Pain can be tangible, searing and incisive like a blade. Sometimes, it can be like a hammer, dull and heavy, but massive in its destructive scope. And that was what we felt. The dangerous thing about this type of pain is that it can appear impotent, masking itself under other feelings, only to strike with the devastation of the Mongol army, overwhelming and ruthless.

My mind began to fly.

The idea was marvellous! Eco-activists would love it. Think of all the waste this would take off the street, how safe it would make our environment, and it didn't need to be burned or decomposed. No, it was made into something more, transcending the inevitable condemnation of death into the light of eternal life. I thought of my very good friend, Merit Nwachukwu, one of the most front-footed environmental activists I know and wished she was there. Maybe, she'd have crapped herself.