IS OUR FUTURE IN OUR HANDS?

IS OUR FUTURE IN OUR HANDS?

My mom used to say that the drama in real life is many times more complicated and sadder than the soap operas we watch on TV. I always thought, “is she right?”.

I was in middle school in history class learning about the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia whose father, of course, was Tsar Alexander III; her mother was Empress Marie;  her grandfather was King Christian IX of Denmark; and her aunt Alexandra was the Princess of Wales. When Olga was born a 101-gun salute welcomed her to this world. She emigrated to Denmark escaping the Russian revolution where she ended up living on a farm and selling produce to survive. When her life was later threatened once more, she emigrated again. This time she left with her husband and two children and travelled to Canada. At the end of her life, Olga ended up living with a couple of Russian immigrants who looked after her in Toronto in a small apartment above a beauty salon where she died in 1960 at the age of 78 and very few knew about her privileged crib.

When lunch time came, I remember talking to my friend Susy about the amazing story that we had just learned in our history class. If someone would have told Olga that she was going to die so far from where she was born, so distanced from her surviving royal relatives. That she was to die as a commoner. I wondered if she would have believed them.

That day at school I remembered my mother’s words “real life is more dramatic than the soap operas.”

Susy and I were good friends and enjoyed doing many things together. After school we used to go to dance lessons. We always had lots of fun and we danced all kinds of dances from ballet and modern type to Hawaiian style and, of course, the famous Spanish stomped dance. That day at dancing school there was a new student. She seemed a little bit shy, so Susy and I approached her and introduced ourselves.

“Hello, I am Marcia, this is my friend Susy”

“Hello, I am Destiny”

“Oh, Future is my middle name” said Susy

And we both laughed, but not Destiny, she just smirked.

“I’m sorry, but I thought it was funny” Susy and I said in unison.

“Yeah, I know” replied Destiny “I get that a lot”.

“Well, why did your parents name you Destiny?” I asked.

“My mom is into clairvoyancy” explained Destiny. “My name suits my mom’s abilities”.

“Is that inherited?” I asked, intrigued.

“I guess so” Destiny said. “Sometimes I have, like, a feeling about a person and it ends up being true”.

“That is amazing” said Susy.

We kept talking to Destiny about what we had just learned that day earlier at school about Grand Duchess Olga. About how different her birth was from her death. And that we do not know really what is going to happen to us in our life.

“Destiny, do you have ‘a feeling’ about us? Is there anything you can tell us?” I asked her. “Please, just tell us nice things” I added.

“Well, you, Susy, I guess you are going to be quite tall and will marry young”.

“You Marcia, I see you living on a Canadian island”.

“Ha ha ha” I laughed until my stomach hurt.

“I don’t think so. I don’t even speak English” I replied. “No. I was born here in Spain, all my family lives in Spain. Well, that was entertaining. Thank you, though” I said adding a “see you next time”.

That evening when my mom picked me up at after dance class, as soon as I entered the car, she told me that she had signed me up for English classes and that I had to cut the dancing lessons to only twice a week.

I had mixed feelings, between being mad and surprised. Mad because I really loved my dance class. Surprised because I had just heard that new girl, Destiny, telling me about living in Canada.

At dinner time, my mom noticed that I was not myself. She thought it was because I did not want to go to English class instead of dance class. A few days passed and realizing that I was quieter than usual, my mother started taking about how important it was for me to learn another language and that if I liked it I could go to London, Australia or Canada to study English for the summer.

“Oh, travelling sounds exciting” I responded “but it is not that what I have been thinking about”.

“What is it then?” my mom asked me intrigued.

“The other day at dance class I met a new girl, her name is Destiny”

“Oh, that is a unique name”.

“Yes, that is what Susy and I told her”.

“Is she nice?” my mom asked.

“Yeah, she is ok I guess”. “Well, mom what is driving me crazy is that the day I met her was the day you told me I was going to take English classes”.

“Ok” said my mom sounding unsure.

“Mom, Destiny told me that she could tell a person’s future and that I will end up living on a Canadian island. I do not want to live on a Canadian island. You, grandma, everyone lives here in Spain. I do not want to be by myself in Canada” I said in an anguish tone.

“My dear Marcia, you know I do not tend to believe those kind of things, but when you were born a nurse from the hospital told me that you were going to end up living in Canada where you will raise your own family”. “I thought that was crazy. Anyway, after all there is nothing wrong with that. You will be happy wherever you go because you are a happy person.”

“You know Marcia” my mom kept saying, “We do not ask life that things happen as we expected them to happen, but that we get out safely of whatever life drops in our path”.

“I believe that we build our future by studying and working hard, that is like 50 percent, other 45 percent is about the decisions we make, and 5 percent is left to our luck. Marcia, do you remember my co-worker, Beto?”

“Yes, he is the old guy, right?” I replied.

“Yes, Beto says that good luck is dressed as hard work.”

That conversation was 55 years ago. I remember it vividly. I think of this conversation with my mom almost every day. I am happily married, living on a Canadian Island, a paradise. I raised my family here and soon, very soon, my new name will be grandma.

I am thankful that love is what gave me the chance to travel and English classes gave me the opportunity to meet my Canadian husband.

I do not dance anymore. I have learned to use Facebook to stay in touch with my dear friend Susy who got married just when we graduated from high school. And she is six feet tall. I guess Destiny wasn’t so far off. Susy is also learning to use Facebook so we can stay in touch.

Every two years I go back to Spain to visit mom and my family. When mom got sick, I arrived in time to say goodbye and kiss her as she laid in her hospital bed.

Destiny only took few dance classes and I never saw her again. Mom did not remember the nurse’s name who clearly could see the future for some of us.