Paul-André Walker, Rural CoordinatorWhen Everton Lee, father of two, went to the bushes early Saturday morning to find food for his sons, he never expected to face the reality of losing either of them.
Mr. Lee, who has been estranged from the mother of his children for many years, has been both father and mother to his nine-year-old and seven-year-old and was, in fact, washing their clothes for school when his worst fears were realised.
With the children longing to play at their mother's house, and Mr. Lee needing the time to wash, he had no problems in sending them off.
Worst fears
Then he heard a sound and called out to the older, Tanhai, asking him what was happening.
Hearing no response, he rushed out and called again, only to hear the news that his younger son, Mario, had fallen.
Rushing to the spot, he tried his best to jerk Mario away from the pull of an illegal electrical chord. By this time, his other son had also joined in the struggle and was at risk of sharing his brother's fate. By now, Mario was already dead.
With the very last of his reserves, Mr. Lee managed to pull them both free, but not before he and Tanhai suffered injuries.
Now, with the ordeal over, Mr. Lee is burdened with the pains of what happens next.
Feeling of loneliness
"I have already started to feel lonely because they were the only company I had," he said.
"I can't eat, the only thing that can go down is water. Every time I wake up, I feel like I am going insane. There is so much pressure."
The father of a fallen son could no longer hold in his emotions and spoke of the hardships that had brought him to this point and how it all seems to have gone for nought.
"It is hard to know that I have lost my soldier. I have fought so hard to keep us together and keep us going. Sometimes we are hungry, but we had to get through it," he said.
"I live with them because their mother has gone away. I live with them. I wash, I cook, I clean, I send them to school, I do everything for them and now it's just stopped."
paul-andre.walker@gleanerjm.com
