Some times in life, you have to take
decisions that bleed you from the inside. I did so too. When my Mom filed
divorce against my dad, I was totally shattered. Nothing seemed to interest me.
At that time I was 23 and was about to complete my bachelors in textile design.
As soon as my results were announced, my mom and dad got separated. Even
topping in my class did not keep me from feeling like I was standing on the
edge of a glass full of water, where at any time I could slip, or might drown or
be fractured.
That time I took a strange decision. I moved to Japan within four months of
getting my degree. Also found a job as a textile designer did a small course of
Japanese language and got settled there. I didn’t know what I was doing, or
else it would have made me felt better.
I rented a flat in a city called Saga. It was a simple place with busy people
and the most satisfactory part was no one ever asked me who I was, or what I did.
I used to work with lower middle class people. I liked them for they were not
so complicated. At times I wished to go back but then made myself to understand
that I had nothing left to go back to. When I told Mom and Dad I was moving to
Japan, they never showed the slightest sign of opposition to my decision.
It was December, some new workers were hired. I never used to notice workers
because my work was not directly related with theirs. But a spell of 1 week did
make me aware that someone was there to be noticed. She was around 27, fair,
tall with very beautiful eyes. But there was something missing. She used to
work all day long with very few breaks from her station. Her attitude was
always calm. But every time I ‘d look at her beautiful eyes, checking the
fabrics for minor defects, I swear, I could see flames dancing in her eyes,
flames that would go dimmer each day. Seeing her for days and days, would make
me forget my own sorrows. It was clear to me that something was much more wrong
with her then me.
But it was not about me this time, it was about her. I went to her station a
few times, but she didn’t noticed at all because she was too absorbed in her
work or at least she seemed to be. So one day, I went to her table and asked
what her duty was and how she managed it. At first she didn’t answered and
continued her work but when I repeated my question in a louder voice she lifted
her eye lids and stared at me for a whole single minute. Then slowly she
started to explain about the missing yarns, knots, design defects etc. I just
stood there and watched her eyes and fingers floating over the fabrics. She was
a gift of God. I went to the records office that day. The boy there was quite
friendly. I casually inquired about the newly hired workers. One by one he
opened their data files and started to explain. The only lady hired was her.
Her name was Shen, the only thing I needed to know, because the more I would go
into details, the more it would become complicated.