A FORTUITUOUS TERMINATION
by
Louis Lopez
© 2023 by Louis Lopez.
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People don't believe me but I remember very clearly what it was like. It was always dark and there was the constant feeling of being wet, but you get used to it. It actually felt secure in there. After a time, the only thing that made me worry was hearing my parents arguing especially when it involved the decision on what to do with me. My maternal grandmother would join in the arguments, too, taking my father's (or actually father-to-be) side.
The storm that hit was clearly devastating, not only physically but psychologically. Still, I think my family and their neighbors coped very well. Of course, it helped that they had endured disaster and famine before, and I'm sure they've done so again since then. Bangladesh is not exactly a nurturing locale.
My conjecture is that it was that ferocious storm that moved something in my nascent brain and thereby gave me the abiity to remember all this. The darkest events I remember are the moans and complaints of physical pain from people who were injured. My would-be mother complained about her left hip being bruised when she was knocked down by the strong wind. Then after that there were about two weeks of near starvation. I was hungry all the time. After that relief supplies were brought in from the United States and other countries and it wasn't so bad. There was still the uncertainty of having the aid interrupted and even when it came, it was only enough for subsistence.
Naturally, the most vivid, and naturally most horrifying, memory I have of that entire experience is the morning my mother decided to stick up a coat hanger. I did everything I could to dodge and dart that wire--survival instinct, I guess. I was screaming my head off although I'm sure my vocal chords weren't yet developed enough for anyone to hear. She finally was able to pierce me. It was bloody but frankly it only hurt for a couple of seconds and then it was over.
I'm very glad it happened, though. I'm definitely not bitter at my Bangladesh parents. I still wonder what life would have been like with them. They certainly seemed like very nice people, but I was very lucky. Like here I am at this San Francisco cocktail party with many people who admire and respect me. I'm a millionaire with a wonderful wife, and two great kids, and I'm personally happy. You see I was born two years later, 1973, to a couple in Atherton, California, who were starting a computer company Informatron that eventually succeeded and now is a leader in the industry. My father retired recently and left me in charge and I love it. Antiabortion people somehow don't believe me when I tell them I'm glad I was aborted in Bangladesh.
THE END