Saturday, April 3, 2010

Stand by me

Not unlike every other day I woke up today’s morning with a feeling of serenity before the reality sipped-in and rocked the mind; works and life is tough to let go. Took a look at the table clock, then I realized that the room temperature of the usually 10degress was at 18degrees Celsius; which made me a bit happier, thinking about a warm day onward. After doing the morning routines, I cycled to school. Nothing seemed out of ordinary.

Only when I stepped into the entrance of the dental hospital to get to the lab, another life experiences come into the picture.

I saw an elderly couple, their ages probably 70 going 80. They were about 1.5m from me; at the automatic entrance glass door that was wide opened. Nothing seemed wrong with them except the husband was in a quite awkward position; nor standing or sitting. He placed his two hands on the floor while still in a standing position, making a downward V position. Something likes doing an exercise.

Many patients come and go and I have seen enough that I just wanted to dismiss them as another before I saw his wife quickly placed her handbag on the nearby table and came back assisting him to stand straight. The whole time, his leg and back was not moving an inch, like the whole body was in a frozen state; it was like trying to stand a fallen chair.

It was then it crossed my mind that the wife might probably need my help after all to help him standing. I help, but with a wired idea coming into my mind; hopefully they would not mind me touching him as I am a foreigner and a Muslim. We never know what other persons has in their mind because the wife gave a glance, a significant one; either approval or afraid or asking for a help or shame. But then again, my intention was what counted for me, never mind them.

The wife seemed glad that I gave her a hand and she said arigatou before going to get the walking stick and led him to a table. He stood there using the table as a support while she rushed somewhere, most likely to get a wheelchair.

He was using his two hands to actually hold himself from falling onto the floor. Probably he had lost his balance while walking into the clinic’s hall because I saw his walking stick lying on the floor nearby.

Hopefully, somebody will stand by me when I am too old to stand still.

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