Life throws some surprises at the most unexpected times. When the going seems pretty smooth and uneventful, all of a sudden destiny's hand can play the most cruelest of jokes on our lives. I have a cousin sister who got married when she was at her late 30s. With a lovely boy, they had a happy content life. She didn't have much demand for luxury and was content with whatever she had and kept her house immaculately clean. The boy started school and like any other boy of his age,he tried mom's patience with delinquency in study, and was obsessed with cricket. My sister although scolded him from time to time, like any other mom, it was only on the surface. Her son was her life.

Then one day, the cute boy had developed mild fever. Doc said it is due to thyroid gland problem. He was given medicine and was all right for a while, but this mild fever started happening quite often and my sister got worried this time. She could also detect certain anomaly in her boy's gait. Some tests had been carried out and the result was something so shocking that all of us were too numb to react. Doctor said that the boy is suffering from a very rare form of disease called ALD (adrenoleukodystrophy). Doctor called it an inherited disorder that lead to progressive brain damage, failure of the adrenal glands and eventually death. He was immediately taken to Bangalore, then to Chennai and he started treatment after treatment but the deterioration seemed to be irreversible. My sister wanted to put him in school again hoping that perhaps he will get better. But he was not in a position to walk even and slowly degeneration has started taking its toll. His movement became restricted and gradually he needed help to carry out simple tasks. Then his eyesight deteriorated and eventually he was completely blind. His sensory power, his hearing all has gone and now he is completely bedridden, unable to recongize anyone, not even my touch or smell. I often think about that lovely boy and what he has become now and I feel a terrible void. I feel like consoling by sister but can't do that either knowing that it will not make the situation any better. But I really admire the courage shown by my sister during all these years of her sufferings, sorrows and anguish. She is a very proud soul and never show her tears in the open to anyone. So whenever anything about her boy crops up in any discussion, she never betrayed any emotion but always cried silently. I feel so much pain when I see her sorrowful eyes but as i know that she wouldn't want me to console her, I don't discuss anything about her son. She has taken recourse to Soka Gakai group therapy for universal healing. With faith she practice chanting Lotus Sutra rigorously. She knows that her darling boy will eventually perish but chanting gave her inner strength and a kind of tranquility to face the most difficult situation in life. She looks so much composed even if she could hardly sleep at night. I greatly admire my sister for accepting the things as it is now. She is waiting for the inevitable but not with dread but with acceptance...