Monique Reid comes alive working with the dead

For Monique Reid, working with the dead isn't just a job - it's an extraordinary passion that has consumed her for more than a decade.

Reid, 31, finds deep fulfilment in the funeral industry, a calling that she says far surpasses anything else in her life.

"Mi love it to the extreme, it come een like if mi fi duh nuh other job, mi nuh have the potential fi duh it," Reid confessed. "Mi just love the dead, mi rather the dead more than the living." Reid dresses the dead, making sure that they look good for their final send-off.

Reid works as a farmer on weekdays and spends her weekends making corpses appear beautiful for burial.

"Anytime mi work with the dead, it just gi mi peace. Mi just love dem. If mi nah work with dead, come een like mi cah sleep a night time, mi cah feel good in a miself," she said. Her love for the deceased extends beyond her profession, because she finds entertainment and fulfilment in funeral-related gatherings.

"Mi love dead yard, mi love grave-digging. Fi guh party, that a nuh my thing. But, yuh see when it come on to funeral, check mi, mi ready, mi naah itch. And if a nine night, mi will deh there all night till daylight. But you will never ketch mi guh one dance guh bleach," she said.

"Anytime mi see hearse and dem suhm deh, it just bring joy to mi life," she added.

However, Reid's journey into the funeral industry was not planned, and she wasn't always comfortable around bodies. In 2013, she struggled to find employment despite sending out several applications. After numerous rejections, she decided to try funeral homes. The first three she approached turned her down, and the fourth initially did the same. However, an employee encouraged her to speak with the manager, who also told her that no positions were available. But, weeks later, that same manager saw her at a funeral and was impressed by her appearance.

"Him ask if a me duh mi hair and make-up, and mi seh yes. After that, him tell mi fi come in on Monday, and mi just seh 'Okay,'" Reid recalled. Though unsure about what position she would fill, she still showed up and was told to assist the mortician.

"When mi tek the job, mi never really understand what I would have to do until them carry mi round and tell mi fi help with the dead body," Reid explained. Terrified to touch or even look at the bodies, Reid avoided her responsibilities for a week and even considered quitting. But the mortician soon gave her an ultimatum.

"Him tell mi seh mi caah come here every day and hide from the work. Either mi duh the work or mi leave, because mi caah a collect pay fi nothing," she recalled. Determined to keep her job, she decided to face her fears. However, her first real encounter with a body left her shaken.

"When mi go a the door, mi see a woman naked pan the table, and, as soon as mi see har, mi turn back," she said. Reid said, that same night, she had a terrifying dream in which the woman asked her why she just looked at her and ran away. Reid initially thought she would not go back, but changed her mind in the morning.

"Mi just mek up mi mind seh mi a guh brave up. And when mi guh back, him (the mortician) tell mi seh the first thing mi fi duh a help him clean up the body. Then him gi mi one spray bottle and the supmn fi clean the face. Mi did still fraid, and mi never wipe off the face properly. When him come back him seh, 'No, no, no! The face nuh clean good,'" she recounted.

Reid eventually overcame her fears and immersed herself in the job. Now, 11 years later, she remains deeply in love with her profession and cannot see herself doing anything else.

And while others in the funeral industry arm themselves with guard rings and spiritual protection, Reid faces the supernatural head-on with nothing but sheer confidence.

"The body only dead, but the spirit never dies. The spirit cah dead even when the body itself dead," she declared, adding that she refuses to rely on charms. Her unusual profession hasn't always been embraced. Close acquaintances and strangers have judged her, treating her as if she is eerie or cursed.

"People find it strange, suh sometimes them fraid a mi. But mi nuh care. At the end of the day, is about my money, and somebody haffi take care of the dead," she said, unfazed.

Despite the sceptics, Reid still has loyal friends and family who respect her work, and they eat from her hands without hesitation.

For those who dream of a career in the after-life industry, Reid has one piece of advice--ignore the naysayers.

"People will try turn your mind. Them will ask, 'Weh yah duh dem deh work fah?' Nuh bother listen to dem. Just know seh a it you a guh for. Once yuh set yuh mind fi work wid the dead, there's no need to be afraid," she encouraged.