And now I want to give thanks

It is time to take a break. 

I want to tell another side of my story, one rich with human values are warmth. I want to give thanks to people that have been close to me through these hard times.

Some are local people, some foreign residents, some are family members, and friends of Asthamay. It feels right at this time to acknowledge them as my good friends, without whose affection I could have not been as strong as I needed to be and to live through my nightmare.

There is one special person that has stuck with me from the beginning, with unconditional loyalty: Shiney.

Shiney and I on our way to Kollam for shopping

“Ende Kuttari”, We are friends, this is what Shiney says to people. And we really are good friends.

Shiney is very popular in Odayam and surroundings. He goes to every wedding, every temple festival. There is no party occasion that Shiney could possibly miss, and he has a mental calendar of all the festival dates. He plans in advance and tells everyone when and where the next festival will be.

He is also popular with many tourists, especially my friends, who got to know him and appreciate him. Shiney remembers everyone he meets and asks about them incessantly: “Dominik villiccha?”, Did Dominik call? He asks about all his favorite people, and his routine questions are: have they call me, when are they coming, are they ok, where are they now.  

Shiney calls me on my mobile. He does not have a mobile of his own, so he goes to people with phones (preferably my friends) and asks them to call me, so he can talk to me. And they do call me because he is very insistent and because it is such a pleasure to see him happy. He has the most contagious laugh and when he smiles he squints so much that his eyes disappear.

Mr. Shiney and his famous smile

 He radiates happiness when he talks to me, or Kichu or Mohammad, three of his favorite people in the world.

Shiney in the kitchen if Asthamay with Mohammad and Kichu

Shiney has a great personality in a small body. When Bala locked me out of the house Shiney sat with me on the door steps at Asthamay until night, until the moon came out in the sky. Bala tried to scare him away and threatened to call the police on him; Shiney smiled and did not move from my side. Since then he does not even walk by Asthamay and he completely ignores Bala and family.

Shiney had to put up with a lot of teasing in his life, it is hard to be “different” in a small fishing village; people make fun of him and they are often cruel. Not when I am around, not anymore, they all know that he has a good friend.

Mahommad, Cecilia, and Kichu in the back

Then there are Kichu and Mohammad,  workers at Asthamay. They took me to the hospital when I got the 5 stitches and stuck with me in spite of Bala's threats and insults. Mohammad was my security man, sleeping at Asthamay and making sure I was safe. He is now married and working in Saudi Arabia and I miss him very much. Kichu was the excellent cook of Asthamay for 6 years. Bala has been bullying him for years and still tries to hurt him.

Then there is my friend Irene. Her house in the backwaters is always open for me, and I feel great there, safe and in excellent company.

There are many others, the fishermen, my neighbors, the ladies of Kallazhi, Daniela of Punchirivilla, Manu and Sujatha of Johnny Cool's, Francis and Guy, who come here for 6 months every year, great French gentlemen. All my friends in San Francisco and in Italy, who have been worried about me, gave me good advice and kept in touch.

I care about all of them and I know they care about me.  Thank you.