Grave concerns in May Pen Cemetery
Published:Tuesday | July 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Wayne Gayle isn't having any fun. He's been working since morning and now he's all worn out and ready to head home for the day.
He's anxious to change out of his sweaty clothes, have a shower and hop into bed, where he's hoping he'll be able to fall asleep without any disturbance. But sleep may not come easily for the slender middle-ager. You see, Wayne is petrified that angry spirits will trail him all the way home and invoke paranormal retribution for his role in disturbing the dead that day.
Wayne was doing clean-up work in Kingston's May Pen Cemetery last week, sections of which, he said, had not been cleaned in years. The result was the uncovering of broken graves, shifted tombstones and skulls and bones strewn about like fallen branches in an age-old forest. Now, a debate would later be ignited about how long the bones have actually been there, but last Wednesday, before all of that started, Wayne had bigger fish to fry.
"Mi never see nothing like dis before. Right now, my head a hurt me," he said, his eyes wide.
Wayne is no wrong-doer, nor would he willingly do anything to disturb or anger anyone, living or dead, but he fears that circumstances that day may nevertheless, come back to haunt him.
"Mi nuh like dem ting yah yuh know. Is just likkle work mi doing. Mi nuh mean fi trouble anybody," he said, seemingly speaking directly to the bones. Dusk was fast approaching and Wayne started dropping not-so-subtle hints to his supervisor that now would be a good time to call it quits.
Alone in his horror
"Yawn! Whoo! It a get late yah now," he said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Every few seconds, Wayne would glance at the bones and then quickly turn away. He looked over at the other men working in the cemetery. Unfortunately for him, they were soldiers on patrol and an ageing graveyard supervisor who has spent more time with the dead than most people. The long and short of it is, Wayne was alone in his horror.
"Ahhm. So what time we ah move out?" he asked his supervisor who was so relaxed, lazing under a nearby tree, that he was almost asleep and didn't hear the question. Wayne then glanced over at me but all I could do was shrug my shoulders. He gave me a 'some help you are' look them turned his focus back on the skulls. Wayne swallowed hard and looked back at me. I shrugged again and he made a sucking sound with his mouth.
Just then, the soldiers on patrol in the graveyard drove up. This, it seemed, was a welcome move for Wayne who promptly walked over to the military jeep, apparently finding solace in the heavy weaponry the men carried. Standing safely behind the vehicle, Wayne peered over the soldiers' heads at the skulls. The jeep had come to transport the fretful Wayne safely out of the cemetery, but before he left, he made sure to give one final glance at the bones to ensure that none of them had moved.