There were men and women who appeared as fluid as ghosts, they could have been attending a burial out of curiosity, merely to recall how it had been when they were buried.
This evocative line from Saramago's Blindness paints a haunting image of the fragility of human existence and the curious desire to revisit our past or mortality. The description of people appearing 'as fluid as ghosts' evokes a sense of ethereal transience, emphasizing how life itself is fleeting and insubstantial. Their presence at a burial—perhaps not out of mourning but driven by an almost voyeuristic curiosity—suggests a complex relationship with death and remembrance. It speaks to the human tendency to confront mortality, not always out of acceptance but often out of a desire to understand or validate our existence through rituals and memories. The idea of counting or recalling how it 'had been when they were buried'—though figurative—captures the deep yearning to connect with the essence of mortality, to analyze and perhaps find meaning in the inevitable end that awaits us all. Such imagery reminds us that our perception of life and death is often fluid, shaped by fears, beliefs, and cultural practices. It underscores a universal truth: death is both an end and a beginning, and our encounters with it, whether real or symbolic, serve as a mirror reflecting our own fears, curiosities, and the elusive nature of identity beyond corporeal existence.
