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They tried again. And again.
It was as if the coffin were rooted to the ground. Veins bulged, hands shook, faces flushed with exertion—but the coffin refused to move.
An older man in the crowd whispered what many were already thinking: "She's not ready to leave."
The air grew heavier and heavier. The rain continued to fall. A shaman standing nearby approached and gently said, "Open the coffin. She still has something to say."
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The latch was slowly slid back and the lid was carefully lifted.
A gasping cry rolled through the crowd.
Elena's face, though calm, still bore fresh streaks of tears. Her closed eyes looked as if they had just cried. The sight brought even the strongest to their knees.
Mrs. Helen ran to her daughter-in-law, tears streaming down her face as she squeezed Elena's hand.
"Elena, my dear child... if you still have something in your heart, please let us know. Don't carry it with you. Please speak to us..."
There was silence. The kind of silence that grips the soul.
And then there was a quiet sob.
It was Louis—Elena's husband. He fell to the ground, covering his face, his body trembling with emotion. His cries were raw, deep, filled with something more than grief. Mrs. Helen turned to him, confused, her heart pounding.
“Louis,” she whispered, “do you know why she was crying?”
Louis slowly raised his head. His face was soaked—not only from the rain but also from grief. His voice was weak, cracking under the weight of the truth.
"It was me. I was the reason she couldn't let go."
The crowd fell silent.
Louis continued, each word a knife through the air. "She found out I had someone else. I told her it was over. I swear it meant nothing. But that night… she cried silently. She didn't say a word. She just held her stomach and sobbed. Then the pain started…"
He fell silent, gasping for breath as he confessed.
"I took her to the hospital. But it was too late. I was the one who did it. I was the one who caused her pain. I was the one who broke her."
Silence reigned in the courtyard, broken only by the sound of the incessant rain and Louis's painful sobs.
A cry for forgiveness
