MY LOVE

It was snowing since morning but it got suddenly sunny in the afternoon. Oh! It felt so wonderful to step out of the room and touch the whitish snow in the sun. I actually wanted to go out early in the morning but dear hubby said, ‘Nope, let’s not go out. It’s very-very cold. You might catch a cold, dear.’ By the way, I had already experienced snow-touching last year, so this time I stayed inside warming myself and peeking the snowfall through the window. Thick clouds seemed like covered with thick quilts and as if white cotton fur were coming off from its torn stitches. Wow!  How beautiful to touch and see! I was glad just remembering the nostalgia of touching the snow fur last year.

It was New Year’s first day and since it became sunny in the afternoon although it snowed in the morning, we all came out. The kids and youngsters began throwing snowball at each other. I watched them playing and started laughing. My hubby was also standing behind me holding my wheelchair’s handle and laughing. I turned back and pleaded, ‘Why don’t you also join them? I want to watch you play too.’ He was refusing, ‘No, I don’t want to play with snow’ but I urged him and finally he agreed. He also began to enjoy snow with nephews and I caught up those pleasant moments in my camera.

Being covered with snow, the Gifu city of Japan really appeared breathe-taking like a Christian bride covering herself with the white veil. I had arrived in the Gifu city with my beloved husband the day before to meet his parents & other relatives and celebrate the New Year altogether. New Year was never joyous to me like it is today in Japan. Yes, while I was watching them enjoy the snow, I began turning on the pages of my memories back to back.

My dear husband, Nozo Nishijima, is a Japanese, whom I had never dreamt would be my life-partner but destiny is wonderful. A person, from beyond borders wonderfully appeared in my life. As I was a disable lady, I actually avoided to dream about a life-partner because it was impossible for a disable person to find a life-partner. However, destiny made me the fortunate one.

I was born in a poor family as the youngest daughter after three sisters and three brothers. My mother passed away when I was just one and a half years old and I grew up under the care of my brothers, sisters and father. I had to endure many blows in my life since my childhood but another hardest blow was when I was just thirteen years old and studying in grade-6. That terrible accident happened when I went to the forest with my friends to cut firewood. I climbed a tree and started cutting the small branches with my sickle. I had no idea if my feet would slip-off but yeah, the same thing happened, suddenly my feet slipped and I was toppled down. Then, I remained unconscious.

When I woke-up, I was surrounded by my family members and friends. They were looking at me with worried eyes and talking. I didn’t understand their talk because my whole body was in agony. I tried to sit up but I couldn’t. I hardly asked ‘Sister! Water!’ and my older sister gave me water.

I thought I was unable to sit up because I got hurt after falling off the tree but in fact, I was absolutely wrong, I had actually been bed-ridden for my whole life. My family took me to many hospitals to get me treated but as I had suffered an incurable ailment, I remained the same and finally, the doctor himself told ‘There is no other option for her than to remain bed-ridden’ and then I was discharged. Can you imagine how I felt at that time? I had actually got the spinal cord injury due to which my body was paralyzed and senseless from the waist down. I only found out later that this kind of injury has no treatment anywhere.

I was like a living corpse and I began to think it was useless for me to live. In such moments of despair, I even asked my brothers, sisters and dad to poison me but my loving family didn’t kill me. Later, my family heard about a newly opened disables rehabilitation centre in Kathmandu and they took me there. In that centre, I saw many people like me living with a little bit of breathe along with a little bit of hope. They made me realize that I’m not only the miserable one. I saw many people more miserable than me. They also motivated me to live confidently using a wheelchair. A paraplegic woman like me sure needs someone to support her throughout her whole life but I wasn’t lost in imaginations but as the Nepali proverb goes ‘Just you desire and it will be fulfilled’, my desire was fulfilled likewise.

Once, Nozo Nishijima, a Japanese physiotherapist visited our rehabilitation centre where I got to know him for the first time. He was a very kind volunteer dedicated to serve the disables. He used to encourage all the disables. He was a person who deserved love & respect. After he returned Japan, we continued our acquaintance through chat on the internet. I didn’t know what was there special in me but one day, he directly proposed me. I was astonished because a foreigner had suddenly proposed me which I thought I might be dreaming but it wasn’t a dream at all. I was stuck in the dilemma as whether to accept or reject the proposal. I trusted in my own instincts as my heart was also pounding for him. So, later I accepted his proposal.

Only a great man can accept a disable woman as his life-partner whom I found. Seeing a person like me married, the whole world got astonished to the point that even Kantipur, the daily, published an article about my love with bold letters ‘Love, beyond borders’. My hubby was sure from a different nation with different culture and tongue but I saw him as my own because despite our varying nation, culture or language, we were one in emotion.

That day, I was attired with the pretty white bridal dress and tied the knot in a holy matrimony with Nojo Nishijima. I have preserved that golden moment by inscribing them with golden words in my heart which still give me joy while recalling. Japan’s Gifu city was really looking like a beautiful Christian bride due to the snow which was catching my eyes.

After we enjoyed celebrating the New Year, we both bid our goodbyes to our relatives saying ‘Sayonara’[1] and drove back to our home at Sintoroku with sheer joy & content heart.

[1] In Japanese language meaning ‘see you again’

 

About the author – Aruna Chhantyal ‘Mimosa’ is from Kathmandu, Nepal. She is a simple writer from Nepal, who has published five books on amazon.com so far.

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