Hope

"The business of life is to go forward"
Written on a glossy picture of ships sailing to the harbour, which was hung on the wall of the guesthouse we stayed in.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, this year is prophecisied to be a year of ill-favor for Sri Lanka, according to the soothsayers and every Tom,Dick and Harry who also view themselves as a prophet of sorts.
Me? I believe that this year will be the year of God's favour. Our securities, our systems and protocols have certainly failed, markets have collasped, lives lost in a seemlingly endless war fought over land, fear looms ahead, and distress signals sent out to every corner of Sri Lanka.

So when all have fallen still we will stand. Its a resiliant hope, a dream that we can dare to dream. I will succeed. Because I have put my faith in unmovable things. I have my foundation on a truth that has never collasped and never altered. I believe.

We were in Unawatuna on the 30th and 31st. It was that long awaited TRIP that my family takes every holidays. An escape for the bustle and rush of the city.
As we were driving into Galle, it amazed me how little had changed over the year. Looking closely however I noticed people rebuilding their lives, their houses, roads under construction and families going to work, hoping that the extra penny earned would buy them a better tomorrow.

Its been four years after the tsumani and life has continued.

Reaching Unawatuna after 11.00 a.m, we searched for a guesthouse or hotel. Shanthi Villa, was our first stop. My dad, tired after long hours of driving, liked the place. Trouble was my mom, sis and I did not. This lead to an argument and we nearly turned back and returned home. My mom, God bless her, refused to give in and so we looked on. Finally we landed in this tiny guesthouse called Eterna. The rooms were cheap and looked comfortable. It was not your star classed getaway. But at that moment when all others were fully booked, and dad tired to go on, we took it.

My sis and I shared a room on the ground floor. It was spacious. There were double beds, 2 chairs, a table, a dressing table, waste paper basket, and a mosquito net. That was all. My parents' room had all these plus a cupboard, and a fridge. Later as i was showering I discovered that our bathroom had a leaky comode, and a cockroach. That settled it. We bathed in our parents bathroom after that.

But it was not all too bad. The owners were friendly. the food tasty and we had the ocean for our backyard. That i believe was the best part of it all. The golden sands began and the waves crashed and swirled at the foot of our guesthouse.

There I learnt a story. I love stories. Don't you?

The owner had lost everything to the tsumani. He said how his wife was washed into a well. The waves lifted her and threw her out. Forunatly she managed to hold onto the fence and this action saved her life. However his mother was washed away, his wife unable to hold onto her. Four days later they found her body in the their now destroyed house. He showed us the pictures.
The hotel he managed to build due to the aid given by two ladies from Holland. They were coming this January to visit him.

I looked out and saw the ocean. It still amazes me the pull of the sea. It was this same ocean that caused such heartache. But the people still returned. They rebuilt along the coast. If I lived there, and went through such horror...would I be able to do the same?

There's so much more I want to write but this does not seem to be the right time. If anything I came back from this holiday humbled.............. by the ocean and the people whose lives are affected and who in turn affect it. There is life out there mightier than I would ever know.

Maybe its not bravery, but need that forced these people to build upon the wrecks of their past. Maybe its not hope but fear that drives them on.

But what drives me on? What motivates me? Will my life be like the restless waves that change at every wind? These I ponder at the beginning of the year. Yet I hope.