ME BEFORE YOU-Jojo Moyes

There was a session at the end of the book where several questions were asked to the readers. I have done my part reviewing it through one of the question.

Will’s right to die, and Lou’s determination to change his mind about exercising that right, is a theme that runs throughout the novel. How did you feel about Will’s decision at the end? Was it what you expected? Do you think the novel should have ended differently?

I have been telling myself I should not hover over too sentimental love stories written through some people's imagination. And the writer Jojo Moyes admits she isn't romantic in her real life. Whatever maybe the case, the story has left me pondering over and over again of their lives and believe me or not I have created my Will and Lou within my thoughts. They have started to exist and thank god, the movie is now out and I might go for it to get a proper sight of the story. Hope the movie will do justice to how beautiful the story is in the book.

Will's had my heart from the very beginning he was introduced. Characters like him make my expectations grow because the fact that I don't see him literally and I have liked him for the kind of person he is makes me want to go look for Will if a man like him ever exist and I don't mind being as stupid as Lou.

Well, from the point of Lou's entry, there never been a chapter where I saw Will withdrawing from his decision to die for good. I have known every bits of him and I didn't think of him as giving up his already made up mind. For this, I saluted him at the end.

Some people might think he is too selfish to have stirred Lou's heart and then leave her like she herself thought but I knew like I was Will's friend that he was not someone to have Lou sacrifice her entire life for him knowing she was capable of much more.

You see, great love stories do not always end on a happy note. Sometimes it's about growth. It's about how deeply you felt and how deeply it left a mark on you, memories so full it could last for  a lifetime. I wasn't cursing Will for his decision. I wasn't wondering how Lou might have lived thereafter.

                  Some stories connect us and we know things happened for a reason.

Didn't matter to them

 So a message has been inboxed for all of us by our boss. "If you had a magic wand, what are the Top-3 things that you would like to improve/change?" I don't know with what mind I wrote the following but I did it within minutes. I guess these were compiled over and over and somehow I had to release. After I was done, they told me my wishes had to be related to work. Oh! what a waste. I took nearly an hour to write the actual and intended  reply as opposed to this. Finally, I copy pasted finding it pointless to be honest.

My actual reply was the following.

First of all I would like to thank you for this interesting yet a very thoughtful question. I can't help but feel excited for it in a way captivates my imagination to freely think of what I would do given the freedom to improve or change the things they are. I am quite confused whether to relate this to the professional field exclusively but I guess if it was, then the question itself would have been specific.

To be honest, the first thing that came to me are the personal issues that I struggle with most of my days that I would like to be able to cope with, that too in a manner which would allow me to live a satisfactory life. My issues normally range within myself, an inner struggle to understand the things around me. Constantly telling myself things will fall in place or maybe I have read and heard too much that things will be okay. So if I had this power, be it only one wish, I would like to be able to find peace within myself.

I would trade my second wish to the career I have always dreamt of. I think if I stick to something that makes me happy, I will no longer feel like I exhausted myself or drained my energy, but it would simply fulfill my hunger to learn and experience whatever I can from it. With this I relate my passion for documentary making for which I place it as my secondary wish. I feel awkward to be sharing this wish of mine with you but honestly, me having joined this company has boosted me to cover what good it has been doing to my country and us, the youth in terms of employment and global exposure we are getting everyday through various lifestyles exposed to us. I am young right now and in the near future if ever I leave this company, it would be a pride for me to have worked with it.

There might be endless things I might wish for but the last wish, I would like to relate to our working environment. I would like to invest this wish in making things run smoothly in every working days. This sounds absurd because where humans are involved things can't be expected to run smoothly on a daily basis. However it would have been a pleasant sight to see all of it going the way we want it to. The company and us.

DECHEN AND DORJI (Episode 2)

NOTE: PLEASE GO THROUGH EPISODE 1 JUST BELOW THIS TO DO JUSTICE FOR THIS EPISODE

 Dechen  and Dorji's story  was a tragic. Now, whoever is going through this should take out 5 minutes of your time to think of the short and simple story. Not just think but you should rank them from the most innocent  to the worst person in your list. I asked the person next to me and he provided me with the following.

1. Dechen (Most innocent)

2. Dorji

3. Phuntsho

4. Seday

5. Tashi (worst)

Now is the time to seek truth from all the characters for the action they took.  I told the person next to me to throw any question he had to the character and I will be all of them to answer

DORJI

1. What was the reason you stopped to see Dechen?

Ans: I was very sick and I tried to come but it was impossible. I even told my neighbor who helped me through  my sick days to reach my message to Dechen but that couldn't be done .

2. Were you with Dechen just so you could spent a night with her?

Ans: That was not what I meant. I always hated the eyes with which Tashi used to look at her and to know that Dechen went all that extent even to have slept with him, I could not look at her. I may have done that but I still love her the same.

SEDAY

1. Dechen came to you helpless. Why did you not help her and instead called her for a meeting?

Ans: when you advise your friend and if it helps then its a good thing. if it doesn't then you just become the reason for making their matters worse. I didn't want the blame and so I asked her for the meeting so that we could collectively guide her. I know it would be embarrassing for her to have the dirty truth come out of Tashi's proposal but that's the best I could think of.

TASHI

1. How can you be this inhumane?

Ans: Cmon' ! What do you know?..That I spent the night with Dechen? It was a beautiful night. Just me and her....first we had a cup of tea with the sound of the waves and after that a supper and we spent the whole night looking at the stars. Yes, we spent the night just looking at the stars.

Hope this will make difference if not a lot more, a bit more to the way you perceive people.

