He was connected to a ventilator as he was suffering from a respiratory failure, generalized muscle weakness and skin wounds.
A smile on his face was my first encounter with him upon his admission to the hospital. He was not able to talk, and he greeted me with a smile. He made me feel better in his hopeless situation that day.
As days were turning into weeks, and weeks into months his smile stayed with him as it was on day one of his admission . He never had any complaints as I remembered him and I never saw him without a smile. I did ask him reason for his smiley face and his reply was a smile: a genuine smile. I never found out whether he did that intentionally or he had a secret hope.
He remained connected to the string of life via a ventilator and his weakness progressed so much so that he could not move any of his body parts. I witnessed then his smile moved from his face to his eyes but I never saw a tear.
As my connection developed to his widow to soul, I had a great respect for him. I thought then, I was taking care of a soul rather than a failing body. That was my first ever experience of taking care of a living soul in a dying body.
I think a smiley face can be contagious, it can be triggered by just one bright smile but a tearful face usually draw more attention.
To some, a smile may not a have past but a tear usually does have a past; a story or a tragedy.
Others see a smile as a communication to future while a tear as a communication with the past; certainly both connect us to our present.
9 comments:
Thanks for sharing such an epic and mind absorbing happening..
its true atleast for me that every smile has a past just like every tear and as u said it is connected with the present.
People smile for various reasons, yet usually it’s of happiness. Maybe, they have a true smile or a fear smile or the contempt smile or the dampened smile or the miserable smile. Whatever their origin or motivation, smiles have a powerful effect on us. In the court rooms even the judges give smilers lighter penalties. This phenomenon is called the (smile-leniency effect).
hmm...very nice. Living soul in dying body...it reminds me my dear late mum...
I love how you put that feeling into words. It reminds me of my late father's smile. Something that brightens up the worst of days. =]
The last line is so true..and indeed a smiling face is very contagious :)
Hope bring smile. It may be bright, submissive, cheerful or other kind. You have take out the soul in words.
Such wonderful connections you make between words and their meanings. Concepts like smile and tears linked with time such as future and past to create the present are incredibly profound. Thank you.
Wonderful what a realistic approach to compose soul and body together selfspeaking walking in past and future to be pass and fail symbolic guide lines for your current deeds good experience.
Good appreciable. I like to read it again.
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