THE STORIES – A Wedding, a Fridge, a Sandcastle and a Little Finger

Posted by Sue Hill on March 18, 2019 in Sura Medura

Eight stories are now painted on one side of the catamaran, and eight more half-finished on the other, each one nestled between mangroves. Here are a few of them…

The Big Wedding

Aruni fell in love when she was sixteen. Both sets of parents disapproved, especially the boy’s family. She dreamed of a wonderful wedding, but it was not possible. She and her husband were cut off from both families; they had to live with her uncle. After three years she had a baby girl. The families began to relent. Two more children arrived and the families were re-united. The babies heal everything. When Lakmali the eldest daughter marries, Aruni makes sure she has the most splendid wedding – six pageboys, six bridesmaids, hundreds of guests, a dream of a dress. All the grandparents come to the wedding. (And now Ruwan and Lakmali have two delicious little boys of their own).

The New Fridge

At first Ari and her son think that the water tank in the hotel next door has burst, there is water everywhere and people are shouting. Then they understand it is the sea. They run inside the house but it fills up like a tank. Her son breaks a window to let the water out. Now the second wave comes. By a miracle they survive. But her shop has gone – fridge, stock, everything. They live on food aid for a while, until a German couple buy her a new fridge. She can start her business again. Now she says she is more relaxed about material things, she gives alms, just keeps what she needs. Ari is always laughing, tells a good joke, her mobile is constantly buzzing and beeping with messages from her many friends.

The Little Finger

Lilani had three lovely boy children. But she always longed for a girl. The fourth pregnancy was a baby girl. Born by caesarean section, she was tiny. She is now 21 years old, a teacher. Lilani remembers her daughter’s baby hand gripping her little finger as she walked.

Jack’s Castle

Neil was in his home in Hikkaduwa when the Tsunami came and demolished much of the town. He lost friends and witnessed at first hand the catastrophe that befell his community. He played a key part in the project to rebuild the fishing fleet. Every day, just before sunset, Neil and his son Jack head down the beach with a shovel and a toy bulldozer. Together they make a mountain fortress out of sand at the edge of the surf. They wait for the sea to sweep it away.