3 HOMECOMING

3 HOMECOMING

Sister Andrew saw to it that Nita was made comfortable on the plane, carefully strapped to a seat to keep her from slipping off, but the entire six-hour flight was still a physical and emotional torment for her. She could see herself being carried off the plane, a crippled martyr, and her mother collapsing in a nervous heap on the welcome deck.

Nita closed her eyes, her brow knitted. It was so degrading, this escapade! The entire thing seemed so foolish to her - as if she were some tragic clown, strapped in, dragging her legs around like so much excess baggage.

This was a far cry from the reigning princess she should have been for her homecoming ... a stellar figure, a glistening trophy of the Edwards family, worthy of her family name, worthy of her family's applause, a proud Sri Lankan returning to her homeland in triumph.

It was ironic that Sri Lanka, the beautiful island she now dreaded to see, was known in literature as "the land without sorrow, the isle of delight," an island so rich in natural beauty that legend said Adam went there from Eden! In fact, the chain of reefs and sandbanks connecting the island to India is still called Adam's Bridge.

In the days of the Sinbad stories, Arab sailors called this tropical land Serendip, from which came the wistful concept of serendipity. Indeed, countless sailors had opportunity to drink in the lush offerings of this fantasy like place, for the "jewel island" is situated strategically astride the Indian Ocean, and has been a port for the world's seafaring men since before the time of Christ.

Europeans called it Ceylon, and claimed that "from Ceylon to Paradise is a distance of forty Italian miles."

"The sound of waters calling from the fountain of Paradise is heard there," a thirteenth-century traveller wrote.

For the islanders, though, one name has always been adequate for their land: Sri Lanka, "the Resplendent Isle." It is no exaggeration. Luxuriant vegetation covers much of the island, including exotic fruits, flowers, and trees; elephants, water buffalo, sloth bears, and other beasts roam wild; a rainbow of birds make the island their home; wide beaches ring the island nation, and the coastal waters teem with tropical marine life. Warm, wonderful, and waiting are words frequently used in superlatives for the enriched land.

It was the perfect homeland for a girl like Nita Edwards, with such poise and promise. It should have been a perfect homecoming. But no - now the dream was mangled! Her track star's legs hung limply, like mud flaps on a Mercedes. And shame burned in her face when she thought of the sympathy she would be bathed in. It was certainly not how she had imagined herself returning, not even in her most disturbing dreams.

The plane landed roughly, shooting pain through Nita's fragile body, and the passenger exodus began. Nita pushed herself up away from the seat, but it was futile. She was completely lifeless from the hips down. Muscular control had vanished.

The final passenger filed past her, and Nita felt the knot tighten in her stomach.

"Lord, you've just got to get me up and walk me, somehow, off this plane," she prayed silently, fervently, her teeth clenched.

She set the cane aside and lunged forward out of the seat. The numbed legs stood straight beneath her, but atrocious pain gripped her from deep inside and wrenched her breath away.

Flooded by God's grace and pulsing with adrenalin, she shuffled up the endless ramp into the terminal and collapsed into a chair, sweating ferociously. She could not move for two hours, her lungs heaving in and out, desperate with pain. Her jaws ached from her teeth being locked together so hard. Finally she drew herself up and dragged herself step by step to a telephone to call home.

It seemed like hours, but it wasn't long before her mother and uncle arrived. Nita put on a smile and kissed and hugged them. Mrs. Edwards cried uncontrollably but her daughter shushed her with, "Oh, don't; I'll be all right." Nita was following the script she had written in her mind during the jarring aeroplane ride to Sri Lanka.

Perhaps it was pride that had made Nita set up this homecoming scenario, but, she did not want her family unduly worried. Therefore, she had insisted her family not meet her. She would call them when she arrived. She had brushed aside all offers of help from the airline personnel and refused to even consider a wheel chair. Now she was paying for her pride as the pain squeezed the breath from her. Her sheer bulldog tenacity kept her conscious on her hasty ride from the airport to the hospital.

There was a private ward waiting for Nita at Colombo General Hospital. The family had already watched her struggle to the car at the airport, so now her cousins wanted to pick her up and carry her into the building. But no, Nita insisted she could walk into the hospital!

She crossed the threshold on her feet - defiant. But she would never walk back out. Even her iron will would melt. She was becoming a living corpse.