get through this, and you know she’s in a better place.’
Juni and I drove to Nani Mummy’s house and I joined the women of our family who had congregated in her bedroom. Mummy couldn’t face seeing her mother’s body, but I knew that Nani Mummy would want me to be there. She always said: ‘Be present. Be strong.’ It still hadn’t sunk in that she was gone, and I also needed to see her body to accept the reality of her death.