DECHEN AND DORJI (Episode 1)

People are different. Can't deny the fact. We are different not just physically but there are million other indescribable personalities within us which makes every person to perceive things in a different way.  There are days when I am unable to figure out the kind of person I am. It's very difficult to come to a definite conclusion.

We live in a world of interdependence and where interactions of humans are involved, I feel that we have to take out time to reflect upon ourselves of how we as an individual have impact on other people's life.

I have a story, a very short one indeed.

Setting : Bhutan, 1980

Dechen and Dorji were childhood sweethearts. Their houses were separated by a river. There hadn't been a day where they did not see each other and the bridge which connected them was their meeting place.

One unfortunate day, the river washed away the bridge and this shattered both Dechen and Dorji. With no other means to connect them, they made a point to wave at each other every other day across the river.

After a long time, Dorji stopped coming and Dechen at first assumed of him encountering an avoidable circumstance. This went on until Dechen started to worry. She went on looking for solutions until one came into her mind.

Tashi was the wealthiest man in her village and the only person who owned a boat. Dechen went to request  him despite knowing that he was the most cunning person and a man who decided everything on a special return. Dechen requested him to have her plea accepted for which she was ready to give him anything he demanded.   

The demand did not range to money or wealth but he asked her to spent a night with him. Shocked, Dechen shouted at him and went to her best friend, Seday to seek some advice and share her grief. Seday on the other hand told her she can't say anything right away and  Dechen was invited for a meeting where all the villagers would be present.

Confused Dechen had no other option than to accept the dirty demand and cross the river to meet her lover. She accepts Tashi's offer and the next morning she is on the other part of the village. Dechen's excitement to see Dorji is immeasurable. She directly goes to Dorji's place and upon knocking his door, Dorji opens up the door looking exhausted and sick.

Dorji is astonished and questions of her arrival. Dechen is too innocent to lie and tells him that she had to spent a night with Tashi to be there. At this moment, Dorji do not listen to her second explanations and right away blame her for always making excuses when he had proposed for a night even though they had been together since childhood.

Dechen is shattered and cries hard. On her way back, she meets her brother Phuntsho. He is so furious after hearing to Dechen. He firstly go to the sailor, Tashi and punch him hard. Next, he goes to Dorji and does the same.

                                                                                 The end.

THE CRY - part 1

My pride in being a Bhutanese range to many aspects.  At this age, I don't think I have more room for growth. Meaning I am sure I am able to differentiate between what is good and what isn't. I would specifically like to reflect my pride in being born into this beautiful country and as a Buddhist.  Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to stress that we are the best because that would be a lie. No human is perfect.

However, we are one molded by Gross National Happiness. Too small a country, I know to be focused on individual happiness rather than country's growth but what's the point of working hard for a motherland if she do not provide a safe home.

My pride lies in us having a big heart. Not only the people but our dogs (stray), they are healthy. This is one parameter I consider among many for measuring this "big" heart. We believe in interconnectedness and for this very reason we have fear of everything having a meaning to our lives. This benefits in promoting a harmonious society.

Most importantly, we have Driglam Namzha and the etiquette far outweigh one's attitude. if one is provided a job, attitude matters . Every elders have advised us to be zab toh toh.

Dear foreigners (not all),  there may be a thousand criticism, we accept, smiling because refuting is not in our blood. If you set up your work here, you can't bring in your doings with you. Instead you should blend with the host. In the name of country's growth, you can't make our people fall.

More to this, if situation permits.

LUCY

While the children played in innocence  they discovered two puppies trapped in the traditional basement of a Bhutanese structure.  No hesitation, went off and brought them into an open air. The children cuddled with them. They  were good looking pups but they were among thousands of other stray dogs in Bhutan.  Two of the girls decided to take them home, their second voices warning them of their mother's disapproval.

It should now be a proven fact that they really were beautiful because their family accepted to keep the pups as their pet.  Now we can't talk about both the dogs because I know only of one, the one which my family kept. I named her Lucy.

Lucy grew up to be more beautiful and a friendly dog. I am sorry I am right only on the beautiful part. She was friendly only towards me. However, she was aggressive to every new person or other dog she encountered. However, that did not bother me. I adored her the same. Never mind, a close family friend of ours envied Lucy and for some unknown reasons, they blended quite well.

It was one summer when Lucy was a year old and I went off for vacation at my grandparents.  It's unthinkable how I missed her while we were that was maybe I cared for her like my baby. I ain't a mother but I guess the feeling is something like that?

I will give you, my readers a moment to visualize my reunion with Lucy.  When I went back, Lucy came jumping and licking my face and I gave her a pat to know her I understood. That's a beautiful visual treat right? But that did not happen. Lucy wasn't there.

I threw hundreds of questions to my mother  to have one answered. Lucy had bitten a man and because our home was located in the prime area, we could no more keep him. He now stayed at our family friend's place with whom Lucy connected ever since.

No, that's not fair. I thought Lucy deserved a punishment for biting the poor man but  there's more to it. I ran all three kilometers and demanded Lucy to come out of that house. There he was, his tail wagging. I did not mind seeking the people their approval to take Lucy because she was never theirs in the first place.

Actually Lucy was never meant to be with us, my family I guess. Few days later, she vanished, nowhere to be seen.  

                                                                                   ***

It's a hot summer day here in Thimphu. I am lethargic of the heat and the heat inside the car is unthinkable. I lazily look out the car window. The sight of Lucy hits me. No dog can be this identical but maybe they can.  "LUCY!"....  It's her. I tell my sister. "You assume too much"

we drive away.