by Kasabez Maakmaah

I saw a dead body the other day.

Returning from travels in Africa along a cross country road in Burkina Faso, our caravan of vehicles was slowed. There appeared to have been an accident. A bus had driven halfway off the road to our left. In front of us, still in the middle of the road, were three dead donkeys. As we passed the dead donkeys, I saw a smaller bus on the right side. This one was turned on its side and had driven, or fallen, completely off the road. People were gathered around here and there on both sides of the road. It was a solemn atmosphere. Whatever had happened, it was very recent. As we continued slowly past the fallen bus, we saw the corpse. It had been covered by a cloth. Only the feet, which extended back towards the road, made it unmistakably a human body. We kept driving.