Mira

miss you Mira, i miss your presence and your help , although you bothered some lately .......I miss  you more as you remind me of mama ! I remember the first time i met you, it was in the grocerystore, i never forget the look in your eyes , brisk but frightened , worried about the unknown , about your destiny and about your destination , where will you reside ? I remember your black worn backpack that was attached to you as if it was a baby whose mom wont let go of him . I dont like the way i got to know you , it made feel like the men in stories who pick up slaves and handle them as bundles . I looked at you , standing still while mr. saaed the dealer comented : true you are paying much but she is the best you could get , she knows arabic, and cooks well and has experience , she will do well, but never let hergo anywhere alone, a toothbrush, shampoo bottle, 2 outfits, a call home every month and thats it ... It reminded me of how to care for a machine , grease and oil it every month and it will work well . And as he turned to mira , he continued , mama will not beat you , you work as she tells you . " beat you, i never beat any body , my hand will hurt ! I murmured......Mira , i never forget how you looked at me , from top to toe , you tried to fake a smile , then we started out together , !My first impression ! You made me wonder why you dont walk straight , i didnot know that you limb , and your hands patting your tummy as if you were in pain but i didnot show my worry because you were under trial , yes people also we can try them , if you didnot match my needs i can return you for another , oh it stinks , are we talking about people or stuff ,,,,,,I remember how they greeted you at home , the kids , everyone looked checking and commenting as if you are a piece of stuff , and you also looked worrying who are all those ? Am i supposed to be their thing ? You behaved strange.y , and i have never had a maid before , i have read in books how whites and slaves went together , the upperlook from us on blacks in general and on slaves in particular , on the other hand , i remembered howthey teach us at school that no difference between a black and a white only in deeds ...We both had difficulty adjusting to get to know eachother but alhamdulillah it was just the first week , just like openning a bottle of juice , it is hard to get the cap off in order to taste the juice , but then thanks the juice tasted great ,We all laughed when you told us you were hiding your precious things in your tummy under your shirt , you had the cause to , thats why you limbed so the stuff doesnot fall and you patted your tummy all the time to make sure things are safe ... Precious things were your familypics and your small bible ? Truely precious , your familyand yourbeliefs , not money as people think !mira , you liked your nickname , but i liked your true name much more , Nirmala , meaning a flower in your language , ... Mira you made us all learn a lot from you , it made us all at home wonder how there are people so poor around the world , we thought they existed in stories and on TV .. You made us appreciate how to save a bite, a paper , a remenant fabric, a plastic bag , or an empty jar , you taught us how to make good use of our garden , plant any seed , you taught Us recycling and environmental care . We needed these lessons . We sure didnot feel with your people and the poor as we should , we are bossy mira, i guess money makes people bossy , here in our part of the globe we really are careless and greedy !nirmala, i remember this last moment i saw you exactly as the first , Your eyes were brisk but with sadness this time not with fear , but i never expected to see you crying hard just for leaving us ,i thought you would be happy to go back to your family , you were all dressed up with that black suit and holding your black purse,the red bow on your hair , your baggage was rolling infront of you and the extra baggage that we paid for , you wanted to take a small somthing from this holy magic land to your poorfamily , and you were walking uprigght straight, your precious things now are in your hand bag , the same small bible , same old family pitures , but now you have more precious things : the indian version of the quran plus a CD that has pictures of our family ... Such a difference ..... the two looks !Nirmala i wonder what look do you have in your eyes now , i know you cannot call , the money to call can spare a life there , and maybe because youdont live in khitmandou but much farther where barely anyone cares to go , but who knows we might someday ,,, may god guide you and your family