The Lovely Bones

Por: aka MEGGIE | |

Today I did a different kind of reading. I wasn't reading the pages of a book or a magazine, I was reading subtitles from the movie The Lovely Bones.

I had seen the preview of the movie and voted not to watch it. I am a mother after all, and movies like this tend to leave me crying, immersed in paranoia. As I said I am a mother, mothers reading this will understand. Today, however, my curiosity got the best of me. I watched it, even read the subtitles 'til the end.

This one had a different effect on me. Undeniably, tears were streaming down my face and the paranoia of the same tragedy ever occurring, dare I say it, God forbid, to me, was still there, but what lingered was the lesson that came across.

The connection between a parent and a child transcends all boundaries just as Alice Sebold portrayed in her story. The feeling of serenity and comfort that a child feels from a mother's simple touch is a testament of that. It is only natural that letting go would be a hard thing to do. No parent wishes to lose a child. No parent should have to bury their child. It violates the natural order of things.

People tend to say that their simple misfortunes are reasons enough to end things, i.e their lives. Living takes a lot of courage. A tragedy such as losing a child is a big enough reason to want to stop living, but the Salmons lived one day after another. Trying to find the best means to cope. Coping is never easy, most especially the loss of a loved one, where a million questions abound with no answers to either one. But, one tedious step at a time, they did it. They tried to live in spite of it all and that is pure courage. If there is one thing that this movie has instilled in my mind, it is to be thankful of the little misfortunes that I have had to suffer everyday. To be thankful that although I am faced with loads and loads of problems each and every single day, I still get to see my beautiful daughters. I still get to share mornings, noons, afternoons, midnights and dawns with them. I cannot even begin to fathom the grief of a love lost and never found.

Where I come from, society tends to highlight the pregnancy of an unwed daughter as a big tragedy to the family. Most families consider it a shame and hide their daughters far away for no one to pry on. If you watch this movie, it will show you that conservatism is overrated and that there is no need to be ashamed. Do not get me wrong, I do not condone this act, but quite frankly being pregnant out of wedlock isn't really that big of a tragedy as we paint it. We should count our lucky stars that at least after giving birth, she can rebuild her life. She can take back the life that was taken from her and build it brick by brick. It will never be easy but at least she has a fighting chance. A daughter, however, forcefully taken from you, by a stranger who justifies that it was his "need" to do it, is the real tragedy. It is unthinkable! It is unspeakable! Nobody has the right to cut short a life that was supposed to be, no matter how messed up it is. Nobody!...and to kids out there, you better think twice each time your parents tell you "no." Bear in mind that we are not trying to ruin your life, we are just protecting you in the best possible way we can. Like I said no parent wants to lose a child, so the next time we tell you not to talk to strangers, do not talk to strangers.

Life as we all know is fragile. We may have the free will to move our limbs, or do as we please or go where we wish, but the benefit of waking up to a new day basking in the warmth of the sunrise is not always ours to decide. So bask in the sun while you can, enjoy everything and everyone, think of it as the tiny little blessing that make up the entire miracle that is your life. In the words of Susie Salmon "I wish you all a long and happy life."

P.S
I bet the book would have been a good read. I just can't bear the thought of reading the lines that describe how the girl was taken. Peter Jackson did a fine job of translating it in cinema.