Hi, there!
Today is #LoveFriday day, by @liliana.duarte. After a week off, today I'm finally able to tell a story that made me realize, even more, if possible, how grateful we should be to have the dearest loved ones in our life, alive and kicking.
It was always my fear. It is my greatest fear. To lose my kids. I always gave them wings, and let them fly, I'm not the anxious type of mother... but the fear is always there. Hidden. And I bless each day I have with them, even if we are apart.
Two weeks ago, when my daughter was here with me, we went to the other side of the island, driving through the worst roads you can imagine. I'm used to these roads. I've driven many kms on them already. I'm a good driver, believe me. But, on the way back, my car was broken due to the conditions of the roads, and I had to leave it behind and take one of these buses that drive people to the districts.
They are tough, but we ended up being all white covered with the dust of the roads, by the night, in dangerous roads by the cliffs into the sea. It was dark, we couldn't see the way. But the worst was yet to come.
You know East Timor is a young and peaceful country, tortured by a long guerilla with the country that invaded it in 1975, to 1999, Indonesia. And the country and the Timorese people are still struggling with many basic needs. So people can be a bit childish, irresponsible, and even violent in their attitudes. They were used, for many years, to deal with a genocide, so death is apparently a normal thing for them, which still impresses me after all this time.
So what happened that night? Someone cowardly covered by the dark of the night threw two rocks to the bus windows, precisely the ones of the seat where my daughter was. She was cut by the blades of the glasses in all her body. It was if like someone had thrown a bomb, the noise was incredible. And she went in a state of shock and fainted. I was mad, and frightened, as I know that if the rocks had hit the glass at her head level, or the blades had hit some of her vital blood vessels, she would be dead by now, as in East Timor there are no proper emergency services, even less on the interior and during the night. It was past midnight.
But, thanks to our guardian angel (my father!), the cuts were only superficial, and we could throw out of her body all the glass blades. She felt better the next days, although insecure. And so am I, still. I've complained to the police and sent a letter to my ambassador in East Timor. I know Timorese people have the habit to throw stones, and they aren't even aware of the consequences of their acts. But I won't give up until I get something done.
My daughter is too precious. Her life is too precious. She has a whole life to live, and I can't even imagine what could have happened if we weren't lucky, after all. She means the world to me. I have mixed feelings. I'm mad with those cowards and compassionate for them at the same time. They have to grow and be civilized. They still have a path to go and a struggle to deal with.
But I'm grateful because my daughter is alive and kicking! Be blessed, sweetie!
Thanks for reading this post, thanks for spreading the LOVE, thanks for your support in this LoveFriday!
Happy Friday!
Isabel
Hippiesoul @nolasco
www.isabelnolasco.com
Proud to be a member of The Steemians Directory
