Ana Lulai and Rachel Loane were cousins and best friends. They had just finished breakfast on Wednesday and were preparing for school. Then the waves hit.
Ana (7) and Rachel (5) were buried yesterday near the rubble of their former home in Salaepaga, victims of Wednesday's tsunami.
Nothing is left of the family house, nor of 20 others nearby.
Ana's body was found 200m from the house by Rachel's father, Loane.
His daughter was found by a Samoan policeman soon after.
The girls' bodies yesterday lay under palm trees, wrapped together in a sleeping bag and a tarpaulin.
Grieving family members waited patiently for the pastor, who has been busy conducting funeral services around the island.
The pastor spoke for about five minutes when the service finally started.
The 30 or so mourners then watched as two male family members lowered the two small bodies into the ground.
The girls lie next to their grandfather, whose grave was left undamaged by the waves.
The pregnant mother of one of the girls was not able to say goodbye.
She is recovering in Apia's Motootua Hospital from tsunami-inflicted injuries.
An uncle, Leo Muliaga from Mangere, said the pair had good manners and respected their elders.
"They were best friends, very smart. They acted like little Samoan women. They were very polite, really respectful."
Mr Muliaga had flown to Samoa a day before the tsunami, and was visiting his father in the village of Leauvaa when the earthquake struck.
He was to have returned home today, but thinks he will stay longer to help the family clean up their land.
Relatives of 5-year-old Presces Aiotaota were still searching for her body three days after the tsunami.
The bodies of her mother, Alavina Aiotaota (34), and grandmother Miga Tavai (68) were found yesterday, 20 minutes' walk from their home.
Presces' father, who was working in Apia, survived the tsunami.
