Page 12 - Pauza Magazine

arts & cultural experiences
VASKA donia, they are resilient. And whether or not they

have something to love or hope for, they most cer-
tainly have something to DO.

cation in Ohrid and by the time I returned home,
By Hana Truscott, MAK16 When I heard word of Vaska’s death, I was on va-
Vaska had long been buried. Funeral rituals happen
“Three grand essentials to quickly here, within a day or two of the death. I’ve
been to two funerals, one in Kratovo and one in No-
happiness in this life are vaci earlier this spring, and found each to be an in-

something to do, something timate ordeal. It is customary for friends and family
to pay respects to the deceased by making a home
to love, and something to visit, where the body (both times in my experience)
hope for.” was laying restfully, albeit a bit eerily, on the living
room couch, surrounded by seated family mem-
– Joseph Addison bers mourning in solid black attire. Many women
(and perhaps men too) continue to wear all black for
Well, I’m afraid it was my neighbor Vaska – wife of months or even years following the death of a loved
Tiro – who passed on from this life first. And Tiro’s one. I remember entering the living room each time,
still alive and kicking nearly a year after his stroke, the air thick with the smell of bodies and candles,
despite being given a few weeks or months to live. carrying with me chocolates and money, an offer-
Vaska’s death and preceding sudden decline in ing which I diligently placed in the designated areas
health came as a shock to us all. It was as if she was surrounding the body. After lighting a candle on the
living for her beloved, Tiro, and once his health de- altar set up specifically for the occasion, I expressed
teriorated following his stroke last April, she stopped my condolences to each of the seated mourners
clinging to life and let go. Within a few weeks of with a specific Macedonian phrase (that I had to re-
Tiro’s stroke, Vaska fell ill and ended up in the hospi- peat over and over again in my head so I wouldn’t
tal. Doctors found an array of suppressed ailments forget). After a few hours of visitors, many of whom
– from high cholesterol and blood pressure to full-on waited outside the house, the time came to proceed
diabetes. With all these layers of illness building up with the body (now moved into an open casket) to
within her over the years, I can’t help but wonder the graveyard. In Kratovo, this entailed pall bearers
what it was that kept those illnesses at bay – was it carrying both the casket and a number of religious
having something to love or something to hope for? items, followed by a trail of family and friends, wind-
ing our way through the narrow cobble-stone streets
I’ve heard that emotional well-being and mental of Kratovo on foot, before finally walking up the hilly
health can greatly affect physical health, and I’d like highway out of town to the graveyard several kilome-
to think that Vaska and Tiro lived for each other. I’m ters above the town. Once at the graveyard, mourn-
awed by stories of aged couples who have been ers gathered round the grave as the Orthodox priest
married well into their years, and then pass on with- led a short service, followed by each of us throw-
in a few days or weeks of each other. There was ing a handful of dirt onto the lowered casket before
also a lot of “something to do” here for Vaska and heading back to the funeral luncheon. Obituaries
Tiro. You see, life in rural Macedonia can be very take the form of blue and white certificates that are
demanding, requiring hard labor and harsh living posted around town. I came across Vaska’s obituary
conditions. Vaska lived well into her certificate shortly after returning from
seventies in a two-room house, with an Ohrid, while walking past the Orthodox
outside kitchen and outhouse. When Church down the street from my house.
you share your home with nature, each
season has its own demands. When I So now I am neighbor-less. Tiro has
first met Vaska and Tiro last winter, they long been moved out of their little house
were bustling around outside, cook- next to mine to a hospice-style nursing
ing, chopping wood and getting things home in the nearby city of Bitola. Their
done. I remember offering once, in my two chairs under the big weeping willow
broken Macedonian, to help chop their tree in their yard sit empty, and it is as
wood. Tiro straight up laughed at me. though the willow truly does weep their
He may have seen my novice attempts loss, as its branches (once trimmed
to chop my own wood – but hey, I got nicely) now nearly brush the ground
the job done! The elders here in Mace- when they sway in the wind. The yard,

12 – Pauza Magazine
12 – Pauza Magazine
Empty chairs beneath the weeping willow in Vaska’s yard